Kemptville Storm Girls Hockey

Len & Robin Sheedy, Rosemary & Melissa BennettThe origins of the Kemptville Storm dates back to 1994 when two eleven year old girls decided they wanted to play on an all girls hockey team. Robin Sheedy, a ringette player, and Melissa Bennett, playing boys hockey, with their parents Len Sheedy and Rosemary Bennett, began the process of organizing and registering a team. As the girls worked at recruiting players, their parents did the work of securing a sponsor and joining a league.

An atom-aged team was formed with two player lines. The inaugural team did surprisingly well against a league composed of teams from Ottawa, Kanata, Aylmer, Nepean, Gloucester and Brockville. The 1994-95 Kemptville Team won the “B” Division play offs.

The next year the girls hockey program expanded to three teams; novice, atom and peewee. The hard work of Len and Rosemary off-ice grew the organization that now has fourteen teams representing North Grenville. The girls hockey program team members have gone on to play varsity university and college hockey and many continue to play in recreational women’s leagues.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Kemptville Storm. Len, Rosemary, Robin and Melissa’s hard work has put North Grenville Girls Hockey on a secure foothold. The program’s expansion and the league’s respect for the organization is a result of their determination and hard work.

In their community they saw a need and built a strong and successful girls hockey program. The continued success of Kemptville Storm Girls Hockey is a compliment to all four strong sports leaders.