Tamas signs with Mammoth
Alec Tamas is so close to achieving his dream he can taste it.
The 23-year-old St. Catharines native, who has been champing at the bit for two years to crack a National Lacrosse League roster, recently inched closer to his goal when he signed a two-year deal with the Colorado Mammoth.
“It’s a rookie contract so I have to still have to make the team for the contract to get fulfilled,” Tamas said. “There are still no guarantees. I still have to go and make the team.”
Tamas, a former highly respected member of the St. Catharines Athletics, had previously been on the practice roster with both Buffalo and Halifax.
“Other than just a few exhibition games in training camp, I haven’t played in a regular season game yet,” he said. “It’s driving me crazy that I haven’t had that chance yet.
“This last year I’ve been working so hard for that opportunity and I know if I can get that chance, I’ll make the most of it.”
A’s coach Steve Toll, who works as a scout for the Mammoth, put in a good word for the hard-working defender.
“I reached out to them a couple of weeks ago. We’ve been talking back and forth and they said they would offer me a contract once Aug. 1 rolled around for free agency and I was more than willing to take the deal,” Tamas said. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m really excited to get started there.”
He feels he has a strong shot at cracking the roster.
“They know my style of play, my physical, aggressive shut-down style of play and that’s what they’re looking for,” Tamas said. “They just traded away (St. Catharines native) Dan Coates — by no means am I going there to replace him — but they’re looking for a stay-at-home, shutdown defensive style on the back end.”
The NLL plans to hold their draft next month, but with NCAA players being granted an extra season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tamas feels the timing is right for him.
“They can get drafted but go back to college and will miss out most of the year. A lot of kids will be going back to school so they won’t be getting them right away. They were looking at free agency to fill those holes.”
Tamas, who joins former A’s Jeff Wittig and Jack McNabb with the Mammoth, has been putting in extra hours in the gym.
“I’ve been working out a lot since COVID,” he said. “I’ve invested a lot of time working out and strength and conditioning and eating healthy and trying to stay in the best shape I can.”
He will have to continue to bide his time while the NLL comes up with a plan to start the season.
Tamas recently accepted a position with the Niagara Support Services as development support worker after graduating from Brock.
He said he will always look back fondly on his time with the A’s.
“Junior were definitely some of the most fun years I’ve every had playing lacrosse, especially growing up and playing in St. Catharines,” he said.“Those were friends I’ve been playing with since I was 10.
“It sucks not being able to play with those guys since I graduated but I’m looking forward to meeting up with some of them in Colorado.”
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