A local under-15 lacrosse team is the squad to beat in B.C. after claiming its second straight provincial championship in Richmond this month.
Ridge Meadows Burrards Tier-1 players outlasted the Coquitlam Adanacs 9-8 in the final mid-month.
Victory was that much sweeter considering they had not beaten their opponents all season.
“We’d lost to them every single time,” head coach Brad Rennie said.
“We knew the competition across the board this year at provincials was excellent. It was anybody’s game, but Coquitlam was definitely the favourite to win.”
A solid tournament leading up to the all-important match helped the team find their identity, Rennie said.
“Collectively across the tournament, the boys seemed to gel more,” he said.
“The trust and the bond between those young men grew exponentially and they grew comfortable having each other’s backs. They literally left it all on the table and went for it.
“It was a beautiful thing to watch and to be part of the experience was second to none.”
READ MORE: Burrards win u-15 B.C. field title
While the whole team played incredibly, Rennie said a lot is owed to the performance of tournament MVP Jake Young.
The coach said his star player is quite unassuming.
“He is a quiet, young man and he does not have an attitude by any means but he listens and he adapts well.”
Once he takes the lacrosse field, Young – who averaged close to a hat trick over the course of the tournament – gets in the zone.
“His lacrosse IQ is probably one of the highest I’ve seen in a long time,” Rennie said.
“He found his sweet spot in the tournament and when the chips were down, the guy was clutch.
“He was a goal scoring machine.”
Rennie said about 50 per cent of the squad will return to play in next year’s U-15 team, while the rest will bolster the roster of an already impressive U-18 team.
ronan.p.odoherty@blackpress.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
