Earlier this week at the RMLL Junior A draft, 40 players across the prairies were selected to be a part of either the Mountaineers, Raiders, Miners or S.W.A.T. While it is a huge honour to be selected in the A draft this year, most players will not play right away, and I honestly believe that’s a good thing for them. I think most incoming Junior players could benefit at least a year playing B before moving up to play A..Now I may be slightly biased in my previous statement as I played my first 2 years of Junior for the Calgary Chill before making the jump up to A. My experiences have led to me the conclusion that unless absolutely ready, new players should consider playing Junior B for a couple of years. Looking back at my two years playing Junior B I became an advocate for the jungle, which can be broken down and explained off three main reasons..First and foremost, playing in B gives players a place to fully develop come into themselves as a lacrosse player. By Junior, the players have a general idea whether they will be playing offence or defence, but adjusting to the game and playing with 21-year-olds can be a big eye-opener to a lot of kids. It’s rare to see a player who dominated in U16 to get up to Junior A and have immediate success. Not to say immediate success is impossible, but more often than not first-year Junior A players spend the year in and out of lineups because the coaches have a hard time trusting them, and rightfully so. Junior B provides an opportunity for kids to adjust to the speed and size of the new league finding place as the season progresses with live game situations. Make a mistake; get blown up driving underneath, get picked on the back because you’re chasing too high, get caught with your head down, be out of position on the off ball side, bite on a fake, stay on the floor too long, take a stupid penalty, do everything you need to do to adjust to the league, but then once you make that mistake, learn from it. You have 5 years of junior, and playing a year or two of B could give you a chance to iron out those kinks, so that when you do eventually move up, you can play with confidence. .Beyond skill and IQ development, my next reason playing Junior B is a good idea starts with how the league is structured. In Junior B Tier I there are currently 15 teams spread out across 4 divisions within the league, creating an opportunity to play a new team almost every week, and still having rivalries between divisional opponents. On top of the regular season being diverse, it also makes playoffs and provincials much more interesting and competitive. Each division has two playoff series and the winner of each division makes it to provincials, where the four teams play in an 11 game tournament. This is something Jr. A just simply cannot offer. The fact of the matter is that there is only four A teams in the RMLL, and playing those same three teams every summer for five years will get seriously repetitive. .Finally, I lean in favour of a year of Junior B due to the fact it is straight-up some of the most fun one will ever have playing lacrosse. It is the perfect combination of athletic competition and 22 best friends that are just having the time of their life. To phrase it simply: on overnight trips to Saskatoon your team may not win the Sunday morning game, but you’ll still have a fantastic weekend. .Let me make one thing very clear, this is not a bash on the A division, and if a new Junior player wants to play right away all the power to them. It is a great league with world-class coaching, and tremendous players, but if the only reason a player joins A is to say they play A I would urge you to reconsider. In summary, a year of B will allow players to adjust and adapt to the league while playing competitive games against multiple teams all across western Canada, and enjoying the hell out if it along the way. At 17 & 18 years old, that’s what lacrosse should be.
Earlier this week at the RMLL Junior A draft, 40 players across the prairies were selected to be a part of either the Mountaineers, Raiders, Miners or S.W.A.T. While it is a huge honour to be selected in the A draft this year, most players will not play right away, and I honestly believe that’s a good thing for them. I think most incoming Junior players could benefit at least a year playing B before moving up to play A..Now I may be slightly biased in my previous statement as I played my first 2 years of Junior for the Calgary Chill before making the jump up to A. My experiences have led to me the conclusion that unless absolutely ready, new players should consider playing Junior B for a couple of years. Looking back at my two years playing Junior B I became an advocate for the jungle, which can be broken down and explained off three main reasons..First and foremost, playing in B gives players a place to fully develop come into themselves as a lacrosse player. By Junior, the players have a general idea whether they will be playing offence or defence, but adjusting to the game and playing with 21-year-olds can be a big eye-opener to a lot of kids. It’s rare to see a player who dominated in U16 to get up to Junior A and have immediate success. Not to say immediate success is impossible, but more often than not first-year Junior A players spend the year in and out of lineups because the coaches have a hard time trusting them, and rightfully so. Junior B provides an opportunity for kids to adjust to the speed and size of the new league finding place as the season progresses with live game situations. Make a mistake; get blown up driving underneath, get picked on the back because you’re chasing too high, get caught with your head down, be out of position on the off ball side, bite on a fake, stay on the floor too long, take a stupid penalty, do everything you need to do to adjust to the league, but then once you make that mistake, learn from it. You have 5 years of junior, and playing a year or two of B could give you a chance to iron out those kinks, so that when you do eventually move up, you can play with confidence. .Beyond skill and IQ development, my next reason playing Junior B is a good idea starts with how the league is structured. In Junior B Tier I there are currently 15 teams spread out across 4 divisions within the league, creating an opportunity to play a new team almost every week, and still having rivalries between divisional opponents. On top of the regular season being diverse, it also makes playoffs and provincials much more interesting and competitive. Each division has two playoff series and the winner of each division makes it to provincials, where the four teams play in an 11 game tournament. This is something Jr. A just simply cannot offer. The fact of the matter is that there is only four A teams in the RMLL, and playing those same three teams every summer for five years will get seriously repetitive. .Finally, I lean in favour of a year of Junior B due to the fact it is straight-up some of the most fun one will ever have playing lacrosse. It is the perfect combination of athletic competition and 22 best friends that are just having the time of their life. To phrase it simply: on overnight trips to Saskatoon your team may not win the Sunday morning game, but you’ll still have a fantastic weekend. .Let me make one thing very clear, this is not a bash on the A division, and if a new Junior player wants to play right away all the power to them. It is a great league with world-class coaching, and tremendous players, but if the only reason a player joins A is to say they play A I would urge you to reconsider. In summary, a year of B will allow players to adjust and adapt to the league while playing competitive games against multiple teams all across western Canada, and enjoying the hell out if it along the way. At 17 & 18 years old, that’s what lacrosse should be.
