INNISFAIL — An Innisfail-based lacrosse team, the Mountain View Mavericks, are playing in the nationals for the first time in the team's history, according to assistant coach and board member Wally Genz.
The nationals, known as the Founders Cup, began Aug. 19 and run until Aug. 25 in Hamilton, Ontario.
The team qualified for the Founders Cup after finishing in second place in the Larry Bishop Memorial Tournament in Airdrie at the beginning of August.
“We’re absolutely flabbergasted. We're just, yeah, we're over the moon; excited,” Genz said during an interview with the Albertan.
“(It) still hasn't really sunk in for some of us because, you know, this is our first time going to a national championship.”
Junior lacrosse players range in age from 16-21.
Genz said there are several factors in the team’s success.
They have a new coaching staff and several new players, but also a mix of veterans.
“We have four vets, four key guys that are absolutely instrumental in being able to get us to where we're going,” he said.
He cited assistant captain Luke Hildebrandt as an example of that leadership.
“He's just a machine on the floor,” Genz said. “He just really stepped up and everything just started clicking at the start of the year and then we went and made a playoff run.”
Genz said a key to the Mavericks’ success this season is head coach Trey Christensen's strategy.
“Trey's really known for having a strong transition game and so we've been relying heavily on that and our team is in top shape.
“We've been working at it since the start of the probably about mid-season when we as a coaching staff really took a look at what we needed to do to be able to stay competitive,” he said.
“We just went back to our basic fundamentals and everything just started clicking on the team. They really found themselves nice and early too, to be able to unite.
“You know, it's probably one of the fastest games on two feet and we by far have the fastest team, so we were able to break down a lot of the barriers that usually hold us back or were not usually able to find until later in the season.”
Genz said another key factor has been a really cohesive locker room.
“The culture that the guys have been able to build in the dressing room and just within the club itself has been nothing but contagious; everybody wants to be part of it,” he said.
The Mavericks moved their home base from Olds to Innisfail two years ago.
“It was more of a central location for our players,” general manager/assistant coach Brad Bouchard said, noting the team draws players from across central Alberta.
Another factor in that decision was the availability of floor time.
Bouchard said management at the Sportsplex in Olds kept “shortening our floor season because they kept wanting to put ice in sooner and take it out later, so it kind of it started to creep into our season, so availability of floors was also getting to be an issue.
“Whereas the Innisfail arena was open arms to us and made it work for what we need to work, and it's been really good there.”
