When lacrosse was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Parksville player Brenden Jamieson was disappointed and greatly concerned he might not land a U.S. college scholarship.
The Oceanside Minor Lacrosse product is a prolific scorer who has garnered the attention of coaches, including from the Nanaimo Timbermen who selected Jamieson in the B.C. Junior Lacrosse Association entry draft in January 2020.
Jamieson was looking forward to suiting up for the T-Men and showcase his skills, hoping to attract attention from U.S. schools. But COVID-19 disrupted that plan.
“There were no games so I wasn’t even sure if I would get a chance to go to university,” said Jamieson.
But he never gave up. He tried contacting a few schools and eventually his lacrosse coach at Nanaimo District Secondary School helped him hook up with the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds. Jamieson said he has had several phone conversations with Greyhounds coaches.
He indicated he made a good impression as he was offered a full scholarship to play for the Greyhounds in NCAA Div. II this coming school year.
“I was really shocked and surprised,” said Jamieson. “It’s an amazing feeling to know I have got my schooling paid for. I am going to be playing the sport that I love while getting a free education.”
Jamieson recently graduated from NDSS. He attended the Nanaimo school because it has a lacrosse academy which allowed him to keep playing and also hone his skills. He has been playing lacrosse for more than 12 years now and was a Oceanside Minor Lacrosse top midget player. He also played for the Oceanside Sharks Junior B team.
READ MORE: Oceanside Minor Lacrosse to honour volunteers
This is Jamieson’s second year as a junior and with games now being allowed, he will finally get to play with the Timbermen B1 junior team this summer.
“I am anxious knowing I am going to be playing a higher calibre of playing style,” said Jamieson.
“I hope to learn and improve my game before I head out to Indianapolis in August.”
When the season was cancelled, Jamieson kept himself in good shape and frequented the lacrosse box at the Parksville Community Park where he worked on his game.
“I needed to keep myself in shape and training just in case the season starts again,” said Jamieson. “I wanted to make sure I was ready.”
Jamieson is eager to join the University of Indianapolis. He plans to major in business once school starts.
• In other news, the Oceanside Minor Lacrosse Association has been selected by CTJumpstart to receive a grant from the Sport Relief Fund, which was launched in September 2020 in response to the significant impact COVID-19 has had on community sports and recreation.
Canadian Tire Corporation has donated $12 million to help community sport organizations like the OMLA continue to provide access to sport and play for Canadian kids.
The association indicated that the grant will go a long way toward helping the OMLA to continue to offer skill development programming and expanded lacrosse opportunities to volunteers and youth in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area.
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