BLACK DOG LACROSSE CLUB - DICK'S SPORTING GOODS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS RISING STARS TEAM PREVIEW
(November 10, 2008)
Location: Surrey, BC
Head Coach: Kyle Baillie
Established: 2007
Colors: Blue & white
by Danielle Findley
Black Dog Lacrosse Club can lay claim to something that no other team can: it will be the first Canadian squad to participate in the rising stars division of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions.
“Being Canadian, we have a tremendous sense of pride about who we are nationally and about our role and responsibility in the world,” says Black Dog head coach Kyle Baillie. “To be the first team from here to represent our nation at the tournament (in the rising stars division), we realize we aren’t just representing Black Dog Lacrosse, but also Canadian lacrosse.”
In 2007, Black Dog was created with the explicit purpose of travelling to tournaments in the United States to help players gain more exposure to US college coaches.
“We’re a bunch of guys from different [local] clubs playing lacrosse, with good grades and playing a sport that reflects us,” says midfielder Jacob Stoddart (Pacific Academy). “We just want to get better and maybe get into a college later on.”
With aspirations of academic and athletic success at US institutions, the players can look to Coach Baillie’s own education at Centenary College to know it's possible.
“He went for an academic scholarship and he works at a school, so he’s really into focusing on grades,” says goalie Patrick Butler (Kwantlen Park Secondary School). “It’s not all about skills…you have to have some academic intelligence as well.”
While schools are on winter vacation and the players are taking a break from their academic obligations, the team will head to Florida in January with purpose and reason.
“This isn’t just a trip for them- it’s the trip of a lifetime,” says Coach Baillie. “They have nothing to lose, so we’re going to come with the guns blazing.”
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