Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term and meaningful goals. It is the ability to persist in something you feel passionate about and persevere when you face obstacles.

Brielle Minish is definitely a girl with grit and goals and she’s got her sights set on hockey. Minish is a grade seven student at Rosetown Central High School. The Minish family lives and farms near Herschel where you can often find the youngest of the Minishes working out, skating or shooting pucks, when she’s not on a tractor.

The defensive player started her hockey career at the age of five and now plays almost all year round. If she’s not running around for hockey, shes training for it and she doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon.

Minish played the 2018/2019 regular hockey season as a second year pee wee player with The Western Prairie Thunder. The Thunder were based out of Rosetown and centred out of Dodsland. Minish, who wore the captains jersey, came out third overall in the standings for the North Saskatchewan Female Hockey League with 59 points as a defensive player. Minish was also an affiliate player with the Elrose Aces Bantam team.

This fall and winter, when she wasn’t travelling for games all over the region, or heading to Dodsland Tuesdays and Thursdays for practices, she was on the road to Saskatoon where she was a student at the ‘Serious Academy of Hockey.’ SAH is a full or part time hockey education program who aims to create an opportunity for students with a passion for hockey to achieve their full potential in academics, athletics and citizenship.

“I go to SAH every Monday and Wednesday afternoon. We get to work out, skate, do hockey IQ and we sometimes do volunteer work or have guest speakers,” says Minish of the program that encourages students to be well rounded and give back to their communities.

With spring, came Xcel hockey and tournaments taking Minish as far as Winnipeg, Manitoba. Summer time will find Minish training in her new home gym and enjoying wake surfing at the lake.

Minish admits that the heavy schedule can be tough to balance at times. There are days where she is catching up on school work she’s missed before classes and homework in the car causes her work to look a little messier than she’d like.

Having a social life and keeping up with friends can be another struggle, “Friends don’t always understand why I’m away all the time and don’t have as much time to hang out with them as I’d like to,” claims Minish.

Minish has a true love of the game and says she never gets tired of hockey. She believes in working hard everyday and having confidence in yourself. Minish remains focused on her goals and perseveres by looking to her idols for inspiration.

“I would like to play midget AAA hockey next year and one day play for team Canada,” shares Minish. “My parents help me out quite a bit and I look to my idols Emily Clark and Jared Jagow for motivation.”

Minish adds, of her idols, “Emily Clark played for team Canada and I got to meet her and she just seemed like an amazing person; and Jared Jagow is a local hero who is also amazing and helps me out whenever I need.”

Minish is considering taking her core classes through the distance education program next year. This will allow her to work at her own pace and she jokes maybe get some better grades.