Team Apparel & Gift-Giving Guide
From: The Lacrosse Journal
By: Andy Watson
December, 2003
OTTAWA -- It really struck me when I was walking through the streets of
Ottawa and I saw someone wearing a Vancouver Ravens jersey while leaving
Tim Hortons with his double double.
Finally, lacrosse has found a place in the hearts of Canadians
(naturally, as it's our national summer sport).
Since the National Lacrosse League's Ontario Raiders settled in Hamilton
in the late 90s - evolving into the Toronto Rock soon after - lacrosse
in Canada has taken off.
It's not just in registration numbers or the growth of the game in
non-traditional areas, it's also in marketing where the game's already
popular.
Cross-promotions with minor lacrosse programs, coupled with increased
television coverage (The Score will broadcast 15 regular season games
this year nationally) is causing lacrosse fans to ask for more. It's
even the case in towns, like Ottawa, where there is no longer a
professional team (the Ottawa Rebel folded last season).
While the NLL itself may be struggling for longevity and security in
more than 50 per cent of its markets - most notably New York, Ottawa,
Columbus and New Jersey teams that relocated or folded after the end of
last season - the game is more than an after thought with its fans.
Thanks in large part to the expansion of the NLL to major North American
centres, some completely foreign to indoor lacrosse, the game can only
expect to remain in a positive light.
This should be the first professional lacrosse league to survive - based
soley on the success of marketing programs. Past leagues failed because
of poor financial management, a lack or marketing or simply because the
fad died out.
The NLL won't join its predecessors as a ghost in semi-professional
sports history, because the game has become too important to too many
people.
I think back to the young man wearing the Ravens jersey in the streets
of Ottawa - a city that adopts many Canadians for co-ops, short-term
contracts and education on a termporary basis - and wonder what else is
out there for him as the holiday season approaches.
Naturally, one would expect an abundance of gifts for lacrosse fans at
this time of year, but in past years they've been hard to find.
I decided to go for a tour to the sports shops and sports merchandise
vendors in the city and I was pleasantly surprised to find Toronto Rock
jerseys, old Rebel hats and a slew of other NLL products at the city's
most popular sports shop on Sparks Street.
Lacrosse gear hung from the shelves of sports equipment shops like Play
it Again Sports, Figure 8 and Lacroix Sports, even though hockey season
is in session.
It's a promising sign for lacrosse. The game is here to stay.
HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS
If you're thinking about what to get your lacrosse junkie for Christmas,
here are a few suggestions, and where to find them.
Upon returning from the streets, I surfed the net for some lacrosse gift
ideas. Again, I was impressed with the variety I found:
OLD FAVOURITES:
If you don't own The War on the Floor DVD, it's a must buy for any
lacrosse fan. Packed with goals, great saves and bone-crushing hits, the
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em-style production is a great gift for fans old and new.
http://www.sportsposterwarehouse.com/warehouse/waronthefloordvd.htm
There's always NLL jerseys and memorabilia, which can be purchased at
many sports stores or online at www.nllclub.com.
http://www.nllclub.com/
NEW ON THE MARKET:
The Minto Cup DVD, edited and compiled by The Lacrosse Journal, is a
great gift for any boxla fan. It's packed with interviews, highlights
and memorable moments from the Canadian Junior A box lacrosse
championship.
There's also ornaments featuring Santa Claus playing lacrosse Christmas
ornaments featuring Santa Claus playing lacrosse
http://www.lacrossespecialties.com/
Despite the Web site's name, there are other great gift ideas at
www.girlslacrossegear.com, including pendants, coaching and refereeing
gifts and even jewelry.
http://www.girlslacrossegear.com/gifac.html
For your clothing needs, check out RudeBoys' line of apparel designed
and produced by NLL players.
WHEN IN DOUBT: Get a gift certificate for a sports store that sells
lacrosse equipment and go with your loved one or kids to the store and
help them pick something out that they like. For a taste of what's out
there, check www.elacrosse.com or www.laxworld.com (there's even a mini
net and set of mini sticks listed here!).
http://www.laxworld.com/catalog.php?class=gifts
Good luck shoppers. And remember to help support the game this holiday
season. There's more out there than just jerseys, but so few know about
the lacrosse memorabilia market even exists.
From: The Lacrosse Journal
By Andy Watson
Friday October 24, 2003
OTTAWA -— Victoria is a lacrosse hotbed.
