Five Questions With Val Gotelaer

Valerie Gotelaer is a 15-year-old hockey player from Ridgetown, Ontario. Gotelear currently plays for the Kent County Fillies Midget girls hockey team.

A student at Ridgetown District High School, Gotelaer is active in her community, as a volunteer for local sports organizations, and last summer, as a fundraiser for A.L.L for Kids and the Big E Foundation, as she roller bladed from Windsor to London to raise funds for these organizations.

Below are Val Gotelaer’s answers to CKSN’s Five Questions.

1. What is your career sports highlight/top memory?

My career sports top memory was at the beginning of the hockey season last year, before we played any games we were in a tournament in Niagara Falls. We made it to the finals completely as the underdog playing against a big city Kitchener. I remember the other teams coaches telling our coaches that they had it in the bag. We forced overtime and had to go to a shootout. It took until the last shooter for us to win it. I can still remember the feeling on the bench as all the girls had our arms around each other watching our teammate shoot. It was a great feeling and an awesome start to our season.

2. Who is your favourite professional sports team and athlete?

My favorite professional sports team is the Toronto Maple Leafs, all though my favorite athlete is Max Domi of the London Knights. If it wasn’t for Max supporting the Big E Foundation for Ian Jenkins, I might not have came across his story that has changed my life.

3. If you could achieve one thing/goal in sports, what would it be?

At the beginning of this hockey season, my hockey team came up with a goal of qualifying for provincials in Toronto this year. Taking part in a tournament with such talent would be an awesome experience and competing to be the best would be even better.

4. Who has been your biggest sports influence and why?

My biggest sports influence is Ian Jenkins. Ian was a goaltender from the United States who tragically lost his life at age 15. His motto “Have a Purpose” and how he lived that motto has really inspired my life on and off the ice. All though I never got to meet Ian, his story has had tremendous influence on my life, and that’s something that I will use forever.

5. What do you love most about playing sports?

What I love most about playing sports is the life lessons it teaches me. It teaches me that you’re always going to face adversity, but the way you deal with it is how you are going to become a better person/player.

Five Questions is a weekly feature on the Chatham-Kent Sports Network. We’ll ask athletes from across Chatham-Kent Five Questions, and post their answers every week. If you know an athlete or coach we should question, or you’re an athlete or coach who would like to participate in “Five Questions,” please email us at ian@cksn.ca.