In the space of one year, they made huge strides forward.
At the provincial Tier 2 field lacrosse championships, held in Victoria on the weekend, Prince George and northern players did themselves proud. Playing on an Under-16 team, they compiled a record of 0-2-1 and scored 20 goals in those three games.
Last year, at the same tournament, the same cast of players absorbed three consecutive losses and managed just three goals.
"The boys really got their game going, and these were their first three games of the year," said coach Bill Barwise. "We've just been practicing in the Sport Centre. Probably four times we tried to go to a tournament and, with the travel restrictions, it was pretty tough to coordinate. I had 14 runners and one goalie -- two kids from out of town, one from Quesnel and one from Mackenzie -- and they really gelled. A lot of them were carry-overs from my box [lacrosse] team in the summer and they really put it together, especially in the third game."
The U-16s lost their first game 12-7 to Fraser Valley, a club that had already played 20 to 30 times on southern fields.
In their next game, Barwise's boys trailed Coquitlam 4-3 at half-time but took far too many penalties in the second half and paid the price. The game ended 13-3 in favour of Coquitlam.
"That was our second game of the season and the way I saw it, the first game we were on adrenaline and the second game we were a little bit more confident and made some silly mistakes," Barwise said.
In their final outing, the U-16s took on North Island. By way of a comeback, they earned a 10-10 tie.
"In the third quarter they were up by three goals and we clawed back," Barwise said. "We had the ball in the last minute-and-a-half and were driving the net on a 1-on-0 and just as we went to shoot, their guy just got his stick on our stick and the ball just went over the net."
After the final whistle, Barwise received some high praise.
"The comments at the end of the game from the officials were that that was the most exciting game they had officiated in two or three years," Barwise said. "It was a real great way to end it."
Barwise helped get field lacrosse going in Prince George just four years ago. Given the game's infancy here, he's proud of just how skilled his players have become.
"To see them get to that level where they're competing with the top athletes in the province is pretty good," he said.
