Cochrane Bantam and Midget lacrosse stars had the experience of a lifetime, when they suited up for the Minotaur lacrosse program at the 2018 US Box Lacrosse Association (USBOXLA) Nationals in Huntington Beach, California Aug. 3 to 5. The USBOXLA Nationals are the single biggest box lacrosse event to ever take place in the US. The event features more players, coaches, teams and spectators than any other youth box tournament in American lacrosse history. Nearly 1,000 players attended the 2017 tournament with clubs from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Minnesota, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Canada competing for gold, silver, and bronze in novice, peewee, bantam, midget, and high school play. The Minotaur team had 10 Cochranites split between the two teams, who also had players from Innisfail, Airdrie and Crossfield. Carter McCaw, Tyree Wong and Nicholas McKee represented Cochrane on the Bantam squad while Devin Mathews, Owen George, Jacob White, Rayden Wong, Kolby Thompson, Foster Stainthorpe and Daniel Lucic suited up for the Midget Minotaurs. Both teams had successful tournaments, finishing group play with identical 3-2 records with the bantams taking home a bronze medal and the Midgets finishing in fourth place after a close loss in the third place game. Midget Minotaur head coach Daryl Powers said putting these teams together was a long process and that he was happy with how the tournament played out for the two teams. "Where this all came from, was I decided to do a camp over the last fall and winter for those kids who don't get the chance to play 'A' calibre lacrosse, the opportunity to travel and things like that ... so I have one son that's in bantam and the other is in midget so we did two teams. Along with a couple of assistant coaches and my oldest son Tryston, he was the head coach of the bantam team and then I was the coach of the midget team," Powers said. "Both teams played exceptionally well. We didn't know what to expect because this was our first time at the tournament as well as in the United States and with our records (of 3-2), it was great for both teams. The midget team lost the bronze game after (losing) a shootout in the semi finals. And, the bantam team played really well, they just came up against some really talented teams in the medal round." Powers also said he thought the tournament was fairly well organized, as it is one of the biggest box lacrosse tournaments in all of North America. "The refs did a really good job, the facility was really nice and all the games were on time," Powers said. With so many Cochrane athletes on the two teams, Powers said they played a big role in determining the team's success throughout the tournament while also saying the team, comprised of players from different towns, came together quickly. "All the kids played really well and I think the Cochrane kids were a very positive impact on the team and tournament. They were awesome to have on the team, certainly respected the game and both teams were really good ambassadors for the game of lacrosse," Powers said. "They represented Alberta and wore the maple leaf on their chest very proudly. We had good comments from all the teams so it was a great experience." "It was cool because all the kids gelled super quickly. At the beginning we had kids who were a little hesitant to play with kids who they'd normally line up against with their club teams, but prior to the tournament and definitely at the tournament the kids banded together and became the Minotaurs. Both the Bantams and Midgets supported each other and inaugurated to make a new team and a new group ... it was a lot of fun."
