Kevin Mitchell
Sports Editor
In 10 years of senior lacrosse, he was known as a disturbance specialist or a pest. His opponents called him other names not suitable for a family newspaper.
Glenn (Stumpy) Mitchell knows he wasn’t Miss Congeniality on the floor, but he knew his role and performed it well with the Armstrong Shamrocks.
At 43, and just two years away from his playing days, the M&K Ready-Mix estimator is the new head coach of the Shamrocks.
“I was the lacrosse version of a cross between Esa Tikkanen and Ken Linseman (hockey players),” laughed Mitchell, who started lacrosse in Vernon at age eight and played up a division with the likes of Dennis Holland and Troy Mick. “Penalties are part of the game, but I took some undisciplined penalties after the whistle. I will ask our players to stay away from those.”
“We’re going to actually play a more offensive style this year,” said Mitchell, a father of two. “We’ll have a lot more passing, shooting and running, more of a motion offence. The defence has never been a problem in Armstrong.”
Mitchell, a goalie in his minor hockey career, spent last year coaching the Junior Shamrocks alongside Adrien Lemaire, Jim Maundrell, Pat Nelson and Ryan Nitchie. He will help the Juniors in between Senior assigments.
“Glenn brings with him a great passion and dedication to the game of lacrosse; he is one of the most committed and inspirational players I have played with and I am sure he will bring the same attitude forward as a coach,” said longtime teammate and Shamrock GM Chad Pieper.
Mitchell, a workout fanatic who ran until he dropped every shift with the Irish, has a simple philosophy in coaching.
“I have a lot of respect for the guys like Rich Zecchel, Danny and Gary Holte, and Lance McGregor, Dougie Morrison and Jamie McKenzie, who coached me along the way. I expect them (Rocks) to give 100 per cent and be accountable for yourself and be accountable for your teammates. If you look in the mirror after the game and tell yourself you weren’t good enough, then I expect you to be better the next game.”
Mitchell said he’s been “learning a ton from Adrien” as far as drills and ideas in the early going of Shamrock training camp.
The Shamrocks have lost loads of talent, grit and goals as all three Strohm brothers – Logan, Nathan and Shaun – are working out of town.
“We have a few new faces out (Vernon Tiger grad Darren Kirby), and everyone is working hard getting ready for the regular season,” said Pieper.
The Shamrocks host their six-team Ice Breaker starting Friday, 6:30 p.m. against the Royals at the Nor-Val Sports Centre. The Irish meet Prince George Old Stylers (3 p.m.) and the Spruce Grove Slash (7 p.m.) in Saturday action.
The Kelowna Raiders battle Prince George at 8 p.m., while the Kamloops Rattlers go up against the Slash at 9:30 in Friday night games.
In other Saturday tilts, the Royals tangle with Kamloops (noon), Kelowna meets Spruce Grove (1:30), Kamloops squares off against Kamloops (5:30) and Vernon takes on Prince George (8:30).
The Shamrocks will open the regular season Friday, April 13 versus the reigning league champion Raiders at 7:30 p.m. at Nor-Val.
Governors have re-named the senior C circuit as the Thompson Okanagan Senior Lacrosse League (formerly the OKXLL).
“It’s a great event to kick our season off, it gives the players a few games to shake the winter rust off, as well as opportunities to play against teams from outside our league,” said Pieper, who played in a recent Masters tournament in Everett, Wash.
“There is a lot of lacrosse packed into one weekend and it gives the fans a lot of opportunities to come out and watch a game or two.”
The league has also gone to the National Lacrosse League net sizes of four feet by 4.6-feet, three inches wider on each side.
