BURNABY MOUNTAIN SELECTS SENIOR ELITE - DICK'S SPORTING GOODS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS TEAM PREVIEW
(November 24, 2008)
Location: Burnaby, BC
Co-Head Coaches: Jeff Cathrea & Brent Hoskins
Established: 2006
Colors: Red & white
by Danielle Findley
Burnaby Mountain Selects Senior Elite is heading to the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions with some unique leadership: co-head coaches who are also the co-head coaches of the Simon Fraser University men’s lacrosse team, the only Canadian member of the MCLA.
“We’ve had the luxury and privilege for five years to gain experience at the collegiate level, where we can hope to perfect the systems that we implement with our Burnaby Mountain teams,” says co-head coach Jeff Cathrea. “[It] gives us a little bit of an advantage.”
The players say that having coaches with collegiate coaching experience is beneficial to their team.
“They definitely know what they’re doing,” says Senior Elite goalie Kyle Middleton (Woodlands Secondary School). “They have so much experience…they’ve seen everything before, so they know what it takes to play at a university.”
Cathrea and fellow head coach Brent Hoskins have used their experiences to create a style of play that they believe separates them from other Canadian teams.
“We’re not the typical Canadian team that has not seen the American style before,” says Cathrea. “I feel like we’ve taken a little bit of the best of both styles of play to create a unique hybrid that is special to us.”
The team has taken its hybrid style on the road in recent months, enjoying success across the United States.
“I’ve been living out of my suitcase for the last month-and-a-half, but it gives the kids a great experience to get exposed and add to their lacrosse skill-set,” says Cathrea.
Now, the players believe the experiences they’ve had will help them when they arrive at the national championship.
“We’ve seen kids that are committed to big Division I schools, so we know the level we will be playing [against],” says Senior Elite defenseman Cody L’Arrivee (Terry Fox Secondary School). “It has benefited us quite a bit, seeing the teams that have already qualified.”
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