Toronto Beaches Lacrosse Well Represented on Team Ontario Girls’ Squads with Players on U13 and U15 Rosters – Beach Metro Community News

Toronto Beaches Lacrosse players Neiva Chaput-Villamizar, Tessa Thornley and Maddy MacPherson were recently named to the Ontario U13 Girls Field Lacrosse Team. Photo: Submitted.

By JESSICA SHACKLETON

Toronto Beaches Lacrosse will be well represented on the Ontario U13 Girls Field Lacrosse Team.

Three players from the local club were selected to the Team Ontario roster after participating in a series of tryout camps in the spring.

Madeleine MacPherson, Neiva Chaput-Villamizar and Tessa Thornley are part of Team Ontario along with 16 other girls.

Under 13 is the first age group to get a chance to be part of Team Ontario, so the local players were nervous and excited to see if they would make the team.

The girls were told an email would be sent to the list at 8pm on selection day, but by 8:25pm there was still no word. On the way home from practice, after a stressful bout of checking emails, Chaput-Villamizar and Thornley thought they hadn’t made the cut.

“I came home from lacrosse practice and I was staring at the clock. We were in the car looking at it and there was no email,” Chaput-Villamizar said.

She was disappointed when she got home, but she told her father who encouraged her a lot. Then her mother said that there was a phone call for her.

For Thornley it was a similar experience.

“We didn’t get an email that I made it, so my mom told me I was cut,” Thornley said. “But then I got a call from the coach asking if I wanted to make the team.”

Of course, she immediately said yes. Chaput-Villamizar received the same call and also accepted a spot on Team Ontario.

“When I told my parents, they didn’t believe me,” she said. “My parents were very happy and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Because head coach Sarah Pakosta had named the players alphabetically, MacPherson received the call before feeling the stress of not receiving the email.

“I found out one night after practice that I was going to make the team, when my dad’s phone rang and he told me straight away,” she said.

Coach Pakosta was on the phone. “She asked me then if I liked lacrosse – and if I wanted to be a part of the Team Ontario U13 Lacrosse team this year,” MacPherson said.

Toronto Beaches Lacrosse has been a prominent youth program in the city for many years and has a rich history as a leader in girls’ sports.

Lacrosse is a sport known for its physical fitness and the fact that success requires a lot of courage.

“My favorite things about lacrosse is that you can get someone’s back. When a girl pushes you hard for no reason, you can take that fire and put it into your skills,” Chaput-Villamizar said. “It helps your team and it makes you feel good too.”

Lacrosse runs in the family, as Chaput-Villamizar’s mother also played lacrosse and is the coach of the Beaches team.

MacPherson loves the sense of community she gets from playing lacrosse. “I have a lot of fun with my friends being super active outside, running up and down the field, taking draws and scoring goals, and passing to my teammates,” she said.

Team Ontario is part of the provincial team program for the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA) and represents the OLA as an all-star team. Team Ontario teams compete in Lacrosse Canada Championship Tournaments, Invitational National Tournaments, events and international tournaments.

The 19 members of the Team Ontario U13 girls’ team come from all over the province and they have a built-in connection with each other – a love of lacrosse. All three Beach girls are excited to meet everyone on the provincial team and travel for tournaments.

The team will play at the Lacrosse Sixes Showcase in Oshawa on July 17 and at three showcase tournaments in the United States in the fall.

As girls get older, they often stop playing sports, so being at the provincial level is a huge achievement. The local players have some wisdom to share with other athletes.

“Always have fun. If you’re not having fun and enjoying what you’re doing, maybe try something that will make you happier, because you have to be all in to persevere,” MacPherson said.

“My wise words to young athletes is don’t doubt yourself. The big reason I got this far is because I told myself I could do it and I really worked hard to improve my skills,” Chaput-Villamizar said.

For specific lacrosse advice, Thornley said “wall ball” is important for building skills and “never giving up on your dreams.”

Also representing Toronto Beaches Lacrosse on the Team Ontario U15 girls’ team are players Ayden Brady, Mackenzie Holmes, Grace Crossland-Coghill, Sydney Roedde and Taylor Thornley.

The entire Toronto Beaches Lacrosse community is proud of the accomplishments of these young athletes and looks forward to seeing them play with Team Ontario.

For more information about Toronto Beaches Lacrosse’s girls programs, visit https://beacheslacrosse.com/girls-lacrosse-history/