Like Whitby, St.Catharines, Burnaby, Mimico, New Westminster and Six
Nations, B.C.’s provincial capital is rich in lacrosse history. But what
makes Victoria extraordinary is that it’s not a tough, working-class
town, nor a huge metropolis capable of producing good athletes just
based on odds. Victoria is truly unique and that’s what gives it an edge
in producing Canada’s top lacrosse talent.
Aside from a suitable climate, rich history and great coaching, what
makes the provincial capital so lacrosse-friendly is its training
potential; in particular a number of outdoor lacrosse boxes that haven’t
been converted into basketball courts or roller-hockey hangouts.
Showing up to Braefoot Lacrosse Box on McKenzie Avenue to coach, referee
or play at the same box as Gary and Paul Gait, Tom Marachek and Kevin
Alexander was always special. Now in Ottawa, I’m wishing I had access to
a lacrosse box where I could relive these memories and see the next
young Gait develop into a star.
Unfortunately, like most other North Americans, I don’t have that
luxury.
In fact, it’s really tough to find somewhere to bang the ball off the
boards or work on shooting.
Victorians have reason to smile.
They have access to lacrosse boxes year-round, and that may just an edge
at developing talent – it’s no secret why so many good players have come
out of the City of Gardens.
Players are told countless times in sport ‘to be good at something you
have to practice.’ In most Canadian towns, lacrosse junkies have to
settle for a brick wall or their carport – the ice is up in the arenas,
quite often by August, and for eight months of the year there’s nowhere
else to play.
Maybe it’s truer in lacrosse than any other sport, where knowing your
stick and being able to play both ways is the secret to being successful
in the pro game.
To do that, you need practice, and playing at an outdoor box is the
easiest way to get it.
Looking at lacrosse’s greatest two-way Canadian players, the Gaits
certainly are the first to come to mind. I remember hearing stories of
how they would go to the box every day and work on their stick skills,
switching hands and trying new shots.
Being able to play year round – of course, it rarely snows on Vancouver
Island – outdoors and work on your game 12 months in the year, is also a
huge advantage. Having eight outdoor boxes for a town of 350,000 helps
too.
The talent continues to pour out off the Island, and in particular in
Victoria.
The evidence speaks for itself. Four of the top 12 picks in the 2003 NLL
draft played on Vancouver Island this year, three were raised on the
Island with lacrosse boxes in their backyards.
Victoria-native Ryan Ward is the next great star in this game. One of
the WLA’s top rookies last year, he was the team’s leading scorer in his
sophomore year of Canadian senior boxla and led his Victoria Shamrocks
to a Mann Cup this season. And as a standout midfielder at Butler
University in Indianapolis, Ward received many accolades including
several all-star selections. He could very well be the NLL’s top rookie
this season when he suits up with Philadelphia.
Other future stars who honed their skills in Victoria include Kelly Hall
(Whittier College/Vancouver), Nanaimo-born Scott Ranger (San Jose),
Chris McKay (Butler, drafted in late 90s by Toronto), Buck Stobbart
(Canada’s National Jr. Rugby Team/Rochester), Ted Jenner (Anaheim),
Tyler Heavenor (Adelphi/Vancouver), Andrew Biers (Whittier College/San
Jose), Curtis Smith (Ohio State/Colorado), Sterling Mitchell (Calgary),
Graham Palmer (Colorado), Nick Patterson (Burnaby Jr. A/Vancouver) and
Matt King (Calgary).
With a track record like this, it's only a matter of time before
Victoria produces another Gait. If other communties would make the
investment in a couple of outdoor boxes, they might even get there
first.
Fastest Game on Two Feet
Too Fast?
From: The Lacrosse Journal
By Andy Watson
Friday October 24, 2003
OTTAWA —- As I sit here and ponder what to write on the eve of the NLL
Entry Draft, scheduled for Saturday October 25 in Toronto, I can’t help
but think of how much the game has changed in the past five years, let
alone the past 12 months.
Teams in the professional indoor league have come and gone, players too;
but one constant has remained since the NLL arrived in Canada: the game
is growing and, perhaps, too fast.
Since 1998, lacrosse registration in field and box lacrosse in Canada
totaled just fewer than 28,000. Last season, more than 53,000 were
playing in eight provinces and Nunavut
While registration increases at an alarming rate, the ratio of coaches
and referees is not growing as quickly.
