Local lacrosse player, Liam Steele, 11, recently returned from Oakville, Ont., where he earned second place as a part of the Calgary Junior Roughnecks in the peewee division of the sixth annual Junior NLL (National Lacrosse League) tournament.
The Roughnecks were downed 8-3 by the Toronto Rock in the gold medal final, but Steele is still pleased to have won silver.
A big highlight for him occurred in the semifinals when he scored two goals, as the Roughnecks edged the Vancouver Stealth 7-6.
“There was a lot of excitement,” said Steele about his goals.
Steele was feeling nervous and excited going into the tournament because the team had never played a game together. Going into the weekend, they had only practised together for two-and-a-half months.
“I was just nervous because I didn’t know how our team was going to do, or if there were going to be any ball hogs,” said Steele.
Steele and his teammates opened up the tournament with a strong win over the New England Black Wolves with a score of 7-3.
The next game was a loss for the Roughnecks. The Toronto Rock hammered them 9-2.
Following that, the Roughnecks edged the Colorado Mammoth 7-6. That win put them into the semifinals.
Overall, Steele is happy with the way the tournament went.
“I was pretty excited that the team did well,” he said.
When asked if he would play lacrosse again next year in Olds he said, “Uh, maybe.”
After all, two teams in Calgary and one in Airdrie approached Steele to play with them next spring.
Steele and his family stayed in Ontario after the tournament where they saw a live Blue Jays game, went to the Hockey Hall of Fame and toured Niagara Falls.
Steele and his family are thankful to all the people who helped raise money to enable him to compete in one of his favourite sports on an international level.
