Submitted by London Minor Lacrosse Association
For most lacrosse players, winter is a time to pack away the lacrosse stick and lace up the hockey skates. This makes sense, since lacrosse is Canada’s national summer sport, and hockey clearly takes over as our national winter sport when the snow flies. Most often, lacrosse during the winter months means nothing more than a trip down the 401 to cheer on the Toronto Rock. But for some very dedicated LMLA players and coaches, there simply is no off-season for the Creator’s game!
Obviously, field is the most difficult version of lacrosse to play year-round in Canada, so trips south of the border are necessary. Anahalihs Doxtator earned himself a spot on the Grand River Ironmen U11 team which travelled to Florida to take part in Dick’s Tournament of Champions. The Ironmen did very well against the best teams in North America, advancing to the quarterfinals with the help of Lihs’s 13 goals and 11 assists!
Midget boys Carter Hastings, Cole Wilkinson and Michael Asma joined players from Wallaceburg and Sarnia to form a Michigan tournament team called 519 ‘Stangs. Ron Elijah and his U13 Oneida Braves, also made up of players from Southwestern Ontario and beyond, travelled to Ohio, Michigan and New York, as well as the Dick’s championship in Florida. These boys came away not with trophies but with a great deal of experience that will serve them well once they hit the turf this spring at London’s Citywide Fields.
Not to be outdone by the boys, a number of Blue Devil girls are also busy this winter on the box lacrosse turf. A very dedicated group, including JJ van Goozen, Britt Anwyll Summers, Alexandra Dzialakiewicz, Justine Anwyll, Aubrey Elijah and Kasanahawi Lilamae Hill, make the trek to the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Six Nations twice weekly to play Winter League Lacrosse. These Midget/Intermediate girls are working hard to improve upon their provincial silver medal last season. A number of London boys are also enjoying this great program which often welcomes special guest coaches such as NLL goalie Matt Vinc.
Alex Bettencourt has spent time training at the Toronto Rock Athletic Center in Oakville, but she isn’t the only one who has played in this amazing facility. A handful of Peewee and Bantam boys had the honor of playing in the inaugural Junior NLL tournament, held at TRAC. In addition to wearing Rochester Knighthawk jerseys, they played by pro rules enforced by NLL refs and were coached by NLL greats including Paul and Dan Dawson, Johnny Powless and Chris Driscoll.
This summary of the offseason would not be complete without a shout-out to the many players who attended LMLA programs, including Try Lacrosse and the London Blue Devils Jr B Winter Skills Camp. Also, a special thanks goes to the LMLA Executive who has also been busy all winter working towards making the 2014 season our best yet!
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