Langley’s Reece Callies will get a chance at a dream job this November – he’s been called up by the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League.
Callies, currently finishing his studies in finance at Colorado Mesa University, is a player for the Langley Thunder, one of four Thunder players drafted this week.
Teammates Eli Salama of Coquitlam and Tyson Kirkness of Chilliwack were also drafted by the Roughnecks, while Connor Robinson of New West was picked up by Saskatchewan.
Callies will still have to make it through training camp starting on Nov. 2 in Calgary.
“You’ve got to earn your stripes,” he said.
The Langley Secondary graduate will bee keeping up his training until then.
“Stay in the gym as much as I can, and keep the stick in my hands,” he said.
Callies picked up the lacrosse bug young. He was about six when he saw a cousin of his playing, he said.
“I said, ‘I want to play!'” Callies said.
It wasn’t long before he was on his first team, the Langley Warriors.
He stuck with it because of the camraderie he found on the teams, he said. His best friendships have all been found through lacrosse, he said.
Callies played indoor lacrosse almost exclusively until he was 14, then switched to field lacrosse. He realized that the outdoor form of the sport was a good route to a college scholarship, which is how he found himself in Colorado, where he spent four years playing for the school.
If Callies can survive the Roughnecks training camp, he could suit up for Calgary as soon as Dec. 2.
He’s hoping to make the team and be back in Canada playing the sport he loves.
“I’m happy that I’m closer to home,” Callies said.
