High hopes for Junior B Athletics
The St. Catharines WMKL Junior B Athletics open the 2024 season Friday in Six Nations. File photo: BILL POTRECZ
The St. Catharines WMKL Junior B Athletics have set the bar high this season.
Coming off a 2023 campaign that saw them lose in the Western Conference finals to Six Nations, the A’s embark on the 2024 season with a good deal of optimism.
“I think the goal is to continuously get better,” A’s head coach Alec Tamas said. “This is my third year being part of the team and every year we’ve gotten better. This year, we want to continue to take a step further.
“We were only four wins away from a national championship last year and getting a chance to play for the Founders Cup so we want to take another step close toward that and ultimately that is our end goal, to compete for the Founders Cup at the end of summer.”
The Athletics begin the Ontario Lacrosse Association junior B season Friday in Six Nations with a strong nucleus of returning players as well as some promising newcomers.
“Our goal every day is to get better every time we step on the floor, no matter what group of guys it is,” Tamas said. “It has been a nice to start this year. We do have a good group of returning players so having that veteran group around in training camp has been a really nice complement to our younger guys.”
Among the notable returning veterans are forwards Jaden Patterson, Jack Parker, Cody MacNeil, Trent Mooradian, Colton Armitage and Landon Jaeckle while Carter Accursi will begin the season with the team as well. Sutter Pilon and Lochlan Belliveau will help anchor the defence with veteran Mike Napoli back in goal.
Tamas said the roster is in flux and will be for several weeks as players return from school.
“They’ll be filtering back over the next three or four weeks and we’ll have to continue to make some decisions throughout the year,” he said. “It’s a total work in progress. The Junior A’s are giving us a handful of players we’re going to be using to start the season. Once their season starts, they’ll be getting called up and we’re going to have players coming back that way.”
Tamas said roster uncertainty is part of the deal at the junior B level.
“It’s always that way. Guys are rotating in and out. It’s always that next man up mentality. Guys always have to be ready to play.”
Tamas is entering his third season with the team and second as head coach.
“You start to feel a little bit more comfortable,” he said. “Early on the season catches up on you fast and you have guys away and it’s a little bit of a scramble but I feel a lot more comfortable with the players. It kind of feels like you can start where you left off last year and kind of hit the ground running. It’s been a lot easier in that sense.”
The A’s home opener is Wednesday, April 24 versus Elora at 8 p.m. at Canada Games Park.
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