Team O captures U13 championship
This time, Keegan Luey got to have his cake and eat it too.
The 12-year-old St. Catharines resident was member of Team Ontario which captured the U13 championship at the Lacrosse Canada Nationals held recently in Regina.
It is the second straight Canadian title for Luey, but this year’s championship was just a little more special after being able to share the experience with his father, assistant coach Tim Luey, and his best buddy, Hudson Llord.
“My dad is like my best friend,” Keegan Luey said. “He makes me better and helps push me. Winning with him coaching was one of the greatest moments ever. He’s the best.”
Llord is the son of former St. Catharines Athletics defender Ian Llord.
“Hudson and I have been playing together since we were like four. This was such an awesome experience to go and win a national championship with him,” Keegan Luey added.
Father Tim Luey admitted to being a proud papa.
“I’ve played and coached in a bunch of national championships, but never with my son, so it was definitely a unique opportunity just to be there with him, let alone win,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to be around players that good and it’s cool to be able to coach in a national championship with your kid on the team.”
Keegan Luey was second on Team O and second overall in scoring with 13 goals and 19 points in six games.
“It was awesome and a great experience that I’ll never forget,” he said. “The best part was to get to know every single one of them and losing them to them (B.C.) in the round robin and beating them in the championship just made it so much better.”
Llord contributed four goals and five points in his six games.
“Hudson Llord is a lot like his dad,” Tim Luey said. “He’s a big guy who plays incredible defence and also had a huge goal on our man-down defence, which we needed a lot throughout the week. He can also score goals.”
Former A’s coach Paul Day acted as general manager and helped select the squad which included his son, Mac Day, and Colton Monroe, both of Lincoln.
Mac Day contributed six goals and 11 points.
“Mac Day is big and he’s a good all around player,” Tim Luey said. “Mac’s got speed and offensive prowess but Mac actually played a huge defensive role in the tournament in our man-down defence and did whatever was asked of him.”
Monroe chipped in with two goals and eight points in the tournament.
“Colton Monroe is a pretty big kid who is solid all the way around and really has a great shot,” Tim Luey added.
Team Ontario went 5-1 at the tournament, their only loss a 6-4 defeat versus British Columbia in the round-robin.
“The good thing was we had a day off after the loss and we let the kids spend some time with their families and it allowed the coaching staff to watch the film and get really prepared,” Tim Luey said.
Overall Team O dominated, outscoring the opposition 75-10.
“I think there’s always an expectation for Team Ontario to win,” Tim Luey said.
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