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24-The Canadisu Champion, Tuesday, February 17, 2004 Milton boxer ready foi juip Lu [lhe pi ur(s Welterweight's debut likely to be in spring le % 2 1 By STEVE LeBLANC The Champion Mati Hart Jr. is set to leave the nest. Thiat's how the local pugilist describes his imminent jump to the professional ranks. Having pretty much exhausted al amateur competition over the past two years - and beaten most of his top oppo- nents - the outspokcn welterweight feels the titne has conie to, go pro. "I'm rcady for the challenge," stressed Hart Jr., who ends his amateur career witb seven knockouts and an overall record of 17-4. "AlI I've got left is to get a CAT sean. 1 should have nsy licence sometime in March." 'he 26-year-oid boxer - who's recently signed on with Brampton manager Joe Melich - believes hie has nothing left to prove at the amateur level, and coach Billie Martin agrees. "After an absoiuteiy awesome perfonus- ance at the provincials iast fail, we felt hie %v as ready (to tunm pro)." satd the Bramspton tiatiner wbo'li continue working with bis Miltont protegd following the inove. -Tiere's sot tssuch more he can achieve ici amteur. and .% ith Mati there 's the age fie- Without a points sy stem ai the pro les e!. 1iâïi Jr. svili iiw, have Io focus (oi puntcb qiîaiity ratîser tbati quaistity. Noicd Martins, "In amataeur it's store about volutme. Novts we've got to -et Mat iii relax on bis puisbes -tbros tssnay be tîve good ones instead of 10 quick ones. Tlsat's what the judges like Io sec.' Wiîh rounds iasting tbree minutes ai the pros. compared to îwo ici amateur, condi- îioîîiîg wili be a key factor as weil. But then with a strict training regiment and plenty of spanring work with seasoned vet- Mail Hart Jr. erans like Brian Mackie and BuzL Grant, Hart Jr. feels his stamnina is more than up 10 par. "Those gîtys don't take it easy oi nie ils ibete," hie quipped. "'Tve got to thatsk thein for gcîîiîsg me ready. Nisw il's tussie to shon case miyseif ail over agaits. At tise pi-os il's kiii ttc be kiiied.- Added Martus. 'Te becîs traiing Mati like a pro loc- a \vhiie no%\ anid fci tctnfi dent bie tais nake the adjustriseiss iteces- satF iii be SLiCCeSSfUi.« Wiii Missis'aîigaîs Hershey C'enstre is siated iii liosi a tard inci tid-April. M,îiliî said bt' expecîs bis Miltoni fighter s pro debut Ioi cocue soissews ete is Nets Yosrk oîr Micbigat iis spriîsg. But a 200(4 Canadian appearance isn«t out of the question. Said Hart Jr., "'d love to compete ini Catnada soon, especiaily around Bramptoni hecause that's like my home." ACTON SOCCER CLUB OUTDOOR SEASON 2004 REGISTRATION Dont get stuck on the sidelines, REQISTER EARLYI Programs for Youth Players born 1999 or earlier SPECIAL EARLY-BIRD PRICES: $85 for Under 5 / $95 for Under 7 and'UP (Post-dated cheques acceptable, any date, to end-Feb 2004) Includes SHIRT, SHORTS and SOCKS Prices increase at end of February by $25 per ployer and due to the growth in Acton, wait listing wiIl be probable after this-date. Register during regular business hours at: -ACTONS TIME OUT SPORTS 113 Mill St East Acton (519) 853-9597 bDRIBBLERS 185 Main St., Rockwood (519) 856-4635 LAST SCHEDULEb ACTION ARENA REGISTRATION EVENT: -Saturday February 2lst 2004 9am to lpm www.actonsoccer. or Milton Sprlngers Gymnastics Club member April Chappel (aboya and at left> shows off the skills that eamned her hlgh marks on both bats and floor routine durlng a recent provin- cial quslifylig meet In Brantford. She and her four competi- tive teammates have ail qualified for the Ontario champ!- onahips. '/Springers shine in Brantford Delivering an impressive kick-off to, I Love Gymnastics Week, the Milton Springers showcd strongly during their second provincial qualifying meet reccntly in Brantford. As a resuît, ail five miembera of the compctitive tcamn have now camced a berth lu the Ontario cham- pionships i April. Startmng dic lcamn off on thic riglit foot was nine- ycar-old Jossu Pineau-Levmnan. Thse Argu 1 coro- petilor placedi fourtis overail, due in large part to a silver-nuidal performance on thse vault. She finishc fourth on bars, while lier floor rosi- titi was gond enougli for sixtis. A Springer trio cf 10-yeax-olds wmatt asup Io thse challenge. Maddy Banuock seored 37 of 40 possi- ble pointsato place fiflh overall -securiug silver on vault sud bronze on floor along tIhe way. She alec tcck sixt on beatt andI seveulis on bats. wese close beiid in lise all-arund standings - cortnigsvendti an ight spcvely. Ch l's b est ffoswere eseedfr the hm, on wIs.clt she stlu4 silver She was fifiis ons floor, àxh obewn ad eighth on it valt Springers Notes Schradcr's campaigu alsoi included a silver-medal showsng - on the bearn - plus a fourth on floor snd seventh on both barn snd Uic vault. Not Ito be outdoms by ber younger Sprissger, Open 2 level gymnast Litsa Sotisiou claimied the clusb's only gold of<the weekend- with a ateliar 9.7 oui of 10 perfornsce on bars. A foustb on besam,sixthon fkôr and ighson the vault afforded lier an overall placing of sevenils. Having aledy qusftfed fer rncas, te lcal gymnasts aren't reqssired to conipate st next mthfls final q!aklier tru Mu*koka, While they February21 to 27, Locals help power Hurricanes Halton's AAA minor pcewees went undefeaîcd tbis year - thanks in large pant 10 a Milton- bascd foursomne, Jack Davis, Brandon Denhani, Scott Dcrmott and Michael Sgarbossa all avcragcd at lest a point a game during the Hurricanes' incredible 29-0-2 cam- paign. The Milton connection showed strongly througs thic final weekend of tic regular scason, which bcgan with Dcrniott sud Sgarbossa dent- ing thic twine in a 8-2 rout of Niagara Falls. Demott's marker was thic 200t for the team ini league play. From therc Denham scored in a 2-0 whitcwash of Oakvillc, whilc he sud Davis contributcd singles to a 3-1 scason-ending decision over Welland. In addition 10 dominating lcague play, Uic Hurricaucs won four of six toumarocuts - rcaching Uic scmifmnals sud quarterfmnals in Uic oUicr two. A 1.2 gosls-agamnst avcragc Uirough rcgular-scason play also speaks volumecs about Uic tcam's OMHA chamnpionship potcutial. The minoir pccwcca arc currcntly cnjoying a brief hiatus sud wiil begin Uic playoffu aI Uic end of the month. For more local sports, please see page 29.