This presents a simple problem with a seemingly simple solution:
actively recruit more coaches and referees by encouraging new parents
and fans to become involved in the game.
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.
I’m a referee and I’ve seen first hand how pushing the growth of the
game too fast can deteriorate the game. I've seen games officiated by
under-qualified referees, managed by inexperienced coaches and played by
under-instructed players, all in the name of "growing the game."
The resulting consequences: poorer and rougher play, and frustrated
coaches and parents who take it out on young referees.
Referee development in Canada continues to struggle with the retention
of first- and second-year referees because of the lack of development
programs and the abuse they take from parents and sometimes even coaches
and players too.
Without strong referee development in all regions of the country, the
game becomes plagued with inconsistency from province to province and
even zone to zone within provinces. What’s called a cross-checking
penalty in St. Catharines (outside that dotted line) might not be called
a penalty in, let’s say Nepean. But what is called a hit from behind in
Gloucester may only be called a crosscheck in Fort Erie. Why? Because
some regions have good supervision programs.
They are the exception.
Due to the alarming increase in the number of players and teams, more
referees suited to help younger referees develop are being forced to
work on the floor themselves, instead of helping out in the stands and
dressing rooms with evaluations, clarifications of rules and
encouragement.
In coaching the problem is just as bad.
Many coaches are taking on four or five teams. As I’ve witnessed, some
coaches in this situation don’t even know the kids’ names. This is
hardly encouraging for little Johnny, who’s playing lacrosse for the
first time in his life and wants to know if he’s doing something right
or wrong.
Kids love to hear their name called out by coaches – especially when
they’ve done something right.
The solution to the coaching conundrum is this: limit the number of
teams one person can coach and actively recruit other coaches whether it
be from other sports like hockey or basketball or from the stands.
Provide these people with the quality coaching programs we offer and get
them behind the benches.
In a perfect world, this would work. But the reality is that there will
still be too many kids left without the proper attention they need from
a coach.
So the only logical solution is to cap the registration.
The lack of indoor summer facilities safe and suitable for lacrosse has
helped out a little bit in this regard, but in areas like Ottawa, Whitby
and St. Catharines they crunch the amount of floor time a kid can get in
practice and instead it’s games, games, games. Again, this is a
deterrent for kids who are new to the game.
While the suggested cap may make me sound like a tyrant and a kid-hater,
I’m far from any of these descriptors. The registration cap would
actually keep more kids in the game five years down the road. I’ve heard
several new parents complain that lacrosse looks fun but that it’s not
fun when the kids get on the floor. They say the major reasons are that
the coaches don’t know what they’re doing and little Johnny doesn’t get
the opportunity to learn new skills.
Instead he’s moving on to the next tournament or house-league game to
sit on the bench while kids with five more years of experience are out
scoring the goals.
So the growth of the game isn’t just a good thing. Lacrosse
administrators reading must remember too much growth too quickly will
provide with sloppy delivery of services and eventually when kids have
bad experiences they won't register the following season.
It’s no secret that the registration dropped off in the past for the
same reasons, because lacrosse was no longer fun.
Let’s look at history and learn from the mistakes of the past.
It’s the fastest game on two feet, and one of the fastest growing games.
Let’s take smaller steps to ensure the game can grow for years to come.
Lacrosse Spreads Wings
Into Northern Canada - Pro Game Flourishes
By Andy Watson: St.Catharines Standard
"This article was first published in The Standard newspaper,
an Osprey newspaper www.stcatharinesstandard.ca"
Tuesday August 19, 2003
ST.CATHARINES -- Jim Burke can't wait for the summer to end.
The Canadian Lacrosse Association President is excited about this fall
when a group of Nunavut teens will travel to Calgary to compete in the
under-16 national field lacrosse championships.
It's exciting to see lacrosse reaching new regions of Canada and with
the growth of the sport, new opportunities are arising for players and
markets for the game, Burke said.
Through rapid growth and a significant increase in participation, star
players may one day be able to play for a living. But, for now, that's
not a goal for organizers in regions still learning the game.
Ross Sheppard, a lacrosse organizer in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, feels the
sport is popular in his region because of its low cost and the life
skills it teaches.
"This sport preaches on discipline and that's important in Aboriginal
communities," he said. "Those disciplined in the game are disciplined
outside the game in life."
