Kitimat lacrosse player Bailey Roswell headed off to Saskatchewan to join his old team to train for when they compete in the National Lacrosse League Tournament in August.
What makes this significant is that he is the only non-Saskatchewan player to be included in the Saskatchewan Rush box lacrosse team based, in Saskatoon.
He was accepted back into the team, despite having quit the team after his family moved from Saskatchewan to Kitimat when his dad, Kitimat Lacrosse Association head coach Trent Rowsell, was transferred.
The Tournament is one of two major box lacrosse tournaments that take place in Canada annually, the other being in Calgary. This year’s tournament is the fifth one to be held and will see players from across Northern America competing for points, and for attention.
“If you’re going to be noticed by the scouts, this is where you need to be,” said Trent, who took a chance and asked Rush team management whether they would let an alumni try out for the team.
To Trent’s surprise, Rush gave Bailey the nod and invited him to the tryouts on June 24, and on July 6, Trent surprised Bailey, announcing via a Facebook post that he had been accepted onto the team.
His skill and the fact that being a former team member helped him get a spot on the team, but what clinched it for the Rush management was the work that Bailey has done for lacrosse since arriving in Kitimat.
Bailey was devastated that he had to leave Rush, his team members and his friends, when his family moved to Kitimat, and he was determined to play lacrosse when he got here, even if that meant having to start a team, which is exactly what the family did.
“We knew lacrosse had been played in Kitimat and we knew the conditions were right for it,” said Trent.
The Kitimat Lacrosse Association was born and soon the team had a team together, Bailey recruiting all the players and mentoring them at all the practices.
Bailey’s start in lacrosse came ten years ago when his dad brought pamphlets advertising tryouts for the Peewee league.
“I thought that seemed like fun, so I tried it the year afterwards. I’ve liked the sport every since,” said Bailey.
He said it will be great fun being back in Saskatchewan with his teammates, some of whom are still playing for Rush.
The first of the training camps takes place in Oakville, Ontario, from August 24 to 27.
His father said for Trent to end up playing in the big leagues, he will ultimately have to move either to Ontario or to a college in the U.S.
“We’ve moved eight times in the last 13 years, so we are going to stick around for a while,” said Trent, which is great news for lacrosse in Kitimat.