Summer in Canada

[NateA]

As the title says I plan to go to Canada this summer to play box lacrosse, I made this post to ask if there are any good leagues/summer league teams I can go out for anyone have any information, I have been looking for a good while. I plan to play compettitive box there, if anyone can help me out I Would be greatly appreciative.

[WHEELAX2]

I plan on doing the same thing... I am currently researching this, I'll get back to you when I figure out what I'm doing.. also, most leagues start in the spring, so be aware of that..

[atp97]

Well, you might wanna take a shot at the Quebec League if you intent to play either in a junior B or a senior B club depending on your skill level... the senior b level has some players who had played in NLL games in the past (Jason Tasse, Chris Konopliff just to name a few).

If you need more info, please e-mail or pm me so that I can give you team rep contact information.

Hope this helps.

[#15Roadies]

Firstly NateA, how old are you and what part of Canada are you going to? The hotbeds of lacrosse right now are Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta & Quebec is up and coming.

Needs the answer to those questions to provide a useful (and less verbose!) reply.

[KnightsLAXDad]

First, what age group are you? Over 21 = senior, under 21 junior (I assume that you are at least junior age 16-21). Second, what part of Canada, being from Va, I assume you are looking to move to Ontario, where the greatest concentration of teams is Toronto and area.

Two places to start are the Ontario Lacrosse Association site www.onatariolacrosse.com and the better source may be the "unofficial OLA" site which is basically a fan forum, but you'll actually get responses. http://www.network54.com/Forum/333879/ Start asking there.

[NateA]

Im 17 and I dont plan to move there but I plan to go there for the summer as im coming back to play D2 if that gives you an idea of my skill level. it dosent matter where, i can go anywhere in canada to spend a little bit to play and eventually play at a higher skill level if I can and maybe end up like wheellax

thanks for the help

[RockStar]

I'd say pick a Junior B or Junior A centre you're interested in playing in, and contact the coach and/or GM.

I guess you'd have to make the team through tryouts, same as everyone else.

If you have NLL aspirations, Ontario is where you want to play.....way more scouts here than anywhere else, possibly including D1 schools.

To improve your chances of making a team, I'd say look to a slightly weaker centre where there's both A and B level junior teams.

I don't know for sure, but I would think you'd have to show a coach a much higher level of skill and talent than the local boys who've played box since like age 6. This is especially true if you're looking for the team to help you find a place to live and a way to earn spending money.....they don't have to make special arrangements for the local boys, so if you're only average, you're not worth their time.

So, to make a team, I think you'll have to be noticeably better than everyone else in terms of raw skill. You'll also have to work twice as hard, and not complain about the pain.....The level of violence can be absolutely staggering for someone not used to it, so know what you're getting into! For gods sake, make sure you visit a Canadian lacrosse store and buy some real pads before you try out too. The coach you're trying out for can help you with what's needed.

[#15Roadies]

Well skill level-wise saying you are D2 in field doesn't really give a good picture for box.

That being said you have a few of options here in Ontario:

Junior A Box (17-21) is the highest level for a 17 year old. You would have to be outstanding to crack a Junior A lineup, or you would have to bring something else to the floor. At any rate, you would probably be able to get a try-out if you arranged for one directly with the club ahead of time.

Junior B Box (17-21) is the second tier U21 league. Probably the best fit, again, you would have to arrange something ahead of time with a club. However, if you arrange a try-out and are a really good player, generally the affiliated Junior A team might pick you up for some games.

Intermediate (17-21) is minor lacrosse for the players that don't make, or don't wish to play junior level lacrosse. Minor lacrosse generally picks from players within their own club association so arranging a try-out might be problematic, but not impossible.

Now, in larger lacrosse centres the competition for spots on the junior teams is tight. In terms of the Durham Region (Whitby Warriors Jr A, Clarington Green Gaels Jr B) they tend to take the pick of the crop and other players end up on teams outside of Durham. Some of the smaller, outlying centres that do not have such a large amount of players would be your better bet.