After lacrosse was introduced in Nunavut two years ago, improved
discipline in teens is noticeable. There hasn't been a teen suicide in
the small town in which there were 19 teen suicides the previous two
years.
Now in its second year (with startup costs of only $12,000), more than
100 players are participating in Kugluktuk, Baker Lake and Rankin Inlet,
with 68 in Kugluktuk alone.
Team Grizzly will compete in Calgary for the Alumni Cup, the Canadian
Lacrosse Association's under-16 national championship.
"We're happy to see the growth," Burke said. "It's great for our sport."
With all the changes, new opportunities may follow at the professional
level, according to some players.
Steve Toll, 29, can foresee playing lacrosse as a full-time job as the
game's exposure continues to reach new markets -- in Canada at the minor
level and in the U.S. at the professional level.
Phoenix and Minnesota could join Anaheim and San Jose with new NLL
squads next year. The move of the Albany Attack to San Jose has been
approved for next season, as has the relocation of the New Jersey Storm
to Anaheim.
Reports indicate the Columbus Landsharks may move to Phoenix, with Wayne
Gretzky as a part owner.
The moves to secure U.S. markets are crucial to the future success of
the league, Toll said.
"I think there would have to be maybe four more teams in the (pro)
league, and every team with attendance 8,000 or over. It could happen."
The more established the league becomes, the easier it is to gain
sponsorship and television contracts, which translate into more
opportunity for players, he said.
"The game is on the upswing," Brock University field lacrosse head coach
Mike Accursi said. "Ten years from now, I hope guys can make a living on
playing this game, doing something they love full time."
Accursi, who plays for the Buffalo Bandits in the NLL and the Rochester
Rattlers in the MLL, says there are more opportunities than ever.
As the game reaches new markets in the U.S. at the professional level,
parts of Canada are getting their first exposure to lacrosse.
In the past five years, more than 30 new associations have surfaced in
Canada, including the three in Nunavut.
Western Ontario is starting to express interest in minor lacrosse.
Thunder Bay will likely be an OLA member next year, OLA president Chuck
Miller said.
Thunder Bay's interest in lacrosse was sparked earlier this year when
Toronto Rock captain Jim Veltman helped out at a player development
camp. It's one of many camps slated to be held at cities in Ontario and
nationwide to promote the game.
Part of the reason for the development camps is instruction from pros
seen on TV, like Veltman and his Toronto Rock teammates.
Before the NLL, player development camps were not readily available to
young players, who often had to travel to the United States for advanced
lacrosse instruction. The camps, now held across the province, can cost
between $50 and $100.
"These camps provide excellent opportunity for player development and
growth," Miller said.
Knowing pro hockey players like Joe Nieuwendyk, Wayne Gretzky, Brendan
Shanahan, Adam Oates and others played lacrosse has helped as well.
Canadian players are now more frequently considered for U.S. college
scholarships thanks to the NLL's exposure in Canada. St. Catharines
Junior A's Matt Vinc, Sean Greehalgh and Matt Hajek are all scholarship
players.
"The talent base is here," Miller said.
Because of this steady growth, the six-team Major league in Ontario may
expand to an eight-team league next year. There may also be expansion in
the senior B and junior A leagues.
This fall, Ottawa will bid for a junior A team to start play in the 2005
season, and, if approved, it would be the easternmost junior A centre
ever. Meanwhile, Windsor, Mississauga and London all want to secure
senior B or Major clubs beginning next season.
There is discussion about holding national minor box lacrosse
championships again, something that hasn't been done since the early
1980s.
There will even be changes at this year's Minto Cup, featuring four
teams for the first time in history. After a round-robin format, the top
two teams will play a best-of-three final series. Eventually, the CLA
wants a host team to receive an automatic berth to the Minto Cup, Burke
said. The entire format is modelled on the Canadian Hockey League's
Memorial Cup.
This is the fifth in a series of articles detailing the state of
lacrosse in Canada.
Lacrosse Renaissance
Sparked By Pro Game
The Growth Of NLL Has Undeniable Impact At
The Grassroots Level
By Andy Watson: St.Catharines Standard
"This article was first published in The Standard newspaper,
an Osprey newspaper www.stcatharinesstandard.ca"
Wednesday August 13, 2003
ST.CATHARINES -- Bob Luey sits in a small office in the back of the Bill
Burgoyne Arena studying the opponent’s lineup for the Junior A Athletics
upcoming lacrosse game.
It’s Wednesday, the traditional game night, and the smell of liniment
pours from the dressing room down the hall an hour prior to the 8 p.m.
start time.
Luey’s two-time defending Ontario champions are favoured to repeat again
this year and the GM/head coach looks comfortable with the task of
ensuring the team lives up to those expectations. But the game plan is
simpler when you have talented players.
Even though many players will be lost to graduation, it doesn’t concern
Luey. There’s a steady supply of young talent. They’re being attracted
to the sport by the National Lacrosse League’s media exposure which has
caused an explosion of popularity, Luey said.
And even if the St. Catharines junior Athletics general manager/head
coach doesn’t like some of the changes it’s bringing with it, the NLL
can only help keep talented athletes in the game, ensuring a bright
future for his club.
The NLL’s partnership with the Canadian Lacrosse Association has sparked
significant growth in minor lacrosse registration nationwide by exposing
the game to new audiences. In St. Catharines, minor box lacrosse
registration has doubled in the past five years.
It’s providing Luey and other junior A general managers with a better
crop of young players to build their programs.
“The NLL is only a great thing (for junior lacrosse), it’s absolutely
helped us,” Luey said.
He dislikes pro game rules recently adopted in box lacrosse and some
equipment changes spurred by an increase in manufacturers since the
NLL’s arrival, but he knows the importance of marketing the sport.
Box lacrosse is attracting new fans and grabbing the attention of
parents looking to register their kids in sports, as the game is
evolving into a faster, higher-scoring and goon-free game. The changes
in box lacrosse are a byproduct of new rules experimented with by the
NLL.
Now, at all levels of the sport: the 30-second shot clock runs during
all possessions; an attacking team is awarded possession for shots
hitting the goalie and travelling out of bounds; there are fewer
faceoffs and stronger equipment guidelines; and, major senior teams
meanwhile increased the width of the net by 15.24 centimetres.
Because of these changes, Ontario Lacrosse Association president Chuck
Miller said there are less goons in the Canadian game. The NLL rules
adopted in box lacrosse have helped the Canadian game to retain skilled
players, making it a faster and higher scoring game.
“The NLL has made the Major series a better game than it would have
been,” he said.
Some concepts used by the NLL are not popular in Canada, most notably
pop music blasted out of speakers during play and TV timeout gimmicks
aimed at entertaining the crowd.
But interest in the game is on the upswing — especially in areas where
the game has suffered.
Pro teams in Calgary and Vancouver have helped to boost minor
associations in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia.
New associations in Lincoln, West Durham, Stayner, Brockville,
Kemptville and in Montreal in the past two seasons have boosted OLA
numbers.
In British Columbia, growth in minor lacrosse has spread to northern
Vancouver Island, the interior and the Kootenays.
Jeff Gombar, marketing director for the British Columbia Lacrosse
Association, said his association has a unique partnership with the
NLL’s Vancouver Ravens. It has helped attract more young kids to play
the game.
“We have built a relationship since Day 1 of the franchise,” he said.
“We have done many programs together over the past two years.”
These include: skills and talent camps; school development sessions;
ticket coupon promotion distribution; provincial championships; and, the
co-sponsoring of T-shirt and hat giveaways to athletes.
These promotions have helped both the Ravens and the BCLA to get their
name out in previously untargeted markets.
“The Ravens are an avenue for us to grow our sport and put it in the
spotlight,” he said. “Through BCLA development programs, the Ravens and
(televised) NLL games, our participation has grown almost 20 per cent
each of the past three years (13,500 plus) and we expect that to be the
same for 2003, if not more.”
Part of this can be attributed to the television exposure with the NLL
and the recent World Indoor Lacrosse Championships. Both the WILC and
now the senior Major leagues in Ontario and British Columbia (Western
Lacrosse Association) are using some gimmicks that mimic the NLL.
“At first, I was very opposed to the idea of the Toronto Rock paying
(CTV) Sportsnet to televise their games,” admitted Luey. “I was
skeptical and I was one of the biggest critics. But that has been so
huge to the growth of the game."
The partnership between the OLA and NLL has pros and cons.
“On the one hand there’s no cash changing hands, but we are benefiting
by doing promotions with the Toronto Rock,” Miller said.
These include being able to participate in 50/50 fundraisers at Rock
home games, player talent identification camps and player clinics across
the province.
