From my perspective, the most important sports team in our region is the Junior B NorthStars.
I say this with no disrespect to any other team, club or organization, but rather as a testament to what the NorthStars are, and should always be, for the city and region- that is, a local team made up of 99.9 percent local players.
As you know, this lacrosse season wasn’t terrific for the Owen Sound Junior B’s.
As many as 4 potential NorthStars were good enough to play at a higher level, and thus never suited up for Owen Sound this season- which has been a perpetual challenge over the last decade. Seldom has the best Owen Sound player, or players, played Junior B here.
Compounding the situation, the success of the Attack Hockey Club kept the ice in at the Bayshore til mid-May, which meant the NorthStars played the bulk of their early games on the road; and they struggled.
The new coaching regime had an uneasy relationship with the players, and vice versa. No need to say more.
The make up of the NorthStars organization is a delicate one with sponsors, volunteer executive and players often living under one roof, and this season, conflicts, and apparent conflicts, popped up everywhere.
Having said that, I firmly believe the Owen Sound Junior B Lacrosse program is the perfect model of opportunity for advancement within a sport, and within a city
Through good times and bad, there’s a lacrosse tradition that has lasted almost 40 years, and the hope is the Junior B Lacrosse program in Owen Sound will exist for many decades beyond.
I’m Fred Wallace