BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
Four years ago, John Grant Sr. and the late
Russ Farnell pioneered the minor lacrosse movement in
Sudbury.
They worked feverishly to introduce and
expand the game within the city limits.
Now, the fruits of their labour are exploding
as young lacrosse players practice their skills in arenas
across the city.
"Last year was a special year for us," said
Grant, the Greater Sudbury Lacrosse Association (GSLA)
president. "The competition was a lot better and scores were a
lot closer. The kids' skill level has picked up tremendously.
We had 31 teams last year with close to 400 kids playing
lacrosse. It was great."
2004 represented the first year that the GSLA
was involved with the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA). It
was marked with a special award.
"We won the OLA Promotion and Development of
Lacrosse award," said Grant. "It's credibility. We are
recognized throughout Ontario, and we get a chance to play
other teams in the OLA. Now, with us being associated with the
OLA, we can host provincial championships, and there will
be
opportunities for teams to come here and for
us to promote the city. It was certainly nice for our league to
get recognized with the award."
In 2004, Sudbury players participated in
several lacrosse events in Ontario. Grant believes this course
of action got the GSLA some much-needed attention.
"We are on the right path here in Sudbury
with lacrosse," Grant said. "We opened the their (OLA) eyes at
Ontario events. They were not expecting the talent that we
brought. At one tournament in Barrie, I heard a father from a
Barrie team say 'Oh, we play Sudbury, it should be an easy
win.' We
beat them 4-1 and surprised them."
The GSLA is holding two registration dates in
the next few weeks so more kids can join in and catch the fun
and excitement of lacrosse.
This Saturday, Feb. 26, kids can sign up to
play lacrosse at the Lo-Ellen Park High School gym from 10 am
to 4 pm.
A birth certificate and health card must
accompany the registration.
"Kids should remember to bring their sticks
because we will have shooting drills and skills competitions at
the registration," said Grant.
There will be another registration day on
Wednesday, March 2, at the Steelworkers Hall on Frood Road from
6 to 9 pm.
Each player can save $10 by registering
early. The GSLA has age divisions for kids born from 1984
through to 2000.
There will be a few new things in 2005 for
the GSLA. A 30-second shot clock will be added to games, and
league referees are upgrading to Level III status, which allows
them to referee games anywhere in Ontario.
"Everything is improving in the league," said
Grant. "We are shooting to have well balanced teams throughout
the league."
This year, Grant and his hard-working
executive committee have plenty of nifty ideas and events in
store for the kids.
"We are going to have the OLA run a coach's
clinic," said Grant. "We hope to entice the Toronto Rock (a
professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League) to
play an exhibition game in October to show Sudbury people the
game at a high level live. We would also try and run a clinic
for the kids during the day. We are working at that right now.
On Friday, Feb. 25, we will have kids playing an exhibition
lacrosse-skating game during the intermission at the Sudbury
Wolves home game. We will also have a table set up for
registration."
The GSLA encourages hockey players to join
lacrosse because the sport is seen as a perfect compliment to
hockey, as they share many of the
same skill sets.
"There is no question that lacrosse helped me
become a better all-round athlete, but more important to me are
the memories," said Detroit Red Wings' star Brendan Shanahan in
an OLA promotion release. "Small town rinks, competing for my
community, summer fun at tournaments, teammates and
family. These are some of my fondest memories
of my Mimico lacrosse days."
