Jamboree gives Warriors chance to shine

The Kanehsatake Warriors Jamboree was no ordinary tournament for local youth, with the community coming together to celebrate Kanesatake’s thriving lacrosse program - and its throngs of talented young players.

“To have all of our fans support our players really gave them a chance to know what it’s like to have a whole community behind our team,” said Kyle Atkwiroton Canatonquin, part of the organizing team and a coach with the U11 and U13 squads.

In all, 16 teams from six communities competed in the hard-fought, two-day event across the U9, U11, U13, and U15 age groups. The Warriors lacrosse association had a sizeable list of community members and local businesses to thank, showing that a team effort counts off the floor, too.

“I think it’s important for them to experience something like this so it gets the younger brothers and sister of our current players interested in the game and hopefully they would like to join our program later on down the road,” said Canatonquin.

While not everyone could make it out to the Olympia Arena in Two Mountains for the jamboree, Sterling Mallette was on site for Reviving Kanehsatà:ke Radio, calling the games for the benefit of the community at large.

“People can tune in and hear their nieces and nephews or their children play. I’m happy to have been given an opportunity to call the game,” said Mallette.

The U11 group led the way with a championship win, beating Chambly 8-3 for the honour. The Warriors started out playing from behind, falling back 2-0 early on, but after scrapping their way to a 2-2 tie, they kept rolling.

“They play hard,” said Chambly association president and coach Jeff Hébert about the Kanehsatake Warriors, admiring the tough but clean approach to the sport exhibited by Kanesatake players at the tournament.

“The U11s, I think it was a great life experience for kids that are only 9, 10 years old to learn about what it’s like playing in a finals, and maybe having a little atmosphere.”

Meanwhile, Chambly had better luck at the U15 level, besting Longueuil 5-4 in overtime for that championship.

For Hébert, the Kanehsatake Warriors Jamboree is a prime opportunity to give his teams a taste of competitive play unlike anything else in the season prior to the year-end provincial tournament.

“The experience is invaluable, and it sets us up for the provincial tournament in two weeks to have already had this experience as a team.”

After bringing Chambly to the jamboree last year, Hébert was sure to let the Warriors know about his association’s interest in coming back again for the 2025 edition.

“I think they run a first-class tournament over there,” said Hébert.

“The welcome was great. They fed us on both days. They gave the kids some Gatorades for after the games. They just took really good care of everyone. The kids had a really great time.”

Selena Beauvais, sports and recreation coordinator at the Kanesatake Health Center, which organizes the Warriors lacrosse association, said the jamboree couldn’t have gone better.

“We heard nothing but good things about it,” she said. “We even heard it was better than last year’s, and it’s the best jamboree they’ve been to. It went better than my expectations, honestly. I’m so happy and proud of my team for helping with it.”

Besides the team medals, the Warriors also handed out MVP awards, with Kanehsata’kehró:non Sage Harrington earning the individual prize two days in a row in a show of her versatility, playing wherever her team needed her - including in net.

“I think overall it was an amazing experience for all of our teams,” said Canatonquin.

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Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter