The highlights were nonstop during the second season for the Highlighters girls field lacrosse program, which wrapped up last month.
Without enough players in a single age group to field a rep team, the program stayed close to home, playing a four-team house league over several weeks at the Cowichan Sportsplex.
“We didn’t know if we would have enough for a U11 program,” program coordinator Naomi Walser said. “We have seven girls under 11, so that’s just a little too small.”
The league included about 30 players between the ages of nine and 16. The age discrepancy sounds big, but they made it work, Walser emphasized.
“Because girls field lacrosse is non-contact, the age difference isn’t as important,” she said.
The teams played a round-robin series, each getting six games, followed by semifinals and finals. Team Orange took the Golden Goal trophy for first place, with Team Green getting the Silver Stick for second, and Team Yellow claiming the Bronze Ball for third. Team Pink received the Friendship Frenzy trophy for fourth place.
The name “Highlighters” ended up taking on a double meaning. Walser originally intended it as a reference to highlight-reel plays, but the players loved the fact that their neon-coloured jerseys matched the colours of highlighter markers.
The Highlighters will move indoors starting in January, with two separate divisions running from the end of Christmas break until spring break.
This will be the third season for the U14 division, which will play at the Shawnigan Lake Community Centre on Thursday evenings. New this year are Tuesday afternoon games at the Island Savings Centre from 4-5 p.m.
The Highlighters indoor leagues are unique in that they count the number of passes before a goal is scored, and if two teams are tied in the standings, the one that averages the most passes before a goal gets the tiebreaker.
For more information about the indoor leagues, email naomiwalser@gmail.com
