www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday April 26, 2008 - 37 Kent also serves as motivational speaker ■ Continued from page 36 Since his return, he has received several offers to per- form at motivational speaking seminars. Coincidentally, NEW one of those offers included speaking to a group of busi- FRIENDS: nesspeople regarding the relation to success in business Robert Kent (cen- and sport, and how the two can potentially overlap. ter) gathers with a While he may have found a new calling as a motiva- few friends he met tional speaker, Kent looks to the people around him for during his recent inspiration to complete new challenges. endurance race “It’s pretty amazing when you see what other people through the Sahara have done and you go, wow, if he can do that, and we Desert. both just did this, than maybe I should try that,” he said. It is that kind of reasoning that allows Rob Kent to walk the fine line between living dangerously — per- haps, to some, even foolishly — and experiencing some of the most wondrous sights the world has to offer.

— Adam Johnston is a student interning with the Beaver Greenham not a fan of NCAA rule Tyke Rangers champs in Pickering The Oakville tyke AAA Rangers After that, the Rangers were unbeat- Scott Greenham understands the NCAA’s eli- Teammate Oliver Wren, who backed up bounced back from an opening-game able. They rolled over Barrie 10-3, dou- gibility rules. He just doesn’t like them. Greenham throughout the Provincial Junior A loss to win five straight and capture the bled Peterborough 6-3 and topped Thursday, the date of his 21st birthday, Hockey League playoffs, might make it a bit eas- championship at the recent Pickering A Georgina 6-1 to set up the rematch with Greenham chose to stop playing goal for the ier to deal with. Pressed into action after going Hockey Tournament. Newmarket. this season so that he could nearly two months without seeing any meaning- The Rangers edged Ajax 4-3 in the Team members are Patrick Maloney, maintain his full NCAA hockey eligibility at the ful action, Wren stopped 21 of 23 shots Thursday championship game and Oakville’s Dominik Gombas, Vic Hadfield, Nolan University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Under NCAA and earned Oakville player-of-the-game hon- Curtis Douglas was named the tourna- James, Lukas Georgas, Conner Pickford, regulations, had Greenham continued to play ours. ment’s most valuable player. Aidan Child, Jason Blackburn, Will with the Blades after turning 21, he would have He also earned a big post-game hug from Oakville blanked Newmarket 1-0 in McAllister, Harrison Rees, Jack Mogus, forfeited a year of NCAA eligibility. Greenham, who watched the game in the stands the semifinal. It was Newmarket that Jared Rein, Curtis Douglas, Matt That meant walking away from a group that with Wren’s father, Karl. handed the Rangers a 4-1 loss in the first Hayami, Alex Pain, Davis Boulding and he had helped lead to the “I thought we’d win, but for Olie to be the game of the tournament. Will Barber. Central junior A hockey championships, number one star, that’s great for him,” said a group that is now only a win away from Greenham, still sporting his thick playoff beard. advancing to the RBC Royal Bank Cup national “”(Wren’s) dad was just going crazy and couldn’t Oak-Land Ford Lincoln tournament. handle himself. I’m ecstatic for Olie.” “It was a tough decision but it wasn’t,” Greenham and the Blades thought they had Greenham said Thursday night, following the worked out a compromise that would have Blades’ 5-2 win over the allowed him to finish the season with Oakville, that earned Oakville a bye to Saturday’s Dudley but those plans ultimately fell through. Hewitt final. “In the end, schooling is a big fac- He has writen an appeal essay to the NCAA, tor. You kind of need those four years (of eligi- hoping to be allowed to rejoin the Blades if bility) to get through them. Oakville advances to the RBC Royal Bank Cup. 2008 2008 “I understand (the rule), but at the same time “I had to give reasons why I should be able to you should be able to play until the end of your play in the RBC and everything,” said season, especially with hockey,” he continued. Greenham, whose main point in the essay was “It doesn’t interfere with NCAA hockey. To have the value of national championship experience a rule that means I have to sit out the final week to a student-athlete. “I sent it in a couple of days and a half of the season is just tough to deal ago and am waiting to hear back.” with.” — Jon Kuiperij Sparks busts out of slump with winner Lindsay Sparks might have been think- Hockey League final against Markham, said he benefitted from ing about trying to break his thumb again. watching his teammates from the stands. The Oakville Blades forward scored his “You can see what players do wrong and what players do right. Registration first goal in more than a month Thursday Then you can come on the ice and actually put that into play,” he Now Open in Newmarket, providing the game-win- said. “In some ways (the injury) was good, and in some ways it ner in the Blades’ 5-2 victory over the was bad. If we didn’t win, it would have been a whole different Dudley Hewitt Cup host Hurricanes. story.” Volunteers The last time Sparks had scored, twice in a 4-1 win over the March Needed! 22, he was playing with a broken thumb. Senior Men’s 35+ Recreational Soccer 905-845-2571, He played three more games against League Expanded For 2008 Season Aurora before having surgery on the thumb, and returned to the Blades’ lineup Limited number of spots available for Tuesday’s Dudley Hewitt Cup opener. Begins Late May “I hurt it when I had two goals, and fig- $ ured why not keep playing with it?” said only 150 the 17-year-old local resident. “But it is Contact Frank 416-807-3664 one of those things that if you keep play- [email protected] ing with it, it will hurt you for life.” Sparks, who was replaced in the lineup Oakville Men’s Soccer Club by Matt Ribeiro in the Provincial Junior A www.soccerweb.ca ord Lincoln