Dave Leaderhouse
Special to the Herald
For some reason the summer holidays cause angst among some teenagers as boredom creeps in when the extended break moves on, but that will not be the case for Prince Albert’s Andre Grobler and Luca Treppel.
The pair were recently named to the Team Saskatchewan squad that will compete at the national minor U17 box lacrosse championship scheduled for Aug. 11-15 in Halifax, NS, and to prepare for that event they will practise three times a week once the regular season ends with their club team the Prince Albert U17 Predators.
“I thought I was good enough and just wanted to play in the summer time,” says Treppel when asked why he tried out for the provincial team. “I’m really happy and excited and can’t wait to get started.”
“I was surprised to make the team,” added Grobler. “It takes up a lot of the summer, but it is something I really want to do.”
Both Grobler and Treppel have been playing the sport for a number of years and their selection to Team Saskatchewan does not come as a surprise to their assistant coach with the Predators.
“Andre and Luca have put a lot of time into learning the game of lacrosse,” says Philip Northey. “Andre is a great physical player and Luca is becoming an absolute menace as an offensive player. I see a lot of positives with these kids.”
The pair became interested in the sport by different means as Grobler says his buddies recommended the game to him when he was in the fourth or fifth grade at school while Treppel gives credit to his mother for initially signing him up.
Once they got a taste of the game, however, they were hooked as both not only play box lacrosse (in an arena) with the Predators they also compete in field lacrosse with the Attack. In fact, Grobler is also on the provincial U17 field lacrosse team while Treppel has been named an affiliate player for that squad. A third local player, Townsend Robin, has also secured a spot on the provincial field lacrosse team.
While the heavy practise schedule for the provincial teams won’t get into full swing for a couple of months the local players will busy themselves with the upcoming Predators’ season which begins this weekend with a pair of exhibition games. The U17 Predators, which have been working out since the beginning of April, will be in Saskatoon on Saturday before returning home on Sunday to face the Swat at 3:30 p.m. at the Kinsmen Arena.
The regular season begins on April 23 when the Predators travel to Saskatoon once again with the home schedule getting under way on April 26 when the South Saskatchewan Stealth will be at the Kinsmen Arena for a doubleheader. The first game that day will start at 11:45 a.m. followed by the second match at 3:45 p.m.
Although they are both very young and still developing, they both have their sights set on bigger and better things.
“I really hope to get into the NLL (National Lacrosse League) for box or the PLL (Premier Lacrosse League) for field,” says Grobler. Without saying as much it is safe to assume Treppel’s goals are the same.
