Minor Hawk field lacrosse teams wrap up on a high note

Submitted photos

The Huntsville Hawks Spring Field Rep program has been running for the last six to eight weeks but this past weekend the teams played their final tournament in Brampton for the Provincials to determine the winners of the season. Four of Huntsville teams travelled south on Friday, May 19 to compete against some of the larger centres with strong lacrosse communities such as Oshawa, Burlington, and St. Catharines.

The Four Teams that represented the Huntsville Hawks were:

U11 RE Landscaping Hawks
U13 HRC Insurance Hawks
U15 Armstrong Dodge Hawks
U17 Huntsville Hawks

Jason Rudge, a coach himself, oversees the entire Field program and commented on the Spring Field program as a whole this season. “For the second straight year, we were able to field a team at every division with players playing from the age of seven to 16 years old.

“Our U9 Hawks team finished the season with their best all-around record and success in the Fun U9 Division. No Provincial Championships are held in this division as the program is to promote play and growth in the game of lacrosse at young levels, with development and fun being the big part of their season,” said Rudge.

The younger teams played a whopping six grueling games over the weekend. The U11 Hawks team won four out of five games, landing them in the semi-final game against Caledon. Even though the team had played five long games with a shortage of players (only three spares) and the weather hitting them with wet, cold windy days, the Hawks fought hard but were disappointed in a loss.

Coach Adam Caswell said, “It was a great learning experience for the team as the boys will take away the experience and build on it next year. We had a very young team this year, as some of the boys were first-time field lacrosse players. They were a great group of kids to work with and they played hard and came along way from when they first started in April.”

The U15 Hawks, coached by Cory Veitch, were also able to make their way into the semi-finals with two wins out of three games in hard fought battles all weekend long. The team came up short in their semi-final game against Niagara On The Lake.

Hawks U13 and U17 teams were both hard-fighting when playing against the larger centres with U13 playing at the B level, and U17 at C. These divisions put the boys against towns like Brampton, Burlington, St. Catharines, all playing against each centre’s top teams. “Just to compete at this level is a win for the small town of Huntsville,” said Coach Rudge.

The U13 Hawks played three fierce games but won only one. The U17 Hawks also played three games and left everything on the field and walked away from the weekend loss with their heads held high.

For more information on Hawks lacrosse programs and teams, visit hawkslacrosse.ca. There are several options:

Huntsville’s Box Rep Lacrosse season has started and it runs through the summer with Provincials at the beginning of August.

The Hawks Women’s Program – Women’s Field Development – is currently running and is a great program to introduce the women’s field game to the girls that love or want to try the game. No contact, little equipment needed and lots of fun. Half season rate of $25 every Wednesday evening at Conroy Park until June 21^.

Muskoka Lacrosse Clinics are open for all players and levels that want to start or continue to play the field game, enhance their skill level, drive to play at the next level and prepare for the Fall Ball Season. It will run every Monday for six weeks starting June 12 at Conroy Park.

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