Get Inspired

Reflecting on his three decades of coaching Aboriginal lacrosse teams in BC's Lower Mainland, Sam Seward relates a bittersweet story.

Well known and respected as a community leader within North Vancouver's Squamish Nation, Seward was preparing to put a team from the North Shore Minor Lacrosse Association through its paces, when he was approached by a mother with a troubled look. She said her 13-year-old son was unhappy and wanted to quit the team. Perhaps, she wondered, Seward might have a word with him.

Without hesitation, Seward walked over to where the youngster from the Squamish Nation reserve was sitting, noticeably upset and crying. It took only a few seconds for the former star player with the New Westminster Junior Salmonbellies to uncover the root of his trouble.

"My stick is so old," he said.

Seward noticed that the stick was in sad shape, its mesh tattered and torn to the point that it would be difficult to carry the ball, let alone pass or shoot. He also knew from experience that the stick might have provoked the odd hurtful jibe from kids equipped with comparatively newer models.

A compassionate man with a big heart, Seward took the boy's stick into the dressing room, removed the old mesh and replaced it with a new one from the trunk of his car. Seeing the relieved look on his face, Seward asked him, "do you love the game?"

"Yes."

"Do you still want to quit?"

"No."

In characteristically humble fashion, Seward explains that the boy is now a promising 16 year-old with the Burnaby Minor Lacrosse Association's Intermediate ‘A' team.

No doubt he has hundreds of similar stories. And no doubt they would all support his fundamental belief that the game of lacrosse - one invented centuries ago by Aboriginal people as a means of settling differences - is a superb tool to help Aboriginal youth discover active living, connect with their ancestral heritage and develop self confidence.

"They love the sport. It's their outlet," he says. "It's a special feeling seeing these kids achieve what they set out to achieve."

Not surprisingly, back in 2005 when the BC Lacrosse Association (BCLA) teamed up with 2010 Legacies Now and Sport Canada to initiate a program to increase and sustain participation levels among Aboriginal youth, they turned to Seward for help.

"With the grant from 2010 Legacies Now, we were able to work with the Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Association to identify three respected coaches from First Nations communities to become regional coaches and conduct coach and athlete development programs within their own communities," says Rochelle Winterton, executive director of the BC Lacrosse Association. "We tried in the past to use qualified non-Aboriginal coaches who were already within our organization, but it didn't work."

Seward nods in agreement. "They all know me and I know them," he says. "And I know where some of them come from," he adds quietly, alluding to health and social challenges within the community.

Surprisingly, he explains, it's the kids on his teams that appear to be most at-risk that never miss coming out to play, no matter where games are played. "I don't know how they get there," he shrugs with a smile, "but they do."

Winterton explains that the impetus for starting the program was that over a ten year period, the game's popularity had resulted in membership in the BC Lacrosse Association increasing from about 4,000 members to almost 16,000. At the same time she says, there was little evidence that participation among Aboriginal youth was increasing at a commensurate level.

The program's origin coincided with various Aboriginal organizations expressing heightened concerns about physical activity levels among their youth. The Aboriginal Sport Circle, a group of sport leaders with representation from most provinces and territories, identified a number of barriers limiting the participation of Aboriginal youth in the sport system, including racism, access to facilities and programs, and the cost of participation. The organization admits that even though sport and physical activity are seen as an effective means of combating alcohol, drug abuse and other social problems, many Aboriginal communities have limited sport and recreation opportunities.

When the BCLA presented the offer to become one of the three regional coaches, Seward jumped at it, as did Jim Point of Kelowna's Westbank Nation and Fred Wilson of Vancouver Island's Cowichan Tribes.

Prior to launching the program, which consisted primarily of conducting coaching certification clinics and introductory skill sessions at targeted schools and recreation centres with high aboriginal populations, the trio had to become certified clinicians as well as train in accordance with the Aboriginal Coaching Manual, a holistic approach to coaching developed by the Aboriginal Sport Circle and administered by the Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Association of BC.

In order to further prepare them for the task ahead, the BCLA turned to Russ Sheppard, a coach and teacher who received national acclaim for having introduced lacrosse to the remote Nunavut village of Kugluktuk, where truancy, crime and youth suicide had all reached acute levels. Sheppard was credited with making a dramatic impact on all three issues by giving the community's youth an opportunity to realize their potential through participation in sport.

"We asked Russ to work with Sam, Fred and Jim to share the techniques he used to not only introduce the game, but on how to motivate the kids who are acutely at risk," explains Winterton.

Between 2005 and 2007, the trio visited 18 schools and seven recreation centres, where they conducted multiple sessions which were comprised of an introduction to the game and its origins, including traditional singing and storytelling, as well as the fundamentals of passing, catching and shooting. They also provided equipment and teacher instruction manuals so that the 1,539 boys and girls who took part could continue to play.

Additionally, in order to enhance the potential for sustaining higher participation numbers in the future, they conducted certification clinics for adults interested in coaching or officiating. As a result, a total of 31 community volunteers from various regions have become registered Aboriginal Certified Coaches and 16 have become Aboriginal Certified Referees.

Though the three-year program has officially concluded, Seward continues to serve as a coaching clinician, in addition to his tireless hours of volunteer coaching and his real job as a manager for Squamish Nation Housing.

"I love the game and it was special to have this opportunity to help so many young people and coaches in our community to learn more about it," says Seward, winner of the Aboriginal Sport Circle's 2006 Coach of the Year Award.

Winterton says the project has also enabled the BCLA to better track Aboriginal participation numbers, which she says will help to identify and train players for Team BC at the bi-annual North American Indigenous Games, to be held in Cowichan in July, 2008.

One of 22 projects selected for funding by 2010 Legacies Now under the BC Sport Participation Program, the initiative's success drew considerable attention and appears to have sparked heightened interest at a national level. Following its conclusion, the Canadian Lacrosse Association created a National Aboriginal Development Committee, encouraging all of the member associations to take part in a national strategy for further development in Aboriginal communities across the country by implementing strategies similar to those used in BC.

The committee's efforts were subsequently supported by the National Assembly of Chiefs, who passed a resolution endorsing the committee's work "to promote the development and high performance opportunities for First Nations athletes, coaches, referees and volunteer leaders."

The Canadian Lacrosse Association has also been in discussion with the Lower Mainland's Four Host First Nations Society and the Metis Provincial Council of BC about joining forces to stage a North American Aboriginal Lacrosse Championship and youth leadership summit in Vancouver in 2010.

Although it's still too early to tell how many of the 1,539 kids who picked up a stick for the first time will begin to play organized lacrosse, what appears certain is that there is now considerably more opportunity for them to do so. Seward's hope is that most will have found a fun and healthy activity to occupy their time, and that at least a few will go on to play the game at an elite level in mainstream leagues, or even better, obtain an athletic scholarship to attend a university or college.

"I've always told the kids to not be afraid to leave their comfort zone," he says. "Go away and play the game to the best of your ability, get an education and then come back. We'll still be here."