It's still several months away, but three lacrosse players who learned their craft in the Cowichan Valley will be heading to the U16 national field lacrosse championships in September with Team BC.
Two of them, Mathieu Jung and Brian Robb, continue to play field lacrosse with the Mid Island Lightning and box lacrosse with the Cowichan Valley Thunder. The third, Tyler Glanfield, now lives in Victoria, but played with the Thunder as recently as last summer and the Lightning last winter. Although he has moved to relocated, he retains his ties with his former teammates.
"It feels great to reach this point because when I knew I was eligible to try out for the U16 field lacrosse program this year, I started to focus on training to earn a spot on the team," Jung said. "It was one of my goals."
All three boys, as well as the other two Island representatives on Team BC, attend the field lacrosse academy at Claremont Secondary in Victoria. They were among 113 boys from across the province who attended camps in September. From that group, 65 were invited to main camp in Vancouver in October. That number was cut down to 37 for the final camp earlier this month, with a final 21 making the roster.
"I feel very honoured and very excited - and a little nervous - to be chosen to help represent our entire province playing a game I love," Robb said.
Both players are hoping to take their provincial team to the top of the sport in September.
"I would like to help the team bring home a gold medal in 2014," Jung stated firmly.
"I have a couple of goals to accomplish while playing for Team BC," Robb added. "To increase my skills and understanding of the game, and to win a national championship."