Winnipeg Fusion Strives For Success

Winnipeg's Fusion has been an elite-level women's team in Canada for years. With a direct pipeline to a striving youth scene,  the team continues to evolve as true contenders. We interviewed Karen Hatch, a mainstay for Fusion, and asked her questions about the year leading up to WUCC. 

What are Fusion's goals for the tournament?

Our goals for this worlds are more qualitative than quantitative. With a lower initial ranking than expected, we are going in with an attitude to use our skills of speed and chemistry to push us up the rankings. We are running some new systems this season, and we are excited to implement them. Fusion is wanting to play to the best of our abilities, as a collective and as individuals. The reflection post-worlds will determine how well we met our qualitative goals!

What do you think of your pool?

I think our pool is quite diverse. We know lots about Brute Squad since we've played them multiple times in the past few years, and expect them to come out in the top of our pool. We do not know much about the other teams, but we are not going to be underestimating them, since we know Colombia has a growing program. We want to keep our third seed in our pool, but push for that second spot if we are in a situation where we can attain that. 

How is the team bonding this year? Has pre-Worlds training been successful?

We did some off-season weight training this winter, which has improved our overall power and agility (something we were excited to see)! Having this training created more time for us to bond off the field which is always important. I believe that we have increased our stamina overall this season despite the shorter amount of prep time, and we are excited to see how we match up. Fusion has had the same core group of women for the past 4-5 years, so our bond is already strong. With every addition of novice fusion players, we see every player step up into their role which makes our team something special.

Anything else you'd like to say?

We have picked up two out of town players- Katherine Pohran and Sarah Norton. They joined us in Eugene, OR for a tournament and they fit our team puzzle perfectly. We are all excited to see them perform for Fusion this coming week!