Laurentian University Lacrosse Program

2005 Wrap Up

Back in January 2005 a group of about thirty Laurentian students interested in lacrosse, Canada’s national summer sport, got together and played a non-contact co-ed version of the game (known as interlax) on weekends in the Alphonse Raymond gymnasium. Encouraged by the turn-out, the leader of the group, Sport Psychology major Caleb Leduc, sought recognition from the SGA and set up a table in mid-September 2005 during club days. Some 200 students, men and women, full and part-time, put their names on the list, and about 40 to 50 made it out regularly in the weeks to come. On the goose poop covered field in the centre of the oval track, the Laurentian Lacrosse Club played fun games of non-contact lacrosse every Thursday evening. But some "hardcore" members wanted a bit more competitive play. So each Thursday the first hour was set aside for the interlax games, and then about 35 people stayed behind to learn more about field lacrosse. The men’s squad was coached by Dr. George Sheppard, an associate professor in the school of education and a longtime player, while Kim Leger-Frawley, an LU alumnus and former member of the Ontario and Canadian women’s field lacrosse teams, agreed to help out with the ladies’ squad. Suddenly, Laurentian had a competitive club lacrosse programme.

For those unfamiliar with the game, Lacrosse is an ancient sport played by Native people throughout North America. In the 1800s the outdoor game caught on amongst non-Natives, especially in Canada and the northeastern U.S., and by the 1900s several versions had evolved. In Canada most players learned the "box" game, called that because it takes place in an arena or "box", while the outdoor field game remained far more popular in the United States. By the late 20th Century, field lacrosse was a major collegiate sport in America, especially at Ivy League schools like Princeton and Yale, but it had little hold north of the border. Over the last two decades, however, there has been a renaissance of sorts in the outdoor game. Twenty years ago men’s club teams began to appear at McMaster, Brock, Western, Guelph and other Ontario universities, and women’s varsity squads soon popped up all over the province too. In the last three years the game has exploded in popularity with at least six universities in Quebec and Maritimes sponsoring teams as well.

So this autumn was an auspicious time for the Laurentian club, but inquiries to the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association indicated that the students here would have to meet a number of challenges before being considered for actual entry into the league. They would have to show they had support from the university, were financially viable, and most difficult of all, they had to prove they could compete successfully against actual CUFLA teams. But LU students are known for meeting challenges and these young men and women proved up to the task. They began selling chocolates to purchase nets, jerseys, and equipment, met two or three times a week for additional sessions, and set about arranging exhibition matches. Although they only had about a eight or so real practices under their belts, on the weekend of 5-6 November, both squads went looking for competition. The women’s team traveled to Montreal  where they participated in a mini-tournament against highly touted teams from Canada and the United States. The men, meanwhile, (after rousing sleepyhead goalie Andrew Lawton) set off for Hamilton at 7 A.M. in the midst of a scary wind/rain/snowstorm to play against McMaster (a programme that has been in existence for 20 years and is led by Ed Comeau, head coach of the NLL’s Rochester Knighthawks and assistant coach of the National Men’s team!) Considering those facts, the Laurentian athletes did exceptionally well - especially since most had never played field lacrosse before and a good number had only picked up a stick for the first time in September. In their match, for example, the men managed to stay close to the Marauders, and lost by a score of only 7 to 4, while the women even managed a victory against Bishop’s (losing close games to McGill, Vermont, and Montreal). Coach Leger-Frawley remarked that the trip was "Awesome ... the girls were wonderful and proudly represented Laurentian."

And what impressed coach Sheppard was the outpouring of goodwill from people at the university and beyond. He said "The Greater Sudbury Lacrosse Association, for example, provided free equipment and fundraising materials, Kingswear Sports in the Valley provided discounted uniforms, Mike’s Sports in Garson supplied equipment (from nets to sticks) at cost price or even below, and Laurentian staff and faculty were exceptionally accommodating too. We had help and advice from Athletic Director Peter Hellstrom and from Sandy Knox and Pat Pickard in Human Kinetics, while Ron Larwood and Dorothy Pitzel in Active Living made sure we had field access. I can tell you from experience that not every community or university is as supportive of its student athletes."

In the New Year the club intends to re-start the non-contact co-ed Interlax version, as well as make firm plans for more competitive matches next fall. Laurentian students interested in playing either or both versions of our national summer sport are invited to contact the club at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .