Canada's Great Unknown National Sport is alive and well on Vancouver Island and thriving on the North Island.
Selena Lasota, a member of the Katzie First Nation, has been named number three rookie choice by NCAA women's field lacrosse. Selena, from Campbell River, plays for Northwestern University Wildcats in Evanston Il. as a freshman midfielder.
Selana got her start playing box lacrosse for the C.R. Ravens and switched to the women's field game with the Nanaimo Timbermen. Girls are welcome in lacrosse and more and more are taking advantage of the full-ride scholarship potential of the game and a chance to play on an equal footing with the guys.
It was a busy summer for local lacrosse. Players from Campbell River and the Comox Valley attended camps run by the Western Lacrosse Association champion Victoria Shamrocks and got coaching from top box and NCAA players. A number attended the field camp laid on by Pacific Coast champion Simon Fraser University.
Lacrosse is unique. In spring and summer, arenas deserted by the skate crowd host “The War On The Floor.” Fall and winter see the same players move outdoors for the graceful long-pass running game. It's this versatility that make Island lacrosse graduates so attractive to college scouts on both sides of the border.
The season is underway for all three local divisions (U16, U14 and U12) and involves travel for stick-on-stick action with mid-Island and south-Island teams. The calibre of opposition teams is high and select squads from the Island are powerhouse competitors both in Canada and across the border.
Thanksgiving weekend saw Owen Shears, Carter Mulligan and Gavin Sam head to Langley for tryouts for the BC U15 provincial squad. Snipers, Rowan Armstrong and Ethan Blacklock, will shoot for places in the U13 lineup for Team BC.
Don't miss a chance to to watch “The Fastest Game on Two Feet" as teams from all over the Island compete here regularly. Your next opportunity will be on Oct. 26 when the U14s take on Nanaimo.
Folks who call soccer “The Beautiful Game” are folks who haven't watched lacrosse!
– Comox Valley Lacrosse