By Thomas Smith

Retired professional lacrosse player Scott Stewart will be providing lacrosse camps in Haliburton this year after last year’s successful offering.

“It went better than expected,” said Stewart. “There was a lot of interest and skills developed by the kids.”

By the end of the six week lacrosse camp, the kids involved were able to play full games.

“The parents were even in the stands, cheering,” said Stewart.

Growing up in Brantford, Stewart regularly played with youth from the Six Nation Reserve, leading him to join the Six Nations Chiefs, a senior box lacrosse team. Stewart began playing hockey at three years old and lacrosse at eight years old.

“Joining the team really changed a lot for me about lacrosse,” said Stewart. “It changed not only my perspective, but my respect for the game.”

As a young adult, Stewart shifted to playing hockey in the OHL, but came back to play lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League for twelve years, playing for teams such as the Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, Minnesota Swarm, and Portland Lumberjax.

“The travelling was great,” said Stewart. Travelling to a different city for 13 years and being named a top 40 player in 2009 were the best parts of his career, says Stewart.

Lacrosse, also known as the Creator’s Game, is very important to several First Nations communities across Canada, especially the Haudenosaunee. When Stewart teaches youth about lacrosse, he tries to share his knowledge of the game and its Indigenous roots.

After Stewart and his wife Nicole came to Haliburton after the birth of their daughter, Stewart learned that there were no opportunities for kids to play lacrosse in Haliburton County. The closest place for them to play is Lindsay.

“We had never been before, but moving here is one of the best things we have ever done,” said Stewart.

Last year, the majority of youth that participated in the lacrosse camp had never played lacrosse before.

“The idea is to slowly grow the game,” said Stewart. “One of my goals is to show how much lacrosse can improve your hockey game.”

With hockey being the dominant winter sport, as well as a popular sport played throughout the summer, Scott says that lacrosse has the potential to become immensely popular in Haliburton County.

Scott says that playing lacrosse improves hand-eye coordination, mobility, and body positioning.

“If you stop moving in lacrosse, you stop moving,” said Stewart. “There’s no coasting.”

The biggest challenge for lacrosse in Haliburton County is finding the space to play it in. In particular, box lacrosse. Box lacrosse is lacrosse that is played indoors, whereas field lacrosse is played outside. Box lacrosse can be played in arenas while the ice is taken out. However, Stewart has found it difficult to find a time when that is available.

Currently, the lacrosse camp is planned around the Haliburton Home and Cottage Show as the ice will be removed at the A.J. LaRue Arena. A perfect opportunity for kids to have the chance to try out box lacrosse.

Stewart hopes that a team will form in Haliburton County one day. Even the name Raven Lacrosse was chosen with the intention for it to one day become the name of a team.

Stewart also encourages anyone with girls that are interested in playing sports to come out and give lacrosse a try. Currently, his daughter is the only female participant and would love to have more girls to play with.

“There are many opportunities for women in lacrosse,” said Stewart. “Especially for things like scholarships.”

For now, Stewart hopes to spread the game of lacrosse to the youth of Haliburton County. While there are no current opportunities for adults to play lacrosse, Scott says that that is an option in the future, if there is enough demand.

The Raven Lacrosse Lacrosse Camp runs from Tuesday, April 29 until May 27 on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The camp will be held at the A.J. LaRue Arena in Haliburton and will cost $125 for five sessions, per child. No experience is necessary and lacrosse sticks, helmet, gloves, shoulder, and arm pads are necessary (protective equipment from hockey is acceptable). For those interested in signing their children up for Raven Lacrosse Camp, Stewart can be reached through the Raven Lacrosse Facebook page.