The junior B Cowichan Valley Thunder will open the 2018 box lacrosse season this Friday when they visit the Saanich Express at Esquimalt’s Archie Browning Arena.
The team is still coming together, head coach Lorne Winship said, adding that he’s excited to see the players in action.
“It will be good to play a game and figure out where we’re at and how we’re doing,” he said.
Winship concedes that the team is “a bit young on the back side,” but by and large, the Thunder boast a lot of skill and experience in their ranks.
“I think we’re going to be strong,” he said. “We have a lot of talent.”
The team already has a few players sidelined, including Tyson Black, who injured his ankle playing in Cowichan United’s final game of the U21 soccer season
“It’s unfortunate,” Winship said. “He’s going to be a key part of the team.”
Winship’s son, Colin, just returned home from university on Monday night, and hadn’t had a stick in his hand for a few months, and another key player, Mathieu Jung, will miss the season opener as he returns from university in St. Louis, Missouri, although he has been playing lots of field lacrosse there.
One thing the coach doesn’t know is how the other teams in the Tier 3 league will look.
“We have the goal of being on top,” he said. “But I imagine other teams are saying that too.”