“The thing we have to remember is that the NLL isn’t rich in money,”
Miller said. “It would be nice to get training or development money
because there’s not development fees coming back from the league.
Luey agrees but said the NLL needs to find stable markets where they can
make partnerships.
“They’re moving in the right directions but they need to find their
proper markets. That’s 12 teams in 12 NHL (National Hockey League)
cities.”
Miller would eventually like to see some of the NLL’s profit from
television contracts and gate revenues come back to the development
level in Ontario.
“Most pro sports do give money back. We’re still building a
relationship. I think it’s a reflection of where the NLL sits financially.”
This is the third in a series of articles detailing the state of
lacrosse in Canada.
Go West, Young Men
Number of Ontario Players Heading To B.C. Teams
Is Putting Mann Cup Playoffs In Jeopardy
By Andy Watson: St.Catharines Standard
"This article was first published in The Standard newspaper,
an Osprey newspaper www.stcatharinesstandard.ca"
Tuesday August 12, 2003
ST.CATHARINES -- Budding lacrosse star Brodie Merrill should have been
suiting up for the St.Catharines Major Athletics this season.
Instead, the team’s draftee and former Orangeville Northmen junior A
standout is playing in British Columbia with the Coquitlam Adanacs. He
joins several players at the centre of a major controversy in Canadian
box lacrosse politics.
The Western Lacrosse Association in B.C. is taking talent away from
Ontario teams and putting the Mann Cup in jeopardy.
It’s forcing Ontario general managers to wonder who may be next. Could
St. Catharines junior stars Sean Greenhalgh, Craig Conn, or even goalie
Matt Vinc from the junior Athletics be scooped up by the West?
Normally, graduating Ontario juniors play major lacrosse for the team
that drafts them in the provincial draft. But more frequently now, this
isn’t the case, OLA Major commissioner Jim Brady said.
“There’s a disagreement between the WLA and major leagues over player
transfers from one league to another that has put the Mann Cup somewhat
in jeopardy,” he said. “There’s some concern that there many not be a
Mann Cup if things aren’t resolved.”
The player transfer conflict is not new. Even in the early 1950s, there
were players heavily recruited by the Western teams. But the offers are
getting harder these days for Ontario players to refuse.
The CLA should adopt a provincial policy on player transfers at the
national level that would be consistent in all provinces, Brady said. It
would prohibit a player moving from one league to another without a
release from his original team — unless there’s a bona fide reason (job,
family, etc.). If he is released, the team acquiring him may have to pay
financial compensation.
“The block continues to be the fact that people who know what should be
done aren’t in those positions to do it,” Brady said.
Shawn Williams, 29, is another Ontario star lost to the lure of the
mountains and money on the West Coast. He’s playing with the Adanacs in
search of a Mann Cup.
“They really treat you well out here,” said Williams, an attacker with
Brock’s field lacrosse team from 1995-1999 and the Badgers’ current head
coach.
“Obviously I’d like to win another Mann Cup,” said the member of the
2000 champion Brooklin Redmen.
“The chance to play with Curt Malawsky, John Grant Jr.… You don’t want
to turn that down.”
Williams is receiving cash, a rental car, a place to stay and a job
while playing in Coquitlam. The teams also paid for the flights of
Williams and his family. But the Scarborough native said he understands
why Ontario teams are upset.
“It’s so hard because Ontario is losing its players. It doesn’t happen
too often the other way with B.C. players going to Ontario,” he said.
“Certainly Ontario teams are getting bitter about it. Basically, if
you’re a player living in Ontario you can (get) up and leave.”
The CLA says there’s very little it can do.
“There’s a history of mistrust between the East and West,” CLA president
Jim Burke said.
And meetings to address the player-transfer problem in June solved
nothing.
“If things aren’t resolved, Ontario will not send a team to the Mann
(Cup),” he said.
With more players travelling West to play, this bitter rivalry has
heated up. It’s putting Canada’s oldest national championship in
jeopardy.
Merrill, Williams, Jim Veltman, Matt Roik, Tracey Kelusky, John Grant
Jr. and John Tavares are all playing in the WLA. All were raised and
trained in minor lacrosse associations in Ontario.
Compensation would be a viable solution to the player transfer problem,
Brady said.
“The CLA has made it an open house on recruitment of Ontario juniors. It
must stop. If the best juniors can go West for zippo, then we’ll have
lopsided teams and no compensation for players.”
