The Westlock Lacrosse Association is celebrating a big milestone this year — its 10th season.
“It’s really exciting that it’s grown every year and made it to 10 seasons,” said association president Stacey Howse.
The association wouldn’t be what it is today without the hard work and countless hours of executive members going all the way back to the association’s inception in 2005, she said, singling out past presidents like Liz Roberts and Dan Basisty.
“They put in a lot of work to get it started and keep it going,” she said.
Howse has been with lacrosse in Westlock for the last five seasons, and even in that time she’s seen the community become more aware of the sport, to the point where numbers were high enough this year that they reached a tipping point between having to turn would-be players away or creating a second team for some age categories.
In addition, she said as the sport has grown in Westlock, the coaching and skill level for each team has improved as the players who started at the younger ages have moved up the ranks.
Two people who have been involved with the association in one way or another since its creation are Roberts and inaugural president Carla Nelson.
The two women were at the June 15 junior game, and spoke about how lacrosse came to become part of the Westlock sporting landscape.
There had always been kids in town who wanted to play, but the only option was to travel to St. Albert or Edmonton.
Then, a family from Athabasca moved to Westlock and put up signs looking for lacrosse players.
From that small action, suddenly Westlock had three teams for the 2005 season— a peewee, bantam and midget squad.
Westlock was the “laughingstock” of the Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council, Roberts said, as the teams were “cremated every game,” but the kids loved the game.
The next year, in 2006, Westlock gained a novice team. In addition, the association has also fielded girls teams.
That humble, and unsuccessful results-wise, season led to constant improvements and growth, as the association dug down and brought in good coaches and learned more about the game.
Nelson said the junior team that plays in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League is the direct result of the players wanting a team to play on after they graduated from midget.
She added she’s heard from some players that if lacrosse was a year-round sport in Westlock, they would stop playing hockey outright.
For Roberts, she views lacrosse as the perfect sport, especially for the 14-22 age demographic.
“It’s a really good, positive sport,” she said. “It teaches self-discipline and good fitness.”
To mark the 10th lacrosse season in Westlock, the association set up a cake outside the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre, as well as ran a hotdog and bottle drive fundraiser.
