One of these days, Rachel Budden will actually slow down for a moment and think about everything she has accomplished in the past few months.
It's been a whirlwind 2012 so far for this recent McMath secondary graduate who will soon be heading to Oshawa, ON for the next chapter of her life and hockey career. Budden will be studying at the University of Toronto Institute of Technology this fall and also suiting up on the blueline for the Ridgebacks women's varsity team. She was recruited to the school while playing for the Vancouver Venom of the B.C. Midget "AAA" Female Hockey League at a tournament in Saskatchewan.
It proved to be a perfect fit on and off the ice as she will spend the next four years working towards a degree in forensic psychology to enhance a potential career in law enforcement. Budden visited the campus back in February and committed soon after. She leaves Sept. 1.
"Everything about it felt good," said Budden, who doesn't turn 18 until November. "The school is great, everyone was super friendly and the program was exactly what I was looking for.
"Right now I'm working out and getting ready for the season. There's also going to be lots of packing to do but sometimes I step back realize just how much has happened lately."
If high school graduation and preparing to leave home wasn't enough on Budden's plate, then how about making history with the Nikkei hockey team?
Since 2000, a team of JapaneseCanadian midget age hockey players have made summer trips to Japan to play a number of exhibition games and soak in the cultural experience. Up until this year, the traveling team had featured only boys players until Budden successfully tried out in May.
"My mom had found out about the program two years ago and thought I should try out," recalled Budden. "At the time, I thought the idea was pretty crazy but decided to go just for the experience."
She didn't make the team her first go around but that changed a year later. She not only cracked the roster but had the opportunity to skate separately with the Japanese women's national team. Now female players are likely to be a permanent part of the program.
"It would be pretty cool if one day they also went over there with an all girls team," said Budden. "I had never played regular season games with boys before but had done camps with them and spring hockey too. Sure I was a bit nervous, especially traveling all the way to Japan with them, but they were great and treated me like I was just one of the guys."
Budden grew up playing in the Richmond Ravens Female Hockey Association before shifting over to the Venom for her final two years of midget eligibility. Ironically, the team has now been taken over by the Ravens and will operate out of Richmond this coming season. The opportunity to play in a provincial league on a district team excelled her development. She thrived in the environment, being named team captan and was selected to the league all-star game this past season.
"It really helped me out a lot," she added. "My game sense just got better and better."
