Silence filled the room. Then all of a sudden, as the winning goal was shot, the crowd jumped up with exhilarating joy. Screams filled the gymnasium as students cheered on the PHS team. Once again, one of the Palatine teams won The Doug Verdonck Floor Hockey Tournament. 

“Students in adapted PE classes were eligible to play,” Margaret Williams, a PH resource teacher said. “There were two teams from PHS. Team Strom and Esterquest. Esterquest won 3-2 against Elgin in the championships, and the team was awarded a puck that was hand-painted by a maintenance worker at PHS.”

“The tournament overall was awesome,” Williams said. “There was performances by pep squad, an acapella group, the national anthem was sung, and we even gave one of the teachers at PHS a puck as well, for his retirement this year. It was definitely a lot of fun, especially with all the cheering from the crowd.”

“Before other teams arrived, the Palatine students played against the faculty staff,” Williams said. “It was loads of fun, the staff were even put in wheelchairs and could only use their feet to roll around! It was really fun to watch.”

“We also had a cook out for anyone involved in the event,” Williams said. “We had hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and soda. This took place in the East gym. It was a wonderful opportunity to let all the teams socialize and congratulate one another.”

“The championship game took place in the main gym from 9:30-12:30,” Williams said. “I overall felt awesome about helping to run the tournament. It’s crazy to set up and organize, but once the day comes, it’s a really great feeling. All the kids have a wonderful time and get a lot of support from other’s, it’s really an amazing atmosphere to be around.”

This hockey tournament started in 1983 at Downer’s Grove South high school. PHS then took over the tournament in 1995, and has been going on ever since.