Lacrosse a labour of love
By MORRIS DALLA COSTA -- London Free Press
If you want to get something done, you have to do it yourself.
It isn't as if Tim Hobbs isn't a busy enough guy. He works with a high-tech camera security company. He's got his hands full getting ready for the 2006 world field lacrosse championships in London. He has a myriad of other things on the go.
But when Martin Clarke called from Scotland and told him, "Laddie, therrre's a nay waaay, I canna' do the woorrk for the Scots field lacrosse team. Nay waay. I dinna' know what to do,' Hobbs couldn't simply let the thing rest.
So three months ago he told Clarke, the dean of men's lacrosse in Scotland, he would become the general manager so Scotland can enter a team in the inaugural world box lacrosse championship, which starts Friday in several centres in southern Ontario.
Hobbs has become the ultimate lacrosse gadfly.
"I love the game and there were a lot of players who were going to be disappointed," he said. "I couldn't let that happen.
"This has been like a second job. I love being associated with it but I won't do it again unless I get some help."
Two of the disappointed players were going to be Hobbs's sons, Jeremy and Jeff. Jeremy is at Elmira College and he'll be called in if one of the roster players gets hurt. Jeff plays for Orangeville in the Ontario Lacrosse Association junior A league. Players are eligible to play for a nation if one parent was born in that country. Jeff and Jeremy's mother was born in Scotland.
Scotland will join lacrosse powers Iroquois Nation, Canada and the United States along with developing lacrosse nations the Czech Republic and Australia in the six-team event. Games will be played in Oshawa, Mississauga and Kitchener, with the medal games being played at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.
Most people wouldn't have taken on the task. While lacrosse is a growing sport, outside of Canada and the United States it remains in its infancy. The nations who play it love the speed, the skills and the physical requirements it takes to play the sport. But there isn't a lot of money available to allow these developing nations to compete against stronger teams.
Other countries have expressed interest in competing in the tournament in future, including Tonga, Japan, China and Korea.
It took Hobbs three months to put together this team. He considers it an investment in the game he loves.
It's more than a labour of love for the players. It will cost each player about $1,500 to participate. The Scottish team did get a donation of $3,000 from a Scottish association in the United States.
"We did have some corporate sponsors come forward so we'll look good on the floor," he said.
You've got to love the game to go to that kind of effort. On Friday, Jeff Hobbs had a junior A practice. On Saturday he had a three-hour practice with the Scottish team before playing in a junior A game that night. Sunday he had another three-hour national team practice. He was on the floor last night as Scotland played the St. Catharines senior A team in an exhibition game.
All that work and you get to pay as well.
Despite this being the first box lacrosse world championship, the rosters are packed with outstanding talent. The Canadian team has 10 members of the Toronto Rock National Lacrosse League championship team.
Team Scotland has six NLL players. Most of their players are either Canadian or U.S.-born.
"You will see the best box lacrosse in the world," Hobbs said.
There are some ulterior motives to all this work, besides his kids. The more exposure this area gets to lacrosse, the more popular it becomes. That suits Hobbs since he's looking for a solid fan base for the 2006 championships.
"I can tell you that probably more than 50 per cent of the players you'll see in this tournament will be playing in London in 2006," he said.
He sounds as if he's already relishing the thought of all that work.
