Three-peats For Jr. Bantam & Jr. Peewee Teams At Jr. NLL?

Games Get Underway on Friday At The TRAC

Oakville, ON – The sixth annual Jr. NLL Tournament kicks off this weekend as Jr. NLL teams from across the league will compete for the Jr. NLL Cup in Peewee, Bantam and Midget divisions. Round-robin play begins Friday morning and continues on Saturday with the medal round games going on Sunday morning, all at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre and the Glen Abbey Rec Centre in Oakville.

The Peewee and Bantam Jr. Rock squads have both won back-to-back titles and will be looking to make it three in a row this weekend. The Midget Jr. Rock lost in last year’s final and their coach would love nothing more than to get his hands on the Jr. NLL Cup this weekend for the first time since 2016.

“I’m excited to get back behind the bench,” said Rock Owner, President and GM Jamie Dawick, who will guide the Jr. Rock Midget squad with Rock defender Challen Rogers. “This is a fun weekend for everyone. The pros enjoy it just as much as the kids do. The kids put in a lot of work and it’s great to see the relationships they form with their own teammates and other players from the other teams. There’s also a bit of a brotherhood that develops with all the players suiting up for the Jr. Rock teams from Peewee to Midget.”

Toronto Rock players and staff will coach the Jr. Rock teams. At the helm of the Peewee team will be Rock legend Colin Doyle along with the Rock’s strength coach Sean Holmes. On the bench with the Bantams will be Rock goaltender Nick Rose and defender Damon Edwards.

Players on the Toronto Rock teams are selected from players that competed in the Rock Elite League in 2017-18. The new season for the Rock Elite League is just around the corner and registration is now open at torontorockac.com.

In addition to the tournament, the third annual Jr. NLL skills competition will take place on Friday evening following the first day of competition. Jr. NLL players, along with NLL pros, will compete alongside each other for bragging rights.

The Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, New England Black Wolves, Rochester Knighthawks, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock and Vancouver Stealth, along with Jr. Edmonton, will compete with over 500 players participating across Peewee, Bantam & Midget age levels. The teams will follow modified NLL playing rules in a safe and competitive environment. NLL players, coaches and staff will be on-hand all weekend, with some serving as Jr. NLL coaches, in addition to joining the youth players for the skills competition on Friday night. The event brings together the NLL lacrosse communities to celebrate the grassroots of the game.

Fans will be able to watch the three championship games on Sunday morning on the NLL’s YouTube channel. For schedules, stats and standings from the tournament, please click here.

There is no charge for admission and fans are invited to come and cheer on their favourite Jr. NLL squads from across the league.