Lacrosse NS - 2018 Award Winners

After careful consideration, our committee has selected the following nominees as the 2018 Award Winners:

Volunteer of the Year: Sara White

Sara White is the President of Valley Thunder Lacrosse Association, the only Lacrosse Club in the Annapolis Valley. Sara began in her position two years ago, and has been a tireless promoter and champion for the sport in her community/region.

Sara is one of the most selfless people you will ever meet, never ceasing to lend assistance to those in her community in need. She has dedicated a large portion of her personal life towards the sport, and if you ever ask her for her motivation behind the countless hours she spends, here answer is always the same – “To give kids a chance to play the sport”.

Sara has been instrumental in growing the numbers of Valley Thunder over the past two seasons, and are hoping to have close to 100 registered in 2019! Some programs that Sara has been an instrumental part of introducing the sport of lacrosse to new kids across the Annapolis Valley, being an integral part of the creation of ‘Try It’, as well as collaborating with Canning Recreation to get Lacrosse programming in their Multi-Sport Program this Winter/Spring.

One of Sara’s greatest achievements to-date came about recently in the establishment of the Scotia Minor Lacrosse League. A proponent of trying to get her club more games within Nova Scotia, Sara is a part of the leadership group which has helped to form this new league, which will provide organized play activity for lacrosse athletes from the Annapolis Valley, Truro, Pictou, and Cape Breton. 

Team of the Year: 2018 Midget Boys Provincial Team

The Nova Scotia Midget Boys had a strong year from start to finish. With no competition in Atlantic Canada they had to travel to Ontario in order to find opponents. They entered the Ray Broadworth Memorial Tournament in Ottawa where they went 5-0 and won the tournament 6-4 in the finals. The boys carried the momentum from the win into Nationals where we went 3-3 in the round robin beating Saskatchewan, Manitoba and First Nations to claim 4th in the country.

Coach of the Year: Ryan Evong

Ryan Evong did a fantastic job this past year focusing his attention on growing the game at the grassroots level. Ryan helped coach three teams this past year tyke, novice and peewee for his home club - Sackville Wolves, devoting himself to growing the game for Females/Girls in Nova Scotia. Ryan also helped establish a Pee Wee Girls select team, the 'NS Sirens'. This was a huge success giving players a chance to further develop their skills. The impact of his efforts to help develop female athletes are already apparent, with higher than normal registration for Bantam Girls NS tryouts. Ryan creates a fun, encouraging and supportive environment for his athletes, allowing them to grow and succeed as both athletes and people. 

Official of the Year: Scott McMullen

2018 was a banner year by officiating standards for Scott. After a rigourous selection process to get to World's, he was assigned to officiate in the 'Blue' Division, the highest 'tier' of competition at World's.

The 2018 World Championships had 50 Countries competing at it, with the 'Blue' division made up of the best lacrosse countries in the world, and are set by performance at the prior World Championships (held every 4 years, 2014 in Denver, Colorado, USA). The 'Blue' division for 2018 consisted of; USA, Canada, Iroquois Nation, Australia, England, and Scotland. Overall, Scott officiated nine (9) games at the 2018 World Championships.

The highlights of Scott's portfolio at the 2018 World's are as follows;
• Officiated in the first game of the tournament opening        game
• Head Official: Quarterfinal – Israel vs Australia
• Official: Semifinal – USA vs Australia
 
Male Athlete of the Year: Gage MacPhee

Gage had a very strong year, both in terms of League play, and for the Provincial Team. He Lead the Metro Minor Lacrosse League (MMLL) in the following categories; Minutes Played, Goals Against (3.88) and Shut Outs (2). All of these numbers are almost unheard of in terms of play at his age level, but especially the Goals Against category is especially impressive! Gage was also the top NS performer at Nationals, helping his team to an overall 4th place finish, while earning himself an All-Star award.

Gage's standout moment at the National Championships was when he held First Nations, a perennial powerhouse, to only two goals. 

Female Athlete of the Year: Macy Giles

Macy had a very strong season in the Metro Minor Lacrosse League, followed up with 2 goals at Female Nationals, which ultimately lead to her being named Nova Scotia's only All-Star at the Midget age division for the National Competition.

Macy is also one of our strong Women's Field Lacrosse players. "Macy is very coachable, and certainly has the potential to play NCAA Women's Field Lacrosse", according to LNS Technical Director, KJ MacNeil. "Macy is also one of the most committed FLIGHT (LNS off-season high-performance program) athletes, and never misses a session, and is almost always the first one there.", continued MacNeil.

Macy has also helped with the LNS Development Clinics this year, giving up her Saturday mornings to help grow and give back to the game.

Lacrosse NS would like to congratulate our Award winners and all the nominees for being recognized in 2018 as having a great year and for contributing something special to their teams, their clubs, their organizations and to the sport of lacrosse in NS.

All award winners will be invited, as guests of Lacrosse NS to attend the Sport NS – Support 4 Sport Awards, being held June 1st at the Halifax Convention Centre.