Teams in the WLA like Coquitlam and the Victoria Shamrocks are providing
perks Ontario team can’t afford, he said.
Since the National Lacrosse League settled in Canada, the demand for
money in the summer box lacrosse leagues has skyrocketed and it’s
professionalizing the amateur game.
Players like Williams who are now spending as much as 10 months a year
away from their families, want compensation to cover costs in Ontario,
such as mortgage payments.
In the past, some teams in the Ontario summer league — notably Six
Nations and Akwesanse — have shelled out as much as $30,000 for top
scorers, with team budgets approaching $100,000.
WLA teams have no problem paying players. Shamrocks general manager
Lloyd Robbie openly admitted it.
“I believe in the fact that (Ontario teams) have a tremendous amount of
talented juniors,” he said. “I have no problems paying for them in the
end of it all.”
One major hurdle is that the WLA and OLA major commissioners no longer
have adequate negotiating power, Burke said. Thirty major players have
moved provinces this year, but only two cases were challenged and had to
be reviewed by the CLA.
The two cases involved Williams — Coquitlam had to pay Brooklin $4,500
in compensation — and Merrill, who the major Athletics drafted but
watched go West to Coquitlam without compensation.
In the CLA review process, both sides present a final offer position
paper and the CLA has to chose one side and not a midpoint between the
two offers, Burke said.
“There has to be a willingness to sit down and find a compromise.”
The Mann Cup, between the WLA and Ontario Major league champions, is
scheduled for September in British Columbia. Last year, Brampton
Excelsiors defeated the Victoria Shamrocks 4-3.
This is the second in a series of articles detailing the state of
lacrosse in Canada.
Change Is The One Constant
Lacrosse in Canada Has Come A Long Way Since
The Days Of Wooden Sticks
By ANDY WATSON: St.Catharines Standard
Sunday August 03, 2003
ST.CATHARINES -- St.Catharines resident Jim Brady has been involved with
lacrosse since he was a child.
He recalls carrying a wooden Matthew Etienne stick and playing box
lacrosse in Oshawa as a 16-year-old.
It was a time when players didn’t always wear helmets — and when they
did, there were no facemasks or mouth guards. Getting cut wasn’t
uncommon.
Growing up, he saw Oshawa develop into a lacrosse hotbed with teams in
Clarington, Oshawa and Whitby becoming provincial powerhouses. Around
him, other blue-collar towns welcomed the game and saw it change.
For him, and other veterans of the game, change is nothing new to
lacrosse.
Once a game natives used to settle territorial disputes — called
baggataway, an Iroquois word meaning little brother of war — the game is
now played in three varieties: box, field and a hybrid of both played at
the professional level.
As Canada’s national summer sport continues to evolve, the tradition of
Canada’s popular box lacrosse game is in jeopardy.
Brady, now the Ontario Lacrosse Association Major Series commissioner
and coach and GM with the National Lacrosse League’s New Jersey Storm,
believes the influence of money in the game and an over-emphasis on
winning in British Columbia is problematic.
“Even the Mann Cup is in question this season,” he said, adding a
dispute between the Western Lacrosse Association and major leagues over
player transfers has created the concern.
Senior players are now playing as much as 10 months of the year and some
are choosing to sit out the summer to rest their bodies for the pro
season. Others are going west, lured by lucrative offers of employment
and the recreational opportunities there.
Player personnel changes are only part of the sport
Increasing the net size by six inches in the senior leagues has been
done to create more scoring. Rule changes to speed up the game have also
been put in place. Even cross-checking is an endangered species with
controlled slashing taking its place as the defensive check of choice.
St.Catharines Major Athletics general manager Bill Lefeuvre Sr. agrees
the game is changing. Those close to the game argue it has a lot to do
with the impact of the NLL and it hybrid version of lacrosse.
While some like St.Catharines Athletics junior A coach/GM Bob Luey
criticize the NLL for the changes, Lefeuvre Sr. feels there’s plenty of
reason to praise the professionalization of the sport.
According to Canadian Lacrosse Association general manager David
Miriguay: overall registration numbers have doubled in three years;
women’s lacrosse leagues are starting; and, games are seen more often on
television.
Luey admits the NLL has increased opportunities for Canadian players. It
has helped fund the past two junior "A" all-star game/combines and
provided financial assistance in sending teams to Minto Cup playoffs.
