A pair of Richmond field hockey standouts will be wearing national and provincial team colours this summer.
UBC Thunderbirds goalkeeper Beau Francisco is one of 18 players named to the Canadian roster for the upcoming 2013 Junior World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany.
The team was finalized following an intense preparation period, including the National Identification and Development Camp in April, the U21 Argentinean Training Camp & Test Series in May and the recently completed Senior Nationals.
Francisco is one of eight players who is also part of the senior national team program. Seven of her UBC teammates are also on the junior squad. Last November, the Richmond Field Hockey alumni backstopped the Thunderbirds to their 14th CIS national championship.
"Due to the large cross over of our athletes, the integration of both the JWC and Senior group has been extremely effective for both groups and we have been able to efficiently manage the development and enhancement of the entire squad as such," said senior national team head coach Ian Rutledge continued.
"The Junior World Cup marks a critical development event for any program and I am excited by the opportunity for our next generation athletes to be benchmarked against their age-group peers internationally. I am quietly confident of our prospects and extremely optimistic of the health of our national program."
The team heads to Europe July 21 with training in Germany and a practice match in England.
Meanwhile, closer to home, 13-year-old Dakota Chan's tremendous potential has earned her a spot on the B.C. U16 team for next month's national championships in Brampton ON. Fresh off her Grade 7 graduation from Westwind elementary school, Chan was selected to the team following an extensive process that involved over 200 prospects from across the province.
The talented midfielder suited up this past season for Richmond Field Hockey's U13 Eagles.
