Archive

Junior C lacrosse coming to Orangeville

August 15, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The lacrosse scene in Orangeville may well be expanding if an application to start a Junior C franchise is approved next month.

With a thriving minor program and active Junior A and Junior B teams, organizer Kent Cotton says it’s time to add a team at the C level.

Orangeville has become well known nationally and internationally as a hotbed of lacrosse activity and success with several provincial and national titles in the record books.

The current Junior C League has 15 teams in the line-up forming an East Division, Far East Division, and a West Division.

The Northmen would play in the West with teams from Brantford, Wilmot, Fergus, Barrie, Caledon, Oakville, and Halton Hills.

So far, Cotton says neighboring towns seem welcome to the idea of allowing an Orangeville team into the League.

Other centers can protest new teams entering a League if they feel that will affect their ability to recruit players.

The Junior C team in Shelburne dropped out from the League a couple of years ago so players from that area are also in the recruitment zone.

“We’re trying to bring a Junior C team to Orangeville for next year so I’ve got the approval from the Junior A’s, the Junior B’s and minor lacrosse,” Cotton explained. “The League is very anxious to have us in. Other teams in the league are strongly behind us.”

Cotton spoke to the other teams in town to ensure cooperation at all levels in the sport.

“They wanted it to be a cooperative thing,” Cotton said. “They don’t want some outlaw guy coming in and starting up a team and causing problems for the minors. I spoke to Bob Clevely (GM) with the A’s, Ryan Dowdall (GM) with the B’s and the minor executive. The application to the League is due by September 1. They need a two thirds majority vote to let us in. It will probably take about a month before a decision is made.”

Putting a viable team together is a big undertaking. Cotton said they have to put an executive and coaching staff together as well as find sponsors.

“We have to get a coaching staff,” Cotton said. “The big thing right now is getting sponsorship commitments. It’s a smaller budget than the Junior A’s and the Junior B’s, but we still have to start up. A first year team has expenses so we’re counting on community support.”

With the large number of lacrosse players in town, the need for a new Junior team is apparent.

“Just in Orangeville we have 22 kids graduating out of the Midget division this year. Between the A’s the B’s, and the intermediates there’s only eight kids graduating so there’s going to be a real need for another team in town.”

There is a real need for businesses in town who would like to be a part of the team to step up and provide sponsorships to help get Orangeville’s newest team up and running for the 2020 season.

Readers Comments (0)