FEBRUARY 2009 | $4.95 ON A Q&A with John Tavares, the NLL’s all-time ROLL leading scorer From hoisting the Minto Cup to winning the NCAA championship, Stephen Keogh is on an amazing SIMPLY winning streak THE BEST CPM Agreement #40752539 www.ontariolacrossemagazine.com February 2009 • Volume 1 • Issue 1 // CONTENTS Photo: Graig Abel Photography FEATURES DEPARTMENTS BIGGER AND BETTER NEWS & NOTES 14 Ontario Lacrosse Festival looks 5 CSA sets standard for facemasks • to double in size in 2009 FUNdamentals DVD coming soon • Team Ontario expands • OLA AGM A YEAR TO REMEMBER 20 From winning the Minto Cup to THE FUTURE celebrating a NCAA title at Syracuse 10 Keep an eye on Brett Gustafson University, Stephen Keogh is on an unbelievable winning streak RULE BOOK 11 Offside and time-served fouls LIVING LEGEND 22 Q&A with John Tavares, four-time THE ROCK REPORT National Lacrosse League champion 12 Toronto Rock looking to relive glory days FIELD LACROSSE TECHNICAL TOOLBOX 24 EQUIPMENT GUIDELINES 19 How to bake a stick The gear you need, to bring your game EQUIPMENT BAG 26 Sticks & Heads ON THE COVER John Tavares. Photo: Graig Abel Photography BAGGATAWAY 28 The top 10 franchises in Junior ‘A’ history Stephen Keogh. Photo: Syracuse Athletic Communications BanditsPhoto: Buffalo Gun Photography Photo: Hired www.ontariolacrossemagazine.com February 2009 | Ontario LACROSSE 3 PUBLISHER'S LETTER Ontario Lacrosse magazine is the primary source of information for Ontario lacrosse players, parents, coaches and officials. Published quarterly (February, April, July, Exciting Times Ahead November), Ontario Lacrosse is mailed directly to more than 10,000 members of the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Our readers elcome to the premier issue of Ontario Lacrosse, a magazine dedicated to covering turn to the magazine for the latest lacrosse news, products, trends, insights and expert the sport of lacrosse in Ontario! W opinion. All editorial submissions and article Published and distributed four times a year (February, April, July and November) queries should be sent to Paul Grossinger, by the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA), Ontario Lacrosse’s target audience is lacrosse editor: [email protected]. fans, coaches, players, referees, parents and volunteers. Our goal is to provide information The views expressed by the authors that expands the knowledge of our readers and to help lacrosse continue to grow, as it has, are not necessarily those of the Ontario exponentially, over the past several years. Lacrosse Association (OLA) or To bring the magazine to life, we have formed a partnership with KAP Publishing Ltd., KAP Publishing Ltd. All editorial a Thornhill, Ont.-based publisher that brings marketplace experience and a creative lens submissions are subject to editing. All rights reserved. Contents may not be to magazine design, layout, editing and publishing. We are thrilled to have KAP Publish- reprinted without written permission ing as a partner and look forward to working with it to produce a first-class publication. of the OLA and KAP Publishing. Ultimately, the editorial mandate of Ontario Lacrosse is to cover both box and field lacrosse disciplines for boys and girls and men and women. We are dedicated to providing timely, PUBLISHER Ontario Lacrosse Association well-researched and engaging stories, and toward that mission, we are open to any and all 3 Concorde Gate, Suite 306 article ideas. The following is simply a taste of the type of editorial content planned for up- Toronto, ON M3C 3N7 coming issues of the magazine: T: 416-426-7066; F: 416-426-7382 • Profiles of players, coaches and administrators — past and present; Published in partnership with: • Profiles of teams — past and present; KAP Publishing Ltd. • News and up-coming events from the grass roots, club and school levels; 1054 Centre Street, Suite 199 • Profiles of non-playing personalities in the game today; Thornhill, ON L4J 8E5 T: 905-370-0736; F: 905-747-0409 • Trends in provincial and national sport safety, administration and organization; [email protected] • Expert opinions and editorials on how the game can be improved; www.kappublishing.com • Insights on technical and rule interpretations; EDITOR • Reports from provincial championship games and tournaments; Paul Grossinger • Reports from national championship games and tournaments; [email protected] • Updates from provincial and national lacrosse meetings, awards and events; • Lacrosse equipment introductions and reviews; and ART DIRECTOR Mark Tzerelshtein • News on corporate sponsorships and partnerships in Ontario lacrosse promotion. [email protected] Alongside the launch of the magazine, we will soon introduce a sister web site — www.on- tariolacrossemagazine.com. Our online presence will help generate awareness of the pub- ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVE lication, profile some of our featured content, add value to our advertising partners and allow Ady Artzy lacrosse enthusiasts to sign up for subscriptions. [email protected] As you can imagine, launching a magazine is a challenging task. To ensure the