Shepleys share sporting spotlight
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Zack Shepley isn’t the only athlete in his family.

Shepley, who played 215 games over five seasons, completed his Ontario Hockey League career in 2007-08 as an overager with the Brampton Battalion. His sister, Jessica, is a professional golfer on the Duramed Futures Tour, a developmental tour of the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

Jessica, a 25-year-old in her fourth year on the tour, finished second May 18 at the Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship at Leawood, Kan. That result moved her into 11th spot on the tour’s money list.

“She’s been playing since she was 10,” defenceman Shepley said via telephone Tuesday. “She’s been doing pretty well and she’s been grinding it out on the Futures Tour for a few years now trying to make her way onto the LPGA tour. It’s fun to watch her.

“She’s worked really hard to get where she is. She’s spent a lot of days on the course. She’s had to work for everything she’s got, and it’s great to see where she is now.”

Shepley said his sister’s golfing life is far from glamourous.

“You have to drive to tournaments. There’s not the big money they make in the LPGA. It’s a pretty strong incentive to get to the next level.”

Shepley, who plans to caddy for his sister at a tour event this summer, said he plays golf with Jessica on occasion and benefits from her advice.

“I’ll go out with her once a year or so, and whenever we’re out she’ll give me some tips. They usually work for me. I’ll find I’m hitting the ball a lot farther and straighter.”

Jessica, who played in the 2006 Canadian Women’s Open, starred for four years at the University of Tennessee, becoming the second member of the Lady Volunteers to earn a top-five finish at the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship, finishing fifth at Opelika, Ala., in 2004. The shapely Shepley, who captained Tennessee for three years, is a former Ontario junior, amateur and junior match play champion.

The Battalion acquired rearguard Shepley, who turns 21 on Aug. 8, in a Dec. 7 trade with the Plymouth Whalers. He played 39 regular-season games, earning six assists, and five playoff games. Shepley, who had been sidelined after offseason back surgery last year, has consulted doctors with an eye to continuing his hockey career.

“I’ve been seeing doctors about my back, and if it gets better I’d like to keep going on with it. I’d like to keep playing, but my back has to get better. I don’t really want to grind out a career with a bad back.”

A member of the Plymouth team which won the OHL championship in 2006-07, Shepley played in the Memorial Cup tournament at Vancouver. The Whalers were defeated in the semifinal by the Vancouver Giants, who went on to beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, Western Hockey League champions, 3-1 in the final.

Shepley said he saw some of this year’s tournament, which was won by the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, who posted a 4-1 win Sunday over the host Kitchener Rangers in the final.

“I caught a couple of games on TV, and it brought back some memories. Last year we were a game away from playing for the Memorial Cup. I’ll remember that time for the rest of my life, and I’m sure all the guys who played this year will feel the same way.”