It took about as long as time winding down on the 30-second shot clock for the Ladner Pioneers to be looking ahead 2012.
It was less than two weeks ago the Pioneers found themselves two wins away from the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association playoff title and making plans to attend the President's Cup national championships. That quickly unravelled when the Tri-City Bandits won games three and four to capture the best-of-five series and the Pioneers decided not to head east to represent B.C.
"We had a sponsor who was willing to pay ($17,000) for our plane tickets but only if we were provincial champions," explained Ladner head coach Bob Taylor. "The thought was we would be going there as B.C.'s best team or it else it would take away the significance of being there. Really, it makes a lot of sense."
In the end, the Bandits changed their mind and will be going to Akwesasne after all. Prior to the playoffs even being completed, the league purchased 20 airline tickets at a cost of $15,000 and put pressure on both teams for the winner to commit to the tournament or be on the hook for the balance ($11,000) not being covered by the WCSLA.
The Pioneers can at least look back on a campaign that turned out far better than anticipated. Taylor agreed to become head coach just weeks before the start of the regular season and found himself struggling to put a roster together after many players decided not to return.
The end result was a youth movement and a boost from the organization's Senior "C" team for Ladner to be a force again. The Pioneers rolled off a franchise record 12 consecutive wins to secure the regular season championship and captured series against Chilliwack and Nanaimo to advance to the finals.
Goaltender Kevin Hill was named co-MVP, while Nathan Clare won the league scoring title, was selected to the first all-star team and took rookie-of-the-year honours. The Ladner native was unavailable for the finals after suffering a shoulder injury in the Nanaimo series. Other league awards included Quinn Waddington, Travis St. Germain and captain Dave Yee earning spots on the second all-star team. Taylor was named coach-of-the-year, Ross Frehlick manager-of-the-year and Lexi Vass trainer-of-the-year.
Meanwhile, Taylor has wasted little time in committing to next season. He promises to be active in the recruiting process as the Pioneers look to take a run at representing B.C. at the 2012 nationals in Alberta. He also says Frehlick will be taking on a larger role and his wife, former Delta Minor Lacrosse president Denise Taylor, will be involved on the executive side of the operations.
"There are some changes we will be looking to make," added Taylor. "We definitely want more of a commitment from the players with the goal being getting to the President's Cup."
