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. It was only proper that he October by his Hamburg Warriors club team. from the Guelph area and, according to his was honoured last August for his lifetime con- One of his great passions was photograph- local Hall of Fame induction plaque, some- tribution to lacrosse prior to the beginning of ing the game. Most of his excellent pictures one who “spent half his life in arenas either the Founder’s Cup Canadian Junior ‘B’ Cham- from European box and field events that ap- holding a lacrosse or hockey stick.” A mem- pionship hosted in Guelph. pear in lacrosse magazines and web sites ber of the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Kenneth Galluccio was the driving force be- were captured through his lens. He always had the Fergus Thistles Hall of Fame and the hind the growth of lacrosse in Germany, or- great photos to share after every international Guelph Sports Hall of Fame, O’Connell also ganizing referees, building youth programs lacrosse event. served as an assistant coach with the Uni- and managing the U-19 team that had the While both O’Connell and Galluccio will be versity of Guelph Gryphons football and country’s best-ever showing at the Interna- missed, their meaningful contributions to the hockey programs. tional Lacrosse Federation U-19 World Cham- game will no doubt live on.
THE RETURN OF WOOD HUNTLEY COMES HOME While the past few years has seen a revolution in lacrosse When Dave Huntley stick technology and design, the traditional wood stick ap- roams the sidelines this pears to be making a comeback. summer as the head From the origins of the sport, native family names like coach of the Toronto Na- Benedict, Mitchell, Logan, Squires and Williams supplied tionals, the newest mem- the lacrosse world with quality wood sticks, many of them ber of the Major Lacrosse made in Six Nations and Cornwall, Ont. All-leather and League (MLL), he’ll be re- leather-nylon stringing were the dominant types and until turning, not just to a city he knows, but also to the early 1980s, the exclusive stick used in the game. familiar family and friends. The introduction of composite materials, plastic heads and Huntley was born and raised in central Eto- manufacturing processes to lacrosse stick design helped rev- bicoke and played his minor and Junior Delby Powless olutionize the game and fuel exponential growth in the sport. showcases lacrosse with the Rexdale Warriors before be- latest wood As the market shifted to newer technologies, fewer wood sticks. coming a three-time All-American at Johns sticks were being produced, however, wood seems to be gain- Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. ing renewed popularity. As a player, he was a member of Hopkins’ Delby Powless Sr. of Six Nations and Talon Lacrosse of San Francisco, Ca., recently joined 1978 and 1979 NCAA championship teams, and Mohawk International Lacrosse of Cornwall and Alfred Jacques of Onondaga, NY, in wood stick a member of Canada’s 1978 world champi- production. onship team. He also was the recipient of the Powless started making sticks primarily because of supply problems. “Our Powless McLaughlin Award in 1979 as the National Mid- lacrosse store had wood stick orders from last summer. Early this year, we still had no fielder of the Year in NCAA lacrosse. As a coach, wooden sticks in the store,” he says. Huntley has served as an assistant on the With a background in woodworking, Powless consulted several of the traditional wood stick Canadian National Team at four world champi- makers and recently introduced a wood stick under the Powless name. onships, including 2006 in London; helped “At the World Field Lacrosse Championships in London, Ont., several years ago, we sold all guide the MLL Baltimore Bayhawks to the the wood sticks in stock and would have sold a hundred more if we had them,” he recalls. league championship in 2005; and has been on Different than the Powless hickory stick, Talon Lacrosse has introduced a twist to the tra- a bench almost every year since 1987 in the Na- ditional solid wood core stick. tional Lacrosse League (NLL), where he cur- The Talon shaft is actually constructed with a hardwood veneer outer layer surrounding rently is head coach of the Philadelphia Wings. a fiberglass core, which, according to Cort Kim, vice-president of Talon, “gives our shaft the While Huntley and his family reside in Tow- ideal combination of the feel of wood and the strength and lightweight performance bene- son, Md., his mother Barb, brother Brian and fits of composite technology. Both Kim and Powless agree on the four characteristics of a sister Carole all live in Toronto. Brian, also a good wood stick: 1) well-balanced, both side to side and from shaft to head); 2) a narrow head, Hopkins alumnus, is a field referee and box wide enough to catch, but narrow enough to know at what point the ball is releasing; 3) linear coach, and Carole, a former elite high school correctness, a straight shaft not bent or warped to one side; and 4) a customized shape/thick- and university basketball star, serves as team ness of the shaft to create the best “connection” between the player’s hands and the stick. manager with Mimico’s box lacrosse team.
6 Ontario LACROSSE | Spring 2009 We’re proud of our graduates now playing US Collegiate Lacrosse
Kyle Bergman M.J. Kiekebelt Jon Thomson Tyson Geick Drexel University Rochester Institute of Technology Cornell University Mercyhurst College (NCAA Division I) (NCAA Division III) (NCAA Division I) (NCAA Division II)
ST. ANDREW’S COLLEGE VARSITY LACROSSE TEAM 2006, 2007, 2008 Conference of Independent Schools’ Champions (CISAA) 2007 Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ Champions (OFSAA)
For more information: call: 905.727.3178 ext. 303 www.sac.on.ca
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