Field lacrosse reviving in Westman

When Dustin Harvey’s oldest son, Maverick, told him he wanted to quit soccer for lacrosse two years ago, Harvey was heartbroken.

Harvey had grown up playing soccer and pictured years of volunteering and coaching alongside his wife, Tannel, on their son’s team, but everything changed after Maverick picked up a lacrosse stick during a free drop-in session.

“He was immediately hooked,” said Harvey. “It broke my heart, and I fought it for a couple of weeks, until I saw his first game.”

Harvey didn’t know much about lacrosse at the time, but after seeing it live for the first time, he too became hooked on the sport.

“I just couldn’t get enough of it after that,” he said. “It’s just an absolutely different game than everything else.”

Until recently, field lacrosse had been nearly non-existent in Brandon — outside of the high school level, with Vincent Massey High School starting a team a few years back. That is, until Dustin and Tannel Harvey and coach Drew Collins decided to expand the Wheat City Wranglers box lacrosse program to include field lacrosse for U11 and U13 athletes.

Harvey, who was already coaching the Wranglers’ younger box lacrosse squad, saw the opportunity come to life in June after the Vincent Massey’s field team held a practice and invited Harvey to bring some of his eight-, nine- and 10-year-olds who had never played before to come out and try it. Around 10 kids came out to the high school practice, and each one of them fell in love with the sport.

“The best thing was just seeing the kids happy and seeing the kids playing something they enjoyed,” said Harvey. “It was great to see.”

One week later, Harvey’s wife began filing the paperwork with the Manitoba Lacrosse Association, Wheat City Wranglers and Sport Manitoba. By the end of July, less than a month after that high school practice, the new field program was officially up and running — for a cost of less than $200 per player.

A big part of keeping the program affordable came from Collins, who secured a $2,500 sponsorship to cover equipment. At the time, the club had no gear, goalie equipment and sticks, so Collins helped provide everything they needed to get started.

And after decades without field lacrosse for younger athletes in Brandon, the response to its return was almost immediate, with nearly 30 kids signed up in the first year: 20 in U11 and eight in U13.

“My experience the last couple years with lacrosse is any kid that tries it for the first time is instantly hooked,” Harvey said. “All these kids that are playing right now are kids that want to play the game and have fun doing it.”

About 15 to 20 of them were already playing box lacrosse, so the transition to field also felt natural. The players enrolled in the program also weren’t just from Brandon. The 28 athletes came from 11 different communities across Manitoba, including Neepawa, Carberry, Shilo, Hamiota and Virden, according to Harvey.

And despite only being involved in the sport for less than 18 months, the 39-year-old said it’s refreshing to see the sport grow in the province after it became overshadowed by hockey and baseball decades ago.

“It feels good to bring it back and just see the kids playing again with the smiles on their faces while they’re all playing,” he said. “It’s a mix of all the sports into one — hockey, football, basketball, and soccer — and that’s what the kids want.”

Field lacrosse, played on a 110-yard-long and 60-yard-wide field, offers a very different experience from box. With more space, more running, and more time to make plays, it’s a new challenge for athletes used to the tighter, faster pace of the indoor game.

This summer, the Wranglers practised once or twice a week and played weekly games, with both teams travelling to tournaments in Yorkton, Regina, and Winnipeg. They also hosted the Churchbridge Kodiaks this past weekend for some friendly matches.

Its inaugural season wraps up at the end of September, but not before the club hosts a tournament at Boyd Stadium on Sept. 20. The Wranglers will welcome two teams from Winnipeg and are hoping to host one from North Dakota. Seven or eight games are planned for the day, along with some hot dogs.

Harvey said he’s already looking ahead to next year. He said the goal is to start the season earlier to avoid overlap with fall sports like hockey and to expand the program to include U9, U15, and U17 divisions. There are also plans to run more spring drop-in sessions so new players in Westman can give the game of field lacrosse a try.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com