The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Hitting the course for the second season, lacrosse instructor Russ Dobie has high hopes for this year. The Creighton Sportex was transformed into a box lacrosse plateau last Wednesday as roughly 30 people were out for the first night. The majority of the athletes looking to participate this season were those in the ages five through eight category Ð which surprised Dobie. Receiving information through the Flin Flon Minor Hockey Association, Dobie was happy to welcome nearly 20 new players to the lacrosse system. "I was expecting three or four of those kids, but we had 16," he said. He had expected to see a few of the younger children participate as there was some interest shown in a recent information night held in Creighton. Having 16 new faces to the lacrosse means "we can have some growth over the next few years," he said. Dobie also had 11 athletes, in the 10-13 age group, show up Wednesday night. Nine of them had been out last year, he said, but only six played regularly. So, with those three other fairly new faces as well as the two brand new faces, it is looking like a promising season. As well, there was one person who showed up for the teenagers and adults group. "The youngest one (there) was five, which is fun," said Dobie. "I started when I was four years old. The sticks are bigger than you are and it's really a lot of fun to watch at that age. "They pick it up so quickly. It's really neat to watch," he said. "As adults, as you know, it sometimes take is a little longer to pick things up opposed to younger kids. It's amazing. They have no fear; they just do it." Though there wasn't as much of an adult turnout as Dobie had hoped, he says it's understandable. "What I'm finding is that people are maybe a little more but set in their ways. When you are five, six or seven, your parents have a lot of control over what you do. "They get you there and they get you home again. You just have to be willing," he said. "But, once you get into teenagers ad adults, we've got a lot going on in our lives." With the badminton, track and field, and soccer season just around the corner, Dobie reiterates that older youth have plenty of activities to choose from. See 'We've' on pg. Continued from pg. "I love the fact that we've got a younger group starting," he said. "Like I said, that's really your grassroots group and if we can group that over the next few years, we can really take off with them." Concerns and comments had been made about participants not wanting to spend the whole time doing lacrosse drills. "So, let's do (more)," he said. "I would like to see those younger kids come out and learn something and enjoy themselves and learn a bit each week. "I made a promise to all of the players this year. They just want to have fun and play. "So, I made a promise that we would play a game every single night that we were out." That proved true Wednesday night as the young athletes played for 20 minutes. At the end of the game, Dobie said, the 10-12 year olds were drenched in sweat. "They love it and they can't wait to come back the following week," he said. With sights set on teaching the game this year, Dobie says he would love to be able to take a few athletes to Thompson in June to watched the Peewee Provincials. The lacrosse season, for the Creighton and Flin Flon area, will run from April through to June. Dobie says going and watching the teams will give the players a chance to see how the game is played on a larger scale. Even more than watching games, Dobie hopes to eventually bring lacrosse into the school systems. But for now, the athletes meet once a week at the Creighton Sportex to learn a few things about the game and, of course, have fun.
