SPRING 2009 | $4.95 HEADING SOUTH Ontarians making an impact at U.S. colleges Josh Sanderson, What life is like Calgary Roughnecks playing in the NLL Major Series Lacrosse raring to go CPM Agreement #40752539 www.ontariolacrossemagazine.com Spring 2009 • Volume 1 • Issue 2 // CONTENTS Photo: Danny Musser FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 8 Photo: Graig Abel Photography WHERE SERIOUS PLAYERS SHOP NEWS & NOTES 18 Profiles of several power lax retailers 4 New direction for OLRA • The return of wood • CLA introduces standard net design WEEKEND WARRIORS 20 What life is like playing and coaching TECHNICAL TOOLBOX in the NLL 9 Pre-season stick maintenance HEADING SOUTH RULE BOOK 28 Although a great accomplishment, 12 Goalie equipment & behind the net goals playing lacrosse at a U.S. college is no doubt a challenge for every Remembering Jammer NATIONALS REPORT student-athlete 14 A look at Toronto’s new professional field lacrosse team UNBRIDLED ENTHUSIASM 36 34 OLA Junior ‘A’ League pumped for BAGGATAWAY another season 16 The greatest franchises in Senior ‘A’ history STAR POWER 44 EQUIPMENT BAG 36 Q&A with Jim Brady, commissioner Gloves of Major Series Lacrosse ROAD TRIP 38 St. Andrew’s College hops on a bus ON THE COVER for some team bonding and pre-season Josh Sanderson, competition Photo: Martin Allinson Anthony Cosmo, Brampton Excelsiors www.ontariolacrossemagazine.com Spring 2009 | Ontario LACROSSE 3 NEWS & NOTES Ontario Lacrosse magazine is the primary source of information for Ontario lacrosse players, parents, coaches and officials. Published quarterly (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall), Ontario Lacrosse is mailed directly to more than 10,000 members of the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Our readers turn to the magazine for the latest lacrosse news, products, trends, insights and expert opinion. All editorial submissions and article queries should be sent to Paul Grossinger, NEW DIRECTION FOR OLRA editor: [email protected]. The Ontario Lacrosse Referees Association (OLRA) will begin The views expressed by the authors an overhaul of operations and are not necessarily those of the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA) or general direction this year. The KAP Publishing Ltd. All editorial OLRA, whose mandate is to rep- submissions are subject to editing. All resent all lacrosse officials in rights reserved. Contents may not be Ontario, is exploring new ways reprinted without written permission of the OLA and KAP Publishing. to meet that goal. This process began with PUBLISHER clinic and tournament survey Ontario Lacrosse Association responses that indicated many 3 Concorde Gate, Suite 306 Toronto, ON M3C 3N7 referees were unclear about T: 416-426-7066; F: 416-426-7382 the mandate of the organization or how best to communicate Published in partnership with: problems and concerns. Addi- KAP Publishing Ltd. tionally, many officials felt the 1054 Centre Street, Suite 199 Thornhill, ON L4J 8E5 organization was too focused T: 905-370-0736; F: 905-747-0409 on box lacrosse. In its attempt to resolve this [email protected] perceived problem, the OLRA, during the 2008 www.kappublishing.com season, made inroads with the women’s box, EDITOR women’s field and men’s field officiating sectors Paul Grossinger to become a more inclusive organization for all [email protected] active officials. Changes for the upcoming season include ART DIRECTOR sourcing volunteers for association operational Mark Tzerelshtein [email protected] roles and program initiatives based on the ex- perience profiles of referees. With more than ADVERTISING SALES 1,000 referees as members, the OLRA has an REPRESENTATIVE existing resource of expertise in all kinds of Dave Douglas areas and industries. These skill sets will be uti- CONTRIBUTORS lized to a greater extent this year as the associ- Paul Grossinger ation moves forward with several new projects. Nicole Kallmeyer One of the more noticeable projects is the Roger Lajoie launching of a new OLRA web site (www.ontar- Ryan McLean iolacrosseofficials.ca). It is designed to share Association Referees Photos: Ontario Lacrosse Brandon Phillips Benjamin van Galen information, clarify technical questions and connect with other officials, with the goal to have Paul Whiteside all OLRA members registered with username and password IDs before the beginning of the 2009 season. Canadian Publications Mail #40752539 Under the direction of Wayne Paddick, the OLRA’s newly elected president, the organization’s Return Undeliverable Canadian executive has been divided into two working groups: operations, which will directly service ap- Addresses to: proximately 1,100 OLRA members along with various leagues; and administration, which will KAP Publishing Ltd. deal with the mandate of the organization itself (i.e., the administration, financing, referee re- Circulation Department 1054 Centre Street, Suite 199 cruiting/retention and communication roles of the OLRA). Thornhill, ON L4J 8E5 “Our overall goal,” says Paddick, “is to get back to basics, put faces to the OLRA, get out to the events, have a voice, and be accessible and more accountable. In the end, we want to recruit, re- Printed in Canada tain and respect all officials in Ontario.” 