Registration now open for minor lacrosse

If you are a youth and you’ve been a laxer all your life, have never touched a lacrosse stick, or you’re anywhere in between, the Kahnawake Mohawks Minor Lacrosse Association (KMMLA) is hoping you’ll join a team for their upcoming season.

“It’s a great way to stay active, and it’s a really good way to make friends. I know a lot of shy kids who came out and are now talking, laughing, being active, and being more involved socially,” said Kirby Joe Diabo, president of the KMMLA.

“The game is what we have, it’s in our blood. We just have to have somebody show us.”

Registration is open online for the U9, U11, U13, U15, U17, and U22 teams. The link to register is available on the KMMLA’s Facebook page.

Registration for U5 and U7 will be available at a later date. Diabo explained that their registration will start later because the younger age groups tend to get a lot of initial participation at first, but by the end of the season only a handful of kids remain.

“Once they do come in, it’s more having fun and learning the game, to see the enjoyment of it at that age. We’re just trying to make it interesting, to keep them around, and to make them want to come back,” said Diabo.

Participants can expect a lot from playing minor lacrosse this year. Along with the regular games and tournaments, KMMLA will be organizing conditioning sessions, collaborations with the Kahnawake Hunters Junior teams for trainings, and full days of lacrosse at the Sports Complex, among other plans Diabo and the rest of the association are preparing before the year starts.

“There’s a lot of exciting stuff coming up for teams, especially for team bonding,” said Diabo.

He said that team bonding activities are very important to him, to help keep the focus on the positives, being together as a team, and making sure no one is left out and everyone is involved and a part of the team.

Along with the sporting side of things, he also believes that lacrosse helps youth stay on the straight and narrow and become better adults.

“It’s the game of lacrosse, but there is a lot more to this than just playing the game, because we all have to grow up. We all have to become adults. We have to be responsible. These are the things that, if you learn them at a young age, they carry on into your adulthood and make for better human beings in the long run. This is my focus,” said Diabo.

“We try to push the game as much as we can, do all the camps and everything we’re doing, but focusing approaching your life in a better way, in a stronger vision, a stronger perspective, making life changes for the better, this is what this is about. That’s the bigger picture.”

He said that if a player is hesitant because they are worried about their current skill level, they should just focus on giving it their best effort.

“I hear a lot of kids saying, ‘well, I’m not going to try, because I’m not going to make the team.’ Why have that attitude? When you say you’ve already failed, then you’ve already failed. That’s the attitude that we’re trying to change,” said Diabo.

Along with players, minor lacrosse is always in need of prospective coaches and other volunteers. Diabo said the coaches they have so far are for Team One teams - teams they already have.

“In some levels, we’re going to have Team Twos, so we’re always looking to get more help and more commitment from our parents,” he said.

The last day to register for KMMLA teams will be April 18.

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