Welcome to the 2010 Season

Hello Parents, Players and Volunteers,
As we prepare for another lacrosse season, our 40th in Nepean and West Ottawa, I would like to provide you with some information as we near the start of what will be another great year of lacrosse. We have concluded 3 registrations to date and our numbers appear to be on track to where they were last year for which we are very excited. Please remember that if your son or daughter plan to tryout for any of the Ontario Provincial teams, they must register as soon as possible as the yellow forms must be sent to the OLA and be back in time for the tryouts. \par \par Another initiative we are planning is the introduction of a Girls Bantam Rep team. The girls will praticipate against other girls teams in the region, Toronto area and also at the provincials. We are hoping to develop Girls lacrosse so that we will be able to provide lacrosse to girls at all levels of play in the future. As everyone might be aware, we will be moving out of Merivale and Bell arena for this year as both facilities will be given a much needed facelift and we will be moving into Stittsville Community Center Arena and Jack Charron Arena. We will also be using Mlacak, Manotick and Richmond arenas as we did last year
The association is looking at purchasing new nets for our arenas for this upcoming year. The Ontario Lacrosse Association has mandated that all associations move to a more uniform design of net so that there is more parity within the province regarding nets and their design. Lacrosse nets are not cheap and so I am asking our members to let us know of any business that would like to sponsor the association to help offset the purchase of these nets. This will go a long way in helping us keep our registration costs down for the years to come. Our sport is still one of the most inexpensive spring/summer sports to play in the region and we would like to be able to keep it this way. The new nets have mesh that are designed so that websites can be professionally printed onto the netting. If you are interested in further information, please contact me directly and I can discuss further with you. \par \par Also as mentioned previously and many of you may have already seen, we are introducing new Rep jerseys for the upcoming season with a completely new look and new logo design. Everyone that has viewed the new jerseys at our registrations have commented how great they like the new look. The new jerseys will be on display at all our upcoming registrations.
I would also like to inform our members of a new program that Nepean Knights is supporting with ProStar lacrosse. In 2009, Noah Hoselton, a Midget player for the Nepean Knights, discovered an ESPN documentary on YouTube about how the introduction of lacrosse to the Inuit community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, brought a dramatic halt to a rash of teen suicides. Noah approached his father Bob, who works extensively with Inuit organizations, about the possibility of introducing lacrosse to other Inuit communities in Canada's north. From there, the pair approached ProStar Lacrosse, a lacrosse skills training firm run by Nepean's Jeff Zywicki and brothers Jason and Luke Wiles. ProStar was immediately struck by the potential impact of the idea and formed the NorthStar Program, designed to introduce lacrosse to Inuit communities throughout the North. A First Nation's game, lacrosse is a unique sport containing both physical and spiritual components. ProStar believes that NorthStar can focus Inuit youth on building healthy bodies and healthy minds. At the 2009 Knights AGM, Bob Hoselton presented the NorthStar Program to the Knights Executive and asked if the Knights Association would like to get involved in supporting the Program by running a used equipment drive to outfit the Iqaluit campers. First Air, the Airline of the North, also has jumped on board and has agreed to fly the instructors and equipment to Iqaluit for the camp set to take place 28 August - 3 September, 2010. Our executive was emotionally moved at the opportunity to be involved with this great program. As we discussed the program even more, we realized that we wanted to do even more to help out. The Nepean Knights Minor Lacrosse Association will be donating a set of refurbished nets, goalie gear, jerseys, sticks, lacrosse balls and anything else to help start up lacrosse in the Iqaluit area. Bob Hoselton will be at our registration dates on March 13th, 20th, 27th and April 3rd should you wish to speak to him directly. We are asking our members to please consider donating any used equipment to Bob in support of the NorthStar program. For more information about the NorthStar program and the YouTube video, please visit Prostar Lacrosse . I invite you to watch the ESPN documentary that Noah first viewed and brought to the attention to his father. I also ask you to get involved to support the NorthStar Program. I guarantee you that you will be extremely moved by this video as were the executive and I.
Thank you for your time. I can't wait for our season to start again....
Peter Drisdelle
President, Nepean Knights Lacrosse Association

2010 Competitive Team Head Coach Applications

Application for the Head Coach position for the 2010 Competitive Season is now closed Interviews and appointments will be made before the end of March.

Timekeepers

Anyone interested in timekeeping this season should send an email to the timekeeper assigner, Victoria Marquis. Note, we are unable to send a reminder email to past season's timekeepers because the list has been lost due to a computer crash. You must contact Victoria again to be included this season.

Girl's Bantam Competitive Lacrosse Team

With the growing initiative of girls-only box lacrosse in Ontario, the Knights are looking to pilot a girls competitive team at the Bantam (1996, 1997) age group. The team would play together in the Bantam house league for practice and game experience, attend one or two girls-only tournaments, and the provincials. Depending on the turnout, Peewee age girls (1998) may be eligible to play on the team. Girls who are interested in playing should indicate their interest by emailing the Competitive Director.

2010 Registration Dates

Knights registration dates will be as follows. Note to competitive players intending to try out for Team Ontario teams, you must register in one of the first two registrations in order to have your player card registered with the OLA in time for the tryouts. For detailed information see the Registration Page

• Mar 1310:00 - 2:00 Goulbourn Rec Centre
• Mar 2010:00 - 2:00 Barbara Ann Scott Arena
• Mar 2710:00 - 2:00 Nepean Sportsplex
• Apr 0310:00 - 2:00 Barrhaven Source for Sports ($15 late fee applies)

A note for those players intending to tryout for OLA provincial teams – you must register in the first or second registration date in order to have your OLA player card registered with the OLA in time for the tryouts. Uncarded players will not be allowed to tryout.

Once again this year, we are pleased to have Hy-Gard at our registrations to offer on-site custom made mouthguards. Please visit their website by clicking on the link on the right for more details on their service.

What nights does each level play on?

In general, each age group plays on the following days, but may play on alternate days depending on number of teams a floor time availability

• Peanut/Paperweight — Saturday mornings
• Tyke — Saturdays and Wednesdays (sometimes Mondays)
• Novice — Mondays and Wednesdays
• PeeWee — Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Bantam — Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Midget — Mondays and Wednesdays (sometimes Saturday)
• Intermediate — Sunday evenings

Games and practices are scheduled on other days of the week (weekends mostly) not mentioned above, but the Association tries to adhere to the above noted days.

Team Ontario Tryout Registration

Pre-registration is required for all players (all age levels)intending to attend the Team Ontario Camps in April. Players must register using the Team Ontario Online Registration. The deadline to register is two weeks before the camp dates.