Generally southern Ontario is tight, but places like Nepean, Gloucesters (in Ottawa) or some of the smaller centres could be looking for help. Take a look at a map of Ontario, disregard anything near Lake Ontario and see if something leaps out at you. A rough rule would be to go the OLA site link that KLD provided, find the 2005 standings pages for the Junior A & B teams and look at cities near the bottom of the standings. They would most likely be your first places to research.

The next steps, once you have settled on a few teams, is to do some background research on the cities, the clubs and maybe send an advanced email query and see who responds. I know that many junior clubs can arrange billet families and some will even help you out to get a job, but you have to make it worth their while. If you have a rsume of some sort, maybe some coaches comments, that will go along way to help you out in your journey.

[#15Roadies]

"The level of violence can be absolutely staggering for someone not used to it"

Jeepers RockStar, I was trying to avoid that! LOL! Let's put it this way NateA, junior lacrosse can be rough some days!

[NateA]

So it sounds like i'll be trying out for a Junior B team, the thing is I cant make it up the canada in the spring, and im only open from June 3 to around August..Im expecting box to be physical, but I love getting hit so no problem for me. Thanks for the help and ill look into Junior B teams and hopefrully make it up to Junior A one day


Edit: Did some research on the "Weaker" Junior B teams and heres what I came up with, based on last years record.

Team Welland
Team London
Team Sarnia
Team Wallaceburg
Team Gloucester
Team Huntsville
Team Scarborough
Team Niagara
Team Milton

Non weaker
Team Nepean ( I see the knights logo in your avatar Knitghtsdad, if were talking the same team maybe I could contact you for more information about joining the team)

Orangeville


Are these a good start? If so i will begin writing emails :)

[laxgoalieking]

isnt junior "B" 16-21? cuz i know u have to play at least one year of midget

[MBLacrosse]

how olds john tavares tho like wasnt he only 14 this past summer playing jr. A? So really there isnt a age minimum if ur that good it seems.

[laxgoalieking]

eah but they had to like go through this whole process just to put him in the roster, and i think he turned 15 during the season, but ill be turning 16 so i was wondering i was elegible to play junior or not?

[nemesislax]

If you can only make it up here by june 3rd, you're gonna miss the tryout and the first half of the season. Also, if you are planning to tryout for a weaker team, there is the possibility of not making the playoffs. This would mean that you would be in canada from june 3rd to july 1st (this is typically when the regular season is over). Might not be worth it to come up for one month. You will also have to come up in april for the tryouts and sign with the team then, so that when june comes around you are eligible to play for them.
Another centre to consider is Cornwall- they are a new team this year so I'm sure they would like extra help. Hamilton is new as well (western conference)

[laxgoalieking]

does anyone know what the best way to get in touch or possibly sign with a team is? a buddy of mine has e-mailed most of them but no luk with that.

[nemesislax]

does anyone know what the best way to get in touch or possibly sign with a team is? a buddy of mine has e-mailed most of them but no luk with that.
Well teams don't sign you until they see you at tryouts. Signing periods don't open till like april or around then.
To get in touch with a team just go to the website and email the GM or coach then hope they check their email and reply.

[NateA]

Because of the way my school is June 3 is the only time I could play, it would be pretty much impossible to get there in April unless I flew up there on friday, tryout on a saturday and be back for school at 7pm sunday night..Looks like I'll have to wait until im in college to hopefully get there in April but with the college lax schedule maybe not..Well I will have to see what I Can do

[nemesislax]

The other thing is that if you tryout, and make it....you're gonna miss half the season, which is half the season of practices, learning the systems, getting to know your teammates etc. When you do come in june, your playing time won't be very much, unless you have a gift that you can play Canadian box lacrosse with one day of learning. It's kind of a gamble for alot of teams to take you as well because they can only sign so many players and they won't be sure that you can compete in junior lacrosse coming in halfway through the season.