Since the NLL settled in Canada, interest in lacrosse has skyrocketed.
In 1998, registration in field and box lacrosse in Canada totalled just
under 28,000. Last season, more than 53,000 were playing in eight
provinces and Nunavut.
The other major change created since the pro league arrived in Canada is
in strategy.
“There’s far more offence/defence played now,” he said. “This isn’t
good.”
There has been some discussion at the CLA level about discouraging the
offence/defence system at the minor level. This system trains players to
only play one end of the floor.
“If it catches on, it will take away from more younger players’ ability
to play either offence or defence,” Brady said.
“If you’re big when you’re young, you’ll learn defence. If you’re small
and quick, you’ll play offence. You pigeon-hole players when you do
that.”
It will be hard to get away from this trend, especially at the major
level, Brady said.
“Ultimately, it will mean young Canadians will get less training they
need to make them more well-rounded and better suited pro players than
Americans, the one-position guys.”
Brady knows how quickly box lacrosse is growing in the U.S. Along with
his job with the Storm, he teaches lacrosse camps in the U.S. where he
takes his wooden stick with him to prove that they did exist.
“And I show them it can shoot straight,” Brady said, with a chuckle.
This is the first story in a series detailing the state of lacrosse
in Canada.
Lacrosse Scores Points In Nunavut
Canada's National Summer Sport Is Coming To
Canada's Newest Territory
By Andy Watson: Capital News Online
Friday February 14, 2003
OTTAWA -- Canada's national summer sport is coming to Canada's newest
territory.
The Canadian Lacrosse Association has given associate member status to a
lacrosse program in Nunavut. The sport has grown in popularity faster
than anyone expected, organizers say.
Nunavut is the only territory with a federally funded lacrosse league.
And the program, reaching three cities so far, only costs $12,000.
Gyms and arenas in Nunavut are being used for lacrosse during the winter
months.
Why lacrosse?
"This sport preaches on discipline and that's a key fact in aboriginal
communities," organizer Russ Sheppard says. "Those disciplined in the
game are disciplined outside of the game in life."
He says this is just one reason the sport is popular. Players are also
drawn to the finesse and roughness of the game.
Sheppard began teaching the game at school in his hometown of Kugluktuk
last year, and the interest and participation have grown steadily.
'It's caught on so much that they've even banned sticks in the
elementary schools, ... grocery stores and other places.'
"It's caught on so much that they've even banned sticks in the
elementary schools, and there's bans in grocery stores and other places.
The kids are taking their sticks everywhere with them."
Sheppard recently brought in 45 new sticks. A week later, he was sold
out.
The game may expand to other towns after September and the game is
becoming popular faster than he expected, he says.
"Right now, we're not identifying other towns and, instead, mandating
slow growth to make sure it's grassroots involvement," Sheppard says.
"And then we'll look at expanding."
"It's becoming more popular. I started in my community with 18 members
last year and we're up to 60 now, and there's huge growth in smaller
communities," he says. "I've received inquires from people in other
cities as well."
David Miriguay, general manager of the Canadian Lacrosse Association,
says he's happy with the sport's growth in the North. 'I started in my
community with 18 members last year and we're up to 60 now'
Nunavut will likely enter a team in the under-19 field lacrosse national
championships in Edmonton this September.
Interest has since been sparked in Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland
and the Northwest Territories, Miriguay says. If membership is granted
to those three areas, only Yukon would be without lacrosse.
Federally funded
The CLA has waived annual membership fees. Most of the $12,000 funding
is coming from the federal government and Sports Nunavut. The money will
be used on programs such as clinics, where instructors can teach new
players how to shoot, pass and catch.
Unlike provinces, territories are fully managed by the federal
government, which oversees territorial funding for health care,
education and the creation of territorial organizations such as
Nunavut's lacrosse program.
Some members of the Kugluktuk Grizzlies may compete in Edmonton in the
under-19 field lacrosse nationals
Travel is a major cost for any intercity competitive sport, especially
in the territories because of the distances involved and the lack of
road connections.
Demand high
Sheppard says the demand for organized lacrosse was high.
Already, three towns — Baker Lake, Kugluktuk and Rankin Inlet — have
organized lacrosse. Games are played on grass in the summer and inside
arenas and gymnasiums in colder months.
In January, Nunavut held its first player-and-coaching clinics in Baker
Lake. Twenty-eight athletes and eight coaches attended the event.