BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
Tierney Hoo was on a mission this year with
the Laurentian University womens' basketball team.
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Tierney Hoo |
In her fifth and final year, Hoo entered the
season only a few hundred points away from the all-time Ontario
University Athletics (OUA) career scoring record.
Her team, the Lady Vees, was considered to be
one of the top teams in the province, and was a contender for a
title.
Hoo was poised for a big season, but it
didn't happen.
Hoo's points-per-game were down, and she
didn't break the record. The Lady Vees were bounced from the
OUA East Final by Ottawa, meaning a trip to the nationals was
out of her reach.
Even though her season didn't shine as bright
as many people had predicted, Hoo capped off her impressive
career by winning the Joy Bellinger
Award, which goes to an outstanding player
with high grades and a great deal of passion for community
involvement.
Winning the Joy Bellinger Award was extra
special for Hoo, as the award is named after a former Lady Vees
player.
"It shows that I am a well-rounded person and
that I focus on other things than just basketball," said Hoo.
"It's nice to be recognized because I do
participate in a lot of things in the
community. It's one of my greatest accomplishments."
Over the course of her five-year Laurentian
career, Hoo has been as unselfish with area youth as she was on
the court with her teammates.
Hoo ran high school basketball tournaments,
tutored Grade 6 students at Princess Anne School (and got her
teammates involved with the project as well), and ran special
clinics for kids across the city. Even when school was out, Hoo
was still active. In the summers, she ran basketball
camps.
Despite keeping grades that earned her many
Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Academic All-Canadian
berths, training and playing basketball, Hoo always found it
easy to give back.
"It's my personality," said Hoo. "I love to
give back, and I have always been that way. I have the
leadership skills to do it, so I owed it to myself and the
community to do what I did."
Hoo's generosity can be traced back to her
roots.
"I had a strong support system when I was a
kid growing up," said Hoo. "I was involved in many things
because there was always volunteers who gave their time. It's
important for kids to have that. It feels really good to be
part of something such as giving back."
Hoo is a role model.
"Tierney struggled a bit this year," said
head coach Mike Clarke. "She was the focal point of our attack
and was guarded differently, but she stepped up and was
resilient down the stretch and in the playoffs for us. Tierney
is a role model and I see her impact on the team. The younger
players respect her. She's a good student athlete who's always
willing to give her time to other people. She's exactly who
these awards are designed for."
