www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, March 16, 2012 · 32 DYNAMITE IN DETROIT: The Oakville atom MD Eagles won three of four games to earn gold at the recent Motown Cup hockey tournament in Detroit. Atom Eagles win championship at Detroit tourney The Oakville atom MD Eagles recently won gold at the Motown Cup hockey tournament in Detroit. Oakville went 2-1 in round-robin play, then avenged its lone loss with a 4-2 win over the MCHA Bulldogs in the championship game. The Eagles sandwiched shutout wins over the Northway Knights (6-0) and Rochester Vipers (9-0) around a 2-1 loss to the Bulldogs during the preliminary round. Members of the Eagles are Matthew Aziz, Connor Babb, Aidan Baxter, Jonny Cook, Vaughn Courage, Anthony De Rango, Ben Glatzmayer, Ryan Kozak, Nick Lawlor, Ryan Matsuba, Josh Reid, Evan Sasaki, Mitchell Switzer, Christian Bachoumis, Tom Harding and Hunter Mackinnon. The team is coached by Nigel Babb, Dave Sasaki and Trent Courage. Fab De Rango is the trainer and Ruth-Ann Courage is the manager. McGregor champs UNDEFEATED: The Oakville Thunder under-15 white girls' volleyball team went undefeated at the recent McGregor Cup tournament in KitchenerWaterloo to claim the championship. Members of the team are (back row, left to right) coach Kelly Fox, Taylor Incze, Mikela Lehan, Julie Tadaro, Andreina Valentini, Erica Rzepecki, coach Joe Maciel, (front row, left to right) Stephanie Hilchey, Montana Maciel, Hannah Delany and Karen Loh. FLIPPING SPORTS: Kyle Hann, a former nationallevel gymnast, is now pursuing a professional career in baseball. Hann headed to Oklahoma State Continued from page 31 Two gold, one silver for Blue Blades this season The Oakville minor atom Blue Blades house league hockey team nearly ran the table in tournament play this season. Oakville won two of three tournaments it entered this year while settling for silver at the other. The Blue Blades earned gold at competitions in Thorold and Alliston. Only an overtime loss in the final of the Richmond Hill select tournament prevented Oakville a third gold. Members of the team are Jackson Roode, Jack Williams, Evan Smyth, Michael Dwyer, Ky Haskan, Dylan Gale, Connor O'Brien, Chris Dong, Brett Walker, Jacob Gima, Ben MacDonald, Jacob Mathers, Michael Vrbensky, Denver Winch, Andrew Young and Andrew Clements. Darren Young, Doug Walker and Andrew Mathers coach the team. Paul Dwyer and Alanna Scott are the managers. towards baseball because I could get scholarships out of it and I enjoyed playing outside, so it was an easy decision." Hann was initially influenced to go into gymnastics by his father. "My dad stuck me in it, and it turned out I was really good at it, so they invited me to be part of the national program," said Hann. "I specialized in the floor routine and vault, but I enjoyed all the disciplines." The skills and training Hann received from his days in the gymnasium have assisted him in pursuit of his dream of making it to the big leagues. "It definitely formed me into the player I am today," said Hann. "It really helped me with my quickness, agility, and flexibility." Sean Travers, player development director for the Ontario Blue Jays, and Hann's coach with the under-16 team, said he once saw him do 10 back flips before a game. "It really helped relax the boys," Travers recalled. Instead of his teammates ragging on him about his days wearing a leotard, they instead request to see his cool tricks. "The guys bug me a lot to do flips for them," Hann said, "and I usually give in." After his spring and summer training with Team Canada, Hann is looking forward to head down south to play NCAA baseball with the Oklahoma State Cowboys. "I went down to visit the school, I met a bunch of the guys, and talked to Marcus Knecht who used to play with them," said Hann. "It is a good fit for me and I was very comfortable with my time there, and the baseball program."