Nova Scotia making strides in Lacrosse
October 25, 2008 by Joanne Jordan
Nova Scotia has been making great strides on the National and International scene in lacrosse in the past few years. The Founders Cup Junior National Tier II Gold medal is the latest triumph for our small province.
“There are about 1700 players in the province of Nova Scotia, and after a few years of discouraging attempts at the National Junior Championship, we did not send a team last year,” said Mike LaLeune, Head Coach of Dalhousie University’s, Men’s Lacrosse Team “We were determined to make a break through this year, and did we ever. In 25 years Nova Scotia had never won more than a single game.” This year the record was 4 wins and 3 losses. The right 4 wins resulted in the Gold Medal in the Tier II division.
“We sent a young team,” said LaLeune. “The maximum age is 21 years. We had only three 21-year olds, and two 20-years olds. The remainder of the team were 16-19 years old. That’s a young team.”
But age did not deter the eager team members. “These fella’s were determined and believed they could play with the “big boys” from BC, Ontario, and the First Nations teams,” he said. “They learned fast and well. I believe they will do even better next year. A couple of close games early on in the Championship could have put them in the
top tier.”
Team captain was Brandon Newton. Newton had been to National’s several times before. Ryan Morris was selected as the teams 1st All Star. “It was good, we played well,” said Morris. “Going in we were ranked 12 of 12, but everyone helped a lot and it was easier to score. Instead of finishing last, we finished first and won Tier II Gold, a great success.”
The team members include Adam Desrochers, Andre LaLeune, Brandon Newton, Connor DuBreuil, Grant Wannamaker, Jamie Dunbar, Jeff Champion, Jeremy Mcnaughton, Jeremy Thomas, Joe LaLeune, Joe Martin, Josh Proulx, Mark Anderson, Mason Geldart, Mitchell Brown, RJ Lawrence, Ryan Fougere, Ryan Morris, Stephen Fyfe, Terry Sutherland, Tyler Puddifant
Joe LaLeune, Jamie Dunbar, RJ Lawrence, Steve Fife, and Terry Sutherland all play lacrosse at college now.
Team coaches are Rod Humphreys, Steve Brown, Mike LaLeune; Official Liason is Kevan Mills, and Team Trainer is Jim Slaunwhite.
