Mission

The Stars Girls Field Lacrosse would like to see a vibrant girls field lacrosse community at the Youth House League, Club and H.S. levels in the East End of Toronto. Our efforts are designed to grow the sport in these sectors.

The Stars completed their 4th season with two Rep programs – U19 and U15. Future growth will see the addition of a U-19 C team in 2012.

The Rep Teams practice two nights a week – generally Tuesday at McCowan District Fields (South of Eglinton and East of Brimley) and Friday at U of T Valley Fields (Old Kingston Road east of Morningside). We play teams from throughout the Golden Horseshoe including: St. Catherines, K-W, Mississsauga, Burlington, Brampton, Orillia, Oshawa , Peterborough and others.

Stars House League Program: Basic Information

The Stars Girls Field Lacrosse House League continues to grow each year. The season starts with stick skills clinics in April and we move to weekly games from mid-May to the end of June on Tuesday nights. This year’s program will see 2 Divisions – “Under 11” (ages 7-10: Born 2001-2004) and “15 and Under” (ages 11-15) Born 1996 -2000). House League events are on Tuesday Nights at McCowan District Fields (north of St. Clair East, south of Eglinton, in between Brimley and McCowan).

We provide “Try-it Nights” throughout winter starting in January to the end of March. This year our try it nights will be on Wednesdays at Malvern Collegiate Institute. Sticks and balls are provided for newcomers. We require the girls bring a mouthguard to wear during all on-floor activities.

Necessary Girls Field Lacrosse Equipment

Girls Field Lacrosse is a relatively inexpensive sport. You will need:

-        A girls field lacrosse stick

-        A mouthguard

-        Soccer Cleats for outdoor activities

-        Proper clothing depending on the conditions

-        A water bottle

-        A good attitude and the desire to learn and have fun!

2011 Rep Program in Review

The Toronto Stars continued to make progress with their Rep Teams. The U19B Team won the B Division with the best regular season record and performed well in the U19 A Provincials which is the highest division in Canada for the age group. The team only lost two players – veteran and leader Jesse Porter who now plays for the Western Mustangs and Heather Lennie (attending Queen’s). They will play in the U19 A Division in 2012 under Coach Yoko Murphy. This will be the culmination of a long association of girls who have played together for up to 10 years in girls Field and Box Lacrosse. Returning Final Year Seniors include Geneva Calder (will be attending William Smith College on scholarship in Geneva, N.Y in the Fall of 2012), Hayley Cowls (deciding on US and Canadian university options), Pearl Dixon –consistent and veteran Attack, Caitlin Gorley - one of the Stars top midfielders, Alissa Quan – A top defender for the Stars, Erin Sobie (amazing progress in first field season - D/M) and Katherine Wagner (one of the hardest shots in the league - M/A). They will be supported by a great group of girls with 2 to 4 years of U19 play left ahead of them.

The U15A Team maintained their position in the U15A Division for the 2011 Provincials and 2012. This
is getting more difficult every year. It was a young team and was coached by Anne Pedersen who
returned to the USA after the season. Some real progress was made and the group of returnees will
have shared the game since they were 10 years old and already are entering into their 4th season of U15 this coming year. Coach Tory Merrill returns as head coach and we look forward to be very competitive in the league. The first graduates of the Beaches U13 Rep team will be joining the squad as well as some recent newcomers to the city of Toronto who have great experience with the game.

The Stars will be creating a U19C Rep Team in 2012. It will offer graduates of the U15 program and new
players coming out of the new high school league a place to play and develop before leaping into the
high level of U19A.

Stars Rep Program Basic Information

The Stars completed there 4th season with two Rep programs – U19 and U15. In 2012 we will be adding a U19 C team. We are working in association with Beaches Lacrosse for girls field lacrosse teams in both U11 and U13 divisions.

For players interested in our rep program we will be holding 7v7 game play nights at Major League Sportslplex on Thursdays starting January 12th. Tryouts for our rep program  are completed by April. League play goes from early May until the first week of August when Provincials are held. The teams play anywhere from 10-12 regular season games in tournament style weekends with the Stars usually playing 2 of every 3 or 4 weekends through the summer. Provincials include playoffs depending on the regular season record and a 2 day championship weekend.

The Rep Teams practice two nights a week – generally Tuesday at McCowan District Fields (South of Eglinton and East of Brimley) and Thursday at Birchmount Park C.I

The Stars play teams from throughout the Golden Horseshoe including: St. Catherines, K-W, Mississsauga, Burlington, Brampton, Orillia, Oshawa , Peterborough and others. The Ontario Womens Lacrosse (OWL) website is a great place to check out Rep play:

www.ontariowomenslacrosse.com/ We often bring the Rep girls to tournaments in the US including New York State and Maryland.

Awards of Achievement

Ron Parkinson - Ron is the first President for the Toronto Stars Lacrosse Association. He served for 10 years and under his watch the club established programs in both boys and girls box and field lacrosse. He supported the growth of the girls field program which allowed it to quickly establish itself as a model program in Ontario. Ron spent hundreds of hours ensuring the various programs would operate smoothly. He is a worthy recipient of the Toronto Stars Achievement Award.

The first ever Stars Girls Field Awards of Achievement were presented at the end of the summer. These Awards acknowledge an exemplary contribution made to the Stars organization by Players, Coaches or Volunteers who are moving on to other activities in life.

Jen Arkison – Jen has played goalie for the Stars in both Box Lacrosse