Four Innisfail lacrosse players have made the Zone 4 team set to compete at the Alberta Summer Games in Lethbridge in July.
Reed Engman, Nicholas Stauffer, Thieu Van Aar and Nolan Pochapsky all made the team after tryouts held in Innisfail in late May. They were each competing for a spot on the 18-person team.
Van Aar said this is his sixth year playing lacrosse but was surprised he made the team. He plays for the Innisfail Phantoms at the bantam level.
The 13-year-old said he's excited “because I've never had this kind of experience before.”
His favourite parts of lacrosse are the good feeling that comes after scoring a goal or shutting down a breakaway by the opposing team.
He's not sure what position he'll be playing for the Zone 4 team.
“I'm a point man in my normal league,” Van Aar said.
Stauffer is the team captain for one of the Innisfail Phantoms bantam teams. Like Van Aar, he's looking forward to the new surroundings.
“Probably the experience I'm going to get,” he said of what he's most excited about.
“This is my fourth year,” said the 14-year-old player. He said he plays whatever position is required of him.
Stauffer said he was surprised he made the team, commenting there was some stiff competition.
“There was a lot of A players,” he said.
Pochapsky said he was looking forward to playing with his friends and meeting new people.
“I'm really excited I made the team,” Pochapsky said.
Currently Pochapsky plays for the Red Deer Chiefs A team where he's usually a shooter.
The 14-year-old said he wasn't “really surprised” he made the team but he's still happy to get the chance to play for Zone 4.
Engman was somewhat surprised he made the team.
“I was a little bit (surprised) … but it took a lot of training,” Engman said.
The 13-year-old is a point man for one of the Innisfail Phantoms bantam teams and has played lacrosse for a couple of seasons.
He said he's looking forward to meeting new people down in Lethbridge and “the high quality of lacrosse” that will be played.
Engman said one of his favourite parts of lacrosse is how aggressive it is.
