The Sunshine Coast Bantam Rapids lacrosse team had an action-packed time at the Karsten Huth Memorial Bantam Lacrosse Tournament in Kamloops last weekend. Our local boys represented the Sunshine Coast with unstoppable determination and grit and demonstrated great sportsmanship throughout the tournament.
We got off to a great start with our game against the Kamloops Rattlers Friday night, which resulted in a 6-2 win for us. Saturday’s noon game against the Shuswap Outlaws moved us higher in the standings with a 9-5 win, while our epic evening game against the Chilliwack Mustangs ended in a 9-6 win – despite the fact that the Mustangs had almost twice as many people on the bench than we did.
The Sunday morning game against Langley Thunder resulted in an unfortunate 2-1 loss for us but was a great demonstration of our team’s gutsy “no-quit” character. It was a hard-fought game that would have been a win had the Langley goalie not been so effective at shutting down our relentless offence. After that, we squared off against the Surrey Rebels for the bronze medal game, which we won handily with a final score of 5-2.
The Sunshine Coast Lacrosse Association would like to recognize the team’s sportsmanlike demeanour throughout the tournament. Under the watchful eye of coach Bethia Macey, all of our players played their very best and demonstrated outstanding courage and team spirit. They supported each other when times were tough, celebrated each other’s successes, and recognized each player’s contribution to every moment of the game. The team’s strategy, heart, and skillful play were an inspiration to watch.
We would like to thank coach Bethia for her remarkable leadership, as well as team manager Karen Nielsen for planning and coordinating our participation in this tournament. Without her ongoing dedication and expertise, events such as this would not happen. We would also like to thank our corporate sponsor Lehigh Hanson Sechelt for their ongoing support. If it takes a village to raise a child; it takes a whole community to develop a successful youth sports team. We are so fortunate to have such an incredible community to help our players thrive. Go Rapids!
– By Hope Keats