[WHEELAX2]

for what it's worth, I believe there is a box league in baltimore that plays a similar style to that of "real box" I'll try to hook you up with that program, and that might give you a good idea of what to expect...

just emailed my buddy john at e-lacrosse... I'll see what he has to say..

[KnightsLAXDad]

Another centre to consider is Cornwall- they are a new team this year so I'm sure they would like extra help. Hamilton is new as well (western conference)

I think one of the criteria for the new teams is that they had to show that they had a big enough pool of players to draw on, so it might be tougher than you would expect to get on with Hamilton or Cornwall. I would also think (pure opinion) that they would want as many locals as possible before looking elsewhere. An out of zone player may have a better chance in Nepean or Gloucester since their teams lost their best players to the Titans.

[NateA]

Thanks for the help wheellax, baltimore is much easier to get to than canada, if you can let me know any information about the league I would appreciate it, thanks

[WHEELAX2]

no problem....

[NateA]

Is the league year round or is it the summer? I have long breaks for thanksgiving, christmas and spring break

[WHEELAX2]

not sure.. I'm just waiting for a reply

[NateA]

Alright, thanks again for emailing him for me..

also, any word on where you going? im guessing some senior a ball? also about the NLL did you get invited to it by having the coach watch you or did you know some names and contact the coach? just wondering

[WHEELAX2]

well, I was told about the tryouts from a general NLL scout.. a guy in the front office who had seen me play in a random tourney in new jersey...

I'll probably either continue on with Senior B, or get bold and move up further north to play in the majors...

[RockStar]

how olds john tavares tho like wasnt he only 14 this past summer playing jr. A? So really there isnt a age minimum if ur that good it seems.

I saw one Mississauga Jr. A game last summer. Little JT got a goal, a couple assists, and won a fight. He's the real deal!

He's also better at hockey than lacrosse. Look up the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey league for his stats (This is possibly the premiere league for under 21 hockey). Last I heard he was among the league scoring leaders and averaging close to a goal per game

[RockStar]

....Another centre to consider is Cornwall- they are a new team this year so I'm sure they would like extra help. Hamilton is new as well (western conference)

Milton is starting up again after shutting down for a year....situation is equivalent to a new team.

[laxgoalieking]

lil jt is awesome, but je plays for the worst team in the history of the OHL. and milton is now known as the milton-cambridge mavericks. did any one catch that little "mistake" at the bottom of their homepage?lol.\
and can anyone answer my quest: how old do u have to be to play junior? is it 17 or 16?

[KnightsLAXDad]

lil jt is awesome, but je plays for the worst team in the history of the OHL. and milton is now known as the milton-cambridge mavericks. did any one catch that little "mistake" at the bottom of their homepage?lol.\
and can anyone answer my quest: how old do u have to be to play junior? is it 17 or 16?

I saw it. Nice, real classy. :whyme:

I don' think that there is any rule concerning a minimum age is there? I think I have seen midget aged kids playing up before

[NateA]

Hey, just wondering if you have heard anything about the league in Baltimore Wheel.

[regulate34]

oh man come to bc it rocks lacrosse here is booming like krazy if you want top competive lax bc is the spot

[#15Roadies]

I have just read something that the ILA is starting up a Junior B Box Lacrosse league in northern New York. If anyone wants any more info, let me know and I'll post the gist of the document I was handed tonight.

[tomahawks11]

come play for the mimico mountaneers jr. b or mississauga tomahawks jr.a, mississauga isnt that great though so dont expect to make the playoffs this year

[Split]

what are teh websites for box lacrosse equipment? hwhere are you from Nate A Im from mass. and Im lookign to go to cannada and playing also.

[#15Roadies]

The Lax Xhack (http://probosslacrosse.com/index2.htm)

Now you can probably use most of your field gear, except make sure you have good pad coverage on your arms. I would also add the hard fiber bicep pads. If you use both hands, use both pads. You'll also need a good pair of court or basketball shoes to play on the concrete.

If you have goalie ambitions, the gear is almost totally different!

Good luck!