Q+A // With John Tavares Photos: Buffalo Bandits Photos: Buffalo 22 Ontario LACROSSE | February 2009 With John Tavares // Q+A LIVING LEGEND ONTARIO LACROSSE TALKS TO JOHN TAVARES, THE ALL-TIME NLL SCORING LEADER, ABOUT THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE SPORT HE TRULY LOVES EARLY DAYS OF LACROSSE met throughout the years. All the great fans, I started playing lacrosse when I was about all the great players. four years old. I grew up playing in down- NAME: John Tavares town Toronto. My older brother Danny used VIEWS ON MANN CUP AGE: 40 to play for a team called St. Christopher I think summer lacrosse is a bit more chal- House. I would always take his stick and go lenging to win, and more gratifying than HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5’11” / 185 lbs to the outdoor box. I never wanted to put the the NLL championship. We don’t have the POSITION: Forward stick down and have been playing ever since. same crowds, but when you win the Mann Cup, you have to go through several playoff SHOOTS: Left GROWTH OF THE GAME rounds that are best of seven. In the NLL, CAREER (OUTSIDE OF LACROSSE): I have played lacrosse long enough to experi- it is a one game playoff and you can’t have High school math teacher ence a roller coaster in terms of attendance any aspect of the game go wrong for your TEAM: Buffalo Bandits, National and participation. Once the Toronto Rock team. Anything can happen in one night. In Lacrosse League (NLL) & St. Regis came into the NLL and Sportsnet picked up the Mann Cup, there is no luck involved, Indians, Major Series Lacrosse (OLA) its games, there was a huge increase in par- you have to bring it. The last Mann Cup I ticipation. I think a lot of people started to won was when I played with the Victoria NLL SEASONS: 17 put their kids into field lacrosse, with the un- Shamrocks. ACHIEVEMENTS: Four NLL derstanding there was a lot of opportunities championships; all-time NLL leader for field lacrosse scholarships in the U.S. ADVICE FOR KIDS PLAYING LACROSSE in goals (620), assists (706) and I definitely would say to continue working on points (1,326); seven-time NLL BIGGEST TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENT your stick skills. You don’t want to have a all-star; most assists and points Definitely the four championships with the huge deep pocket in your stick where you are in Mann Cup history Bandits have been the highlight, with the first unable to pass the ball. Practice a lot and use DID YOU KNOW: John has led the one, in 1992, when we won in sudden-death your stick so you can pass and shoot with a Bandits in scoring 10 straight seasons, overtime in Philadelphia, and the last one lot of accuracy. Try to make your teammates including 2008 where he tallied 87 points (2008) standing out more than the others. better, as opposed to just yourself. BIGGEST INDIVIDUAL MOMENT IMPACT OF NLL ON The 1992 goal I scored in overtime against GRASSROOTS LACROSSE Philadelphia to win the championship. It was I think it is going to make the players better most memorable because we won and be- as the years pass. They watch the pros now cause of the goalie I scored on, Dwight Med- and they can learn; they can take those skills key. I have a huge amount of respect for and make the game better. From the time I Dwight, so I was a little intimidated shoot- started playing in Buffalo to now, the skill of ing against him. I felt that he knew exactly the game and the athleticism of the players where I was going to put the ball. In the has improved — everything has intensified. championship game, I took a backhand and I If the league continues to grow, a lot of kids had no idea where the ball was going and lo are going to play lacrosse and take it a lot and behold it went down, and in between his more seriously. The result is they will bring a legs. And of course all of the people I have better product to the floor. www.ontariolacrossemagazine.com February 2009 | Ontario LACROSSE 23.