August 23, 2017
FIFTH ANNUAL JR. NLL TOURNAMENT BEGINS FRIDAY AT THE TRAC IN OAKVILLE
Rock Players And Staff Behind The Bench
Oakville, ON – The fifth annual Jr. NLL Tournament kicks off this weekend as Jr. NLL teams from across the league will compete for the Jr. NLL Champion’s 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, all at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre and the Glen Abbey Rec Centre in Oakville.
Youth lacrosse players will play by NLL rules and be coached by NLL players in the fifth annual weekend long lacrosse tournament. The event brings together the NLL lacrosse communities to celebrate the grassroots of the game.
Last summer, the Jr. Rock swept all three divisions, capturing the Jr. NLL Champion’s Cup in Peewee, Bantam and Midget. This promises to be an even more exciting weekend this year as all three Jr. Rock teams shoot for back-to-back championships.
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. And, guiding the Midget entry is Rock Owner, President and GM Jamie Dawick with Rock defenders Challen Rogers and Bradley Kri as assistants.
“This is a great weekend for the game of lacrosse at the grassroots level,” said Dawick. “With players participating from across Canada and the United States, the Jr. NLL tournament really does grow the game in every way. It’s also great to see the interaction between the NLL players and the youth lacrosse players. There’s a lot of smiles at this tournament.”
Players on the Toronto Rock teams are selected from players that competed in the Rock Elite League in 2016-17. The new season for the Rock Elite League is just around the corner and registration is now open at rockeliteleague.com.
In addition to the tournament, the second annual Jr. NLL skills competition and welcome barbecue 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.
For the first time, every NLL team will have representation at the tournament, truly making this year the biggest and best yet! 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 and Jr. Philadelphia clubs, 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 a skills competition and ceremony on Friday night.
Fans will be able to watch select games from the tournament live online at jvisportsnetwork.com, courtesy of JVI Video Production. 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.
