Field lacrosse players from Claremont Secondary are gearing up for the B.C. Games in Nanaimo, which starts Thursday and runs to July 19.
Dawson Gordon, Will Johansen and Josh Pickford are three of the Claremont players heading to the Games as part of Zone 6, Vancouver Island-Central Coast.
“It’s going to be fun, high quality lacrosse,” said Johansen. “Spending time with my team, playing the sport I love.”
Johansen has been playing lacrosse for eight years.
“I like it better than any other sport,” he said.
Pickford started playing lacrosse about eight years ago as well, when his mom put him in the sport to try it out.
“I ended up loving [it],” said Pickford, adding he likes the fast pace of the game.
Gordon, a field lacrosse player for 10 years, said he is simply looking forward to playing lacrosse at the B.C. Games.
He said it is a bit intimidating to be playing against kids from all over the province, but he’s also excited.
Gordon, Johansen and Pickford are going into Grade 10 in September, but they are already thinking about playing lacrosse in college.
All three recently went to California Gold, an invitational lacrosse showcase recruiting event. It is a chance for players to get noticed by college coaches as the teens plan their future beyond high school.
Johansen said he thinks being from Claremont Secondary will give them an advantage at the Games this weekend because the lacrosse program is so good at the school.
“We have a really good coach,” said Johansen.
Gordon added, “We play [lacrosse] every day.”
All three boys are involved with lacrosse teams outside of school as well, including Victoria Youth Field Lacrosse, Pacific Rim Field Lacrosse and Saanich Tigers.
They also play box lacrosse, but all prefer field lacrosse.
“It’s a totally different game,” said Pickford, referring to box lacrosse. “I’d say field lacrosse is a lot easier to score.”
The three boys and their team are hoping to score enough goals to bring home the gold this weekend.
The Vancouver Island-Central Coast team will play its first game on Friday against Cariboo-North East.
andrea.peacock@vicnews.com