magazine succeeds, we encourage our readers to provide us with some assistance and feedback on CONTRIBUTORS Wendy Cuthbert how we are doing; what and whom we need to cover in their lacrosse communities; and how Tyler Dalton we can work together to create the best magazine possible. As such, we want Ontario Paul Grossinger Lacrosse to be a magazine for the lacrosse community, written by the lacrosse community. Laurie Harris Roger Lajoie If you are interested in contributing to the magazine in any way (e.g., thoughts, suggestions, Doug Luey article ideas, etc.) please contact me at: [email protected]. Brandon Phillips All of us at the OLA are extremely excited about Ontario Lacrosse magazine and the fu- Ron MacSpadyen ture of lacrosse in Ontario as a whole. We look forward to hearing from you and we hope you Paul Whiteside enjoy the magazine and share our enthusiasm for the exciting times ahead. Canadian Publications Mail #40752539 Return Undeliverable Canadian All the best Addresses to: KAP Publishing Ltd. Circulation Department 1054 Centre Street, Suite 199 Ron Thornhill, ON L4J 8E5 Ron MacSpadyen Printed in Canada 4 Ontario LACROSSE | February 2009 NEWS & NOTES FACEMASK STANDARD LONG OVERDUE DVD HELPS COACHES The Canadian Standards Association WITH FUNDAMENTALS (CSA) is about to release certifica- The newest box lacrosse coaching re- tion standards for lacrosse face- source is coming this spring when the masks. CSA is already familiar with Fun With Lacrosse FUNdamentals series the sports arena having written exist- releases its Team Skills DVD. ing standards for face protectors in ice hockey and “Our second DVD, Team Skills, picks ringette, along with helmet standards for hockey, up where our first, Individual Skills, left alpine skiing, snowboarding and cycling. off,” says Jim Calder, the DVD’s project According to Ian Brodie, CSA project man- manager. “The DVD will bring new and ager, Standards Development, establishing existing box coaches up to speed with the safety standards has significantly helped im- team tools required to teach the game prove safety in other sports. properly. Input from some of the best lacrosse coaches, instructors and players in “Since CSA first published standards for face Canada has helped produce clear and simple strategies to improve teams and coaches protectors and visors for hockey players, the interested in strong fundamentals.” number of reported eye injuries has dropped The Team Skills DVD features some of the best National Lacrosse League players, from roughly 290 per year to under 25 today,” including Dan Dawson (Boston Blazers/Brampton Excelsiors), Chris Driscoll (Toronto says Brodie. “Hockey injuries resulting in blind- Rock/Owen Sound Woodsmen) and Geoff Snyder (Philadelphia Wings/Coquitlam ness are now virtually non-existent, even though Adanacs), sharing insights on team offence and motion, team defense, transition, line the number of recreational hockey players has changes and team face-offs. Special team situations of power play and man-short are climbed significantly.” also covered in-depth. CSA establishes sports equipment standards The Fun With Lacrosse FUNdamentals DVD series would not be possible without the to reflect the potential hazards related to the support of our generous sponsors: Ontario Trillium Foundation, Warrior, Brine, New Bal- sport. Its test protocols are intended to repre- ance, Professional Lacrosse Players Association (PLPA), City of Brampton, Sport Canada, sent the risk environment in which the equip- Coaching Association of Canada, Sport Office, Powerade and Subway. ment is to be used. For more information and to order the DVD, contact Chris Driscoll: 416-426-7069. “The function of a lacrosse face protector is to prevent a lacrosse ball or stick from contacting a player’s face,” explains Brodie. “The test pro- JAMMER CLASSIC SET FOR APRIL tocols established in the new CSA standard on The 2009 Jammer Classic Memorial lacrosse face protectors utilize a lacrosse ball field lacrosse tournament has been and stick to assess whether a protector meets set for April 10-12. The tournament the intended function.” honours the tragic death of The obvious beneficiaries of CSA certification Jamieson Kuhlmann, a talented are consumers and equipment manufacturers. player and leader in the Toronto Standards that ensure products meet minimum Beaches Lacrosse Club. requirements for quality and safety mean Held at the new Cherry Beach greater confidence and convenience for players Sports Fields in Toronto, where a field and parents. For equipment manufacturers, naming ceremony for Kuhlmann will standards help in the design, production, cost be held during the weekend, the three- and reliability of equipment. day tournament includes a four-team Chuck Miller, chair of the Canadian Lacrosse high school “Varsity Day” on Friday, Association (CLA) Equipment Review Commit- featuring the Hill Academy, and a 10- tee, was heavily involved in the five-year mission team midget club component. to encourage CSA to review lacrosse facemask The club tournament is open to all OLA midget field teams. Teams will play in two, standards.