The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer The Flin Flon Atom A Bombers are set to host Provincials this weekend at the Whitney Forum. Ending their last home tournament with losses on their side, coach Ray Donaldson says he and the team have learned from those mistakes. 'They see what they have to do,' said Donaldson, referring to the players. A very young team this year _ made up of novice and atom-aged players _ the A Bombers will compete against Thompson, Portage, Morden and Springfield this weekend. The Bombers have faced Thompson a number of times this season, but haven't seen any of the other teams. 'Thompson is strong, but the southern teams are competitive,' said Donaldson, speaking of years past. Heading into the weekend, Donaldson hopes to see his team playing hard and remembering what they worked on in practice. 'It's constantly the same thing: pass the puck and stay in position,' he said. Donaldson says the varied ages and abilities on the team are a constant reminder for players to play their position and pass the puck. 'That's the big thing this year,' he said. The coach says his expectations for the team for Provincials are simple: 'to learn.' 'We've learned lots this year (already),' he said. Noting that he has one first-year novice player, five second-year novices, nine first-year atom players and one second-year atom player, Donaldson says they have 'done extremely well' learning this year. But given their different ages and abilities, Donaldson says it's 'a constant struggle to break them of their bad habits.' Staying positive, he says he and the assistant coaches are impressed with how things are going. 'They've worked hard. They've grown as little players and little people,' he said. The Bombers will host the Atom A Provincials while the Atom AA Bombers will attend Provincials in Morden this weekend.
