The Estevan Lacrosse Association is branching out to include a new form of the sport.
The organization has offered indoor box lacrosse since its inception nearly 20 years ago, but now it is bringing field lacrosse to the city.
President Braydon Krahn and marketing co-ordinator Rochelle Duncan said they believe now is the time to start a field lacrosse program.
“It’s the next logical step to help grow our program and get our players more touches on the ball, and get them more exposure to our game,” said Krahn.
Across the province, Krahn said field lacrosse is growing rapidly. In the past Saskatchewan has had very good field lacrosse programs, and has even won national championships.
Weyburn and Yorkton are similar-sized communities that currently have both field and box lacrosse programs.
Box lacrosse plays similar to hockey with the positioning of basketball, Krahn said, while field lacrosse, since it is played outdoors and with more players on the field, is a lot closer to soccer.
“There are actually different positions entirely, and the field game is a lot more about spacing, whereas in box, it’s a little more crash, bang, boom. You’re in tight, in close, and it’s fast paced,” said Krahn.
Local youths have had some exposure to field lacrosse, thanks to clinics that were offered locally last summer, but Krahn said they look forward to diving into it more in-depth this year.
“The board last year laid the groundwork for us, and it’s been easy to transition into this now,” said Krahn.
The dates for the season haven’t been finalized, but a season would typically run from early April until the end of June. A location for the club also hasn’t been established, but Krahn noted there are options in the area.
“We’re hoping to span all age groups, so we’ll be running from our under-six group to hopefully the junior,” said Krahn.
Their goal is to grow the game as much as they can and boost the exposure of the sport.
“We’re hoping to travel to some tournaments and festivals for this year, and then in the future, when a league does become available, we would be pursuing that as well,” said Krahn.
But the addition of field lacrosse would not take away from box lacrosse.
“We’re not going to hurt those box players at all. Box lacrosse is going to come first. And then field lacrosse is just an extra option for them.”
Also needed are a name and logo for field lacrosse in Estevan.
“People can reach out to us on our Facebook page … or on Instagram,” said Duncan. “We’re looking for a name or a logo idea and we’re letting the contest go until about April 29.”
The winner will receive bragging rights and some memorabilia announcing the new team name and logo. The name and logo should be reflective of the Estevan area and the local energy sector, Krahn said.
They have already received lots of great ideas.
As for box lacrosse, there will be a clinic on March 20 and 21 that will help kick off the season. It will occur at the Power Dodge Arena from 1-4 p.m. More information can be found on the Estevan Lacrosse Facebook and Instagram pages.
