OLDS — Mountain View Elite Lacrosse (MVEL) is starting out the 2023 season with teams in three different locations.
The Tier I Mavericks will play out of Innisfail, the Tier II Stingers out of Didsbury and the Senior C Stingers out of Olds. The Tier I and Tier II teams feature players aged 17-21. The Senior Stingers feature players 21 years old and older.
MVEL president and Senior C Stingers head coach Andy Sweetman says the division of the three teams just makes sense for the players involved.
During an interview with the Albertan, Sweetman said most of the players on the Mavericks live in Innisfail or north of there and most of the Tier II Stingers live in the Olds and Didsbury area.
He said most of the Senior C Stingers prefer to play in the Sportsplex in Olds.
“Last year we had both the junior teams in Didsbury and we thought that this year it might be better just so each team as their identity, to move one of the teams to Innisfail,” he said.
There’s another advantage to the change as well.
“The arena fees are quite a bit less than what we pay here in Olds, so budget-wise, it makes it a little cheaper for us to move the teams around there too,” he said.
MVEL is hosting the Tier II provincials during the long weekend in August. Unfortunately, the Stingers aren’t automatically in that tournament; they have to qualify for it.
Sweetman suspects the provincials will actually be hosted in Innisfail, because it’s his understanding that by then, the ice will be going back in at the Sportsplex in Olds.
The season for all three teams got underway the last weekend in April. It winds up July 15, followed of course by playoffs for those teams that qualify.
MVEL had mixed results last season.
The Mavericks missed the playoffs during the last weekend of the season. Sweetman is hopeful they’ll make the playoffs this year though.
He noted that their head coach, Trey Christensen, has lots of great experience, having played and coached top tier lacrosse in Red Deer.
Sweetman said Christensen took that Red Deer Tier I team to the Founder’s Cup, the national championship for the Tier I teams.
“We’re really expecting the Tier I’s to – if not win the central division – at least come in second, be way more competitive than we have been in the past, for sure,” Sweetman said.
“The team we have right now, I think we did some good drafting over a couple of years and the kids are buying into what Trey’s teaching right now, which is good, and I think they’ll be a faster, more athletic and more skilled team this year as well.”
Last season, the Tier II Stingers did make the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round.
That was disappointing, but Sweetman thinks they’ll do better this year because the coaching staff is coordinating strategy and conditioning with Christensen’s program.
"This year, same coaching staff, a little bit different philosophy the way they’re going to run things, so that should help out a little bit.”
He said drills, practices and power plays will be run at a higher tempo.
“We’re trying to combine – so the Tier I team and the Tier II team practise and play very similarly. That way, when we call kids up to the Tier I program from the Tier II team they’re not out of place, they know what’s going on already.”
The Senior C Stingers played 12 games and won six, propelling them into the playoffs.
“The year before we didn’t win anything,” Sweetman said.
The highlight of the season occurred when they beat the Airdrie Mohawks, who up until then, hadn’t been beaten for about six years.
Unfortunately, the Stingers faced the Mohawks again in the playoffs and were eliminated. The Mohawks went on to win the league championship and provincials.
Because several Mavericks have aged up to the Seniors, Sweetman is pretty confident the Seniors will win more games this year and make the playoffs because those younger guys not only bring lots of skill, but also lots of energy.
That includes local phenom Marshall Bloomfield.
“He’s not sure exactly what he’s doing yet, but I’ve hopefully talked him into playing a couple of games with us,” Sweetman said.
“And then he wants to play a higher level in Calgary too, so he might be doing that as well.
“But he’s one of the best players in Alberta and if we can get him around us, it’s going to help our offence for sure.”
Sweetman said another advantage for the Seniors is not only the speed, skill and enthusiasm of the younger players but also the fact that many of them – and many of the older players -- have played together for many years, so they know each other’s tendencies.
A highlight for the Seniors will occur when they host the so-called crossover weekend during the last weekend in May.
That's when teams that have been playing against south teams so far in the season go up against teams from the north, and vice versa.
The weekend will be capped off with a party or pub night.
