Locals mine lacrosse gold
From left: Coach Tim Luey, Keaton Zavitz, Oliver Vanyo, Gavin Howard, Jacob Rawson, coach Matt Attwood. Photo: SPECIAL TO BPSN.
St. Catharines was front and centre at the recent U15 National Field Lacrosse Championships in Kelowna, B.C.
Four players — Keaton Zavitz, Oliver Vanyo, Gavin Howard and Jacob Rawson — were members of Team Ontario coached by former St. Catharines Athletics Tim Luey and Matt Attwood.
“Matt and I coached this team last year and won,” Luey said. “Ontario always has a pretty high expectations. The goal is always to compete and win a national championship.”
The team went 4-0 in round-robin play before defeating host British Columbia 8-3 in the championship final.
For Vanyo, it was his second U15 championship in a row after he was between the pipes last season as a 14-year-old.
“When we first went we thought we would do well because Team Ontario has a history of doing well,” said Vanyo, a 15-year-old, Grade 10 student at Governor Simcoe. “We got to the final game and at the end of first quarter it was only 1-0 for us so it was definitely a grind of a game.”
Vanyo was one of three co-captains — Zavitz and Howard were the others — who played in four of the five games and performed admirably taking home the overall MVP award, MVP in the gold medal game, while also being named to the tournament all-star team.
“That was really, really nice. It’s big payoff for the hard work you do,” he said.
Luey couldn’t say enough about Vanyo’s contributions.
“Oliver was great and he provided us with that leadership,” he said. “He was the starting goalie last year. He knew coming in he would probably be the guy so he had that confidence and leadership.”
Zavitz, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student at Sir Winston Churchill, performed in a variety of roles.
“He plays a lot of minutes because he’s the kind of player you can put into a lot of positions,” Luey said. “You can put him on the man down, on the power play, on the wing, or face-offs.
“You can pretty much use him anywhere so he’s very valuable in that way.”
Zavitz, who played a game with his older brother Carter with the St. Catharines Athletics this summer, enjoyed his role as co-captain.
“Just keep the guys focused,” he said, when asked how he aided the team in that role.
Zavitz admitted it took some time to settle down playing on such a big stage.
“It was exciting the whole way through and nerve-wracking at the start,” he said. “I tried not to look at who I was playing and worry about how I was playing.”
Howard’s championship was his third in as many years after winning national championships at the peewee and bantam level in box lacrosse.
“Having experience with other nationals, most people are nervous, but after a little bit you get used to it from being on that stage,” said Howard, a 15-year-old, Grade 10 student at St. Francis.
Howard wasn’t quite sure what to expect heading into the games.
“Going in there, I felt we had a good chance of winning, but in my eyes a lot of kids who should be been on the team didn’t try out, so I wasn’t as confident as I was in the past years,” he said. “After the first game, I gained more confidence in our team.”
Howard’s contributions did not go overlooked by Luey.
“He’s a great offensive player,” Luey said. “He’s a little like Zavitz in the sense he can play both ways as well. He’s a great midfielder who can play offence and defence and power-play minutes.”
Howard, too, enjoyed the responsibilities that come with leadership.
“It was a good experience having the C on my sweater,” he said. “Last year in bantam, I had the C on my chest as well. It’s nice being a leader.”
Rawson, a 15-year-old, Grade 10 student at Eden, was a stalwart on defence.
“He’s just full of energy,” Luey said. “He’s a dynamic defensive player who a starting long pole. He’s a relentless defender. He’s always asking great questions and wanting to get better and learn.
Rawson, who won a national box lacrosse title last year in bantam, takes his role seriously.
“My job is to protect the heart and protect the goal and block their attack men and not let them do their job.
“Footwork is big. There were a lot of fast guys out there so you had to stay in front of them. The guys who can use both their hands are very hard to guard and they use their sticks very well so you have to contain their bodies.”
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