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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, March 27, 2013 | 24 Hinchcliffe joins Canadian fraternity continued from p23 qualifying fourth, he set the tone by getting by Simona de Silvestro on the first turn of the race. And though he never dropped lower than fourth, Hinchcliffe managed to pick up a spot on each restart. His success in that area is simply a product of being more comfortable with his team, he said. Each season since 2006 -- when he made his debut on the Atlantic Champ Car development series -- Hinchcliffe has started the season on a new team. This year, he returned to Andretti Autosport with the only change being race engineer Craig Hampson, whom he worked with in his rookie season with Newman-Haas. "Last year, I was intentionally a little more cautious. I didn't want to make mistakes," Hinchcliffe said. "You can't do that, though. You have to take the odd calculated risk. If you turn back the clock to this race last year, I lost a position on every restart. This year, I gained one every time." Hinchcliffe also gained the credibility that only comes with winning races. Named IndyCar's most popular driver last year, he left no doubt that he has the racing chops to be more than the off-track joker that fans love. He also gained entry into a select fraternity of Canadian racers to have won at the highest level of North American open-wheel racing. When he finally did emerge from his car, it was with a Canadian flag raised above his head. Afterward, he reeled off the names -- Tracy (the last Canadian to win an open-wheel race in 2007), Villeneuve, Moore, Goodyear, Carpentier, Tagliani -- of the Canadian racers who came before him as if he were rhyming off the names of family members. "He's something of a student of the sport," said Jeremy Hinchcliffe. "He takes the history of it very seriously." "I'm acutely aware of (Canada's history in the sport) and I'm very proud as a Canadian," James said. "Every Canadian who has raced, they were all exceptional." One win may not put him in that category just yet, but another person well aware of the sport's history wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't take Hinchcliffe long to get there. "I'm so happy and proud he's part of our team," team owner Michael Andretti said in his post-race interview. "I'm excited. I'm glad he finally broke the ice. This isn't going to be his only win." Jeremy Hinchcliffe has evidence of his son's ability to win. "We've got boxes and boxes of trophies," he said. "We're looking very forward to James buying his first house so he can set up his own trophy room." And James Hinchcliffe, no doubt, is looking forward to filling it. -- Herb Garbutt can be followed on Twitter @Herbgarbutt S H O R T S E A S O N Abbey Park Eagles player Jeff Ulozas (left) goes up for a shot against M.M. Robinson's Jagrap Dosanjh during a junior boys' basketball game last week at Oakville Trafalgar High School. The Halton Secondary School Athletic Association held basketball, volleyball and hockey tournaments accommodate public school teams who did not participate in the recent winter sports season due to work-to-rule sanctions. | photo by Steven Der-Garabedian, special to the Beaver Silver medal but golden memories continued from p23 afterwards. There was no joy at all." Kristen O'Neill, a Grade 9 student, had given Loyola a 1-0 lead early in the second period, but Gonzaga tied the game with less than a minute to go in the frame. Gonzaga's Heather Platt, who also played for the Oakville intermediate AA Hornets this past season, scored midway through the third to break the tie, then added the empty-net goal. "We made it that far and were doing so well. Especially as seniors, it was our last high school game," said Solty. "Everyone was pretty upset. We're getting over it now, but gold would have been nice. It's still going to be pretty sour for a while." Like any good father would, McNamara has spent the last several days helping console any of his players still struggling with their one loss at the tournament. "I told them that there's a lot of golden memories wrapped up in this silver medal," said the coach. "In the end, I think that's what the girls and we as coaches will take away. The funny little stories that happened at dinner, the things said in the room afterwards... It's something I'll always cherish." And with girls' high school hockey possibly on its way out in Halton (proposed rule changes would ban rep players next year), it's not a bad way for McNamara to go out. "If there's not a team next year, this is it for him. It would break his heart," Solty said. "He was so proud of us for making it so far. To win (a medal) for him... it was our motivation." Also contributing to the Hawks' success this season were Laura Crowdis, Nicole Collaton, Andrea Benac, Sophie Nasato, Annie Nasato, Maddie Faion, Kaitlyn Norris, Jenna Stoddart, Erika Reynolds, Alannah Magarelli, Emily Schnarr, Kaitlyn Perichak, Bridget O'Neill, Mackenzie Sutherland, Dana O'Hanlon and Paige Saunders. Amy Cornell, Amanda Treacy, Dina Angelopolis and Jessica Burton round out the team staff.