4 Ontario LACROSSE | Spring 2009 NEWS & NOTES OLA CONSIDERING CLA INTRODUCES STANDARD NET DESIGN INTERMEDIATE AGE CHANGE Effective January 1, 2012, the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) will standardize all The Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA) Minor lacrosse nets in Canada under a recently introduced policy. Until now, net designs across the Council will be dealing with several important country sported a variety of differences, including post/crossbar widths, anchoring systems policy changes for the up-coming season, in- and overall dimensions. Under the new policy — and consistent with most other sports — nets cluding an age eligibility change to its Inter- will be uniform in design, thus ensuring increased safety and fair competition. The new net mediate division. designs will be included in future up-dates of the CLA Rulebook, and will be available in two ver- Currently, the Intermediate division serves sions: 4' x 4', used primarily for minor lacrosse, and 4' x 4'6", used by various leagues above minor. players 17-21 years old — the same age group In Ontario, the Major, Senior ‘B’ and Junior ‘A’ leagues will all use the larger width net during the 2009 as Junior lacrosse. Historically, the Interme- playing season. diate group has seen age eligibility at 17-19 The new net design (mandatory colour red) is very similar to those currently used in the Na- years of age and more recently 17-20 before tional Lacrosse League with a 16" drop depth from the post on both CLA versions of the goal. reaching its current status. The expansion of Next month, the CLA will be publishing a list of approved lacrosse net manufacturers and both Junior ‘B’ lacrosse during the past decade and NAMI/STX Canada and Warrior Lacrosse currently have CLA approved versions available for the return of an eight-team Junior ‘C’ sale. The CLA, Ontario Lacrosse Association, the Canadian Recreation Facilities Council league has provided additional opportunities and the Ontario Recreation Facilities Association will soon be advising lacrosse organiza- for players in the 17-21 year age bracket, so tions, municipalities, educational institutions, government agencies, First Nations com- the discussion has turned to designing the munities and private sector facility operators about the new standardized lacrosse nets best bridge between Midget lacrosse and a and the implementation deadline. number of Junior lacrosse development paths. “We are looking forward to working cooperatively with municipalities over the next three “With the significant growth of Intermedi- years to ensure the new standardized nets are in place,” says Ron MacSpadyen, OLA program ate lacrosse in recent years, we want to ensure director. “Ultimately, the new nets mean increased safety and that's a common goal for all part- we meet the interests and needs of as many ners in sport and recreation.” players as possible" says Marion Ladouceur, OLA vice-president of minor lacrosse. “With the expansion of Junior lacrosse opportunities, we feel we may be able to better serve the In- termediate division if the age eligibility was something less than a five-year cohort. That is what we intend to research and consider.” This spring, the Minor Council will also be considering ways to improve its online score- board so all game scores, results and records from every zone are available in a timelier manner. As well, in February, the Minor Council recommended the following policy changes be considered by the OLA Board of Directors: • Moving the OLA Registration Seminar from the March Semi-Annual General Meeting to the Friday of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in November; • Referees may not officiate more than four games per day at OLA Invitational Tourna- ments; • Game fees for OLA qualifiers to be in- creased to $65 from $50 per game. The qualifier entry fee remains unchanged at $750; and • Minor Council also announced a house league lacrosse symposium will be held on the Friday of the 2009 OLA AGM; a house league resource kit is being developed by the Grass Roots Committee for distribution at that time. www.ontariolacrossemagazine.com Spring 2009 | Ontario LACROSSE 5 NEWS & NOTES FRIENDS WE’LL MISS The lacrosse world recently lost two outstand- In 1990, Huck was an important part of a pionships , held last July in Coquitlam, B.C. ing pioneers of the game, Lionel “Huck” group that brought the Regals Junior ‘B’ fran- Galluccio was also very active in the develop- O’Connell in Guelph, Ont., and Kenneth Gal- chise to Guelph. When fans arrived at the Vic- ment of the game across Europe and was a pi- luccio in Hamburg, Germany. toria Road Recreation Centre, there was oneer of the European Lacrosse Federation’s O’Connell will be remembered as one of “Huck” running the snack bar to raise money Berlin Open and Champions Cup, hosted last the finest lacrosse players and coaches to support the team.