Vets Bantam player selected for Team Ontario

June 17, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

For the second year in a row, Shelburne Vets Bantam player Tori Verbeek has been selected for Team Ontario and will represent the province at the Canadian Female Box Lacrosse Nationals in Calgary, AB.

Tori travelled with the team to Calgary in 2015, and her team came out on top.

Competition took place at the 2121 seat Max Bell Centre. Calgary is hosting the tournament for a second year.

“I started playing lacrosse when I was four or five years old,” said Tori of how she got into the sport. “My older brother played it, so I followed along.”

With the Vets, Tori is the only girl on her team and her experience allows her to compete at the Bantam level.

“The boys are getting bigger,” she said. “I have to keep my head up when playing.”

Tori made the Ontario team after going to a tryout and competing with the best female lacrosse players in the province to secure a spot on the roster.

“Last year, I received an invitation to the try-outs and I was selected to be on the team. We went to Calgary and beat out British Columbia in the final.”

This year, she had to try out again to make the team.

No players are automatically given a spot in the line-up due to previous performance.

“You have to prepare yourself a lot through training,” said Tori. “There’s a lot of mental training because there’s a lot of other good players you’re competing against.”

This year’s try-outs were conducted over two days – one day in Orangeville and the other in Whitby-Ajax.

In total, 20 players and two goalies were selected to go to Calgary for the Nationals.

“The atmosphere and skill level is different,” Tori said of going from an all-boys team to playing with an all-girls team. “It just seemed different because I’m used to being with the guys.”

Tori isn’t sure if she’ll continue playing with the boys next season as she says physically they are getting bigger, but she also said she’ll continue with the sport.

“I’m not sure if I’ll transition to girls’ lacrosse next year. I might try field lacrosse, but I definitely will continue playing.”

The Calgary tournament will have the best Bantam, Midget, and Junior female lacrosse players in the country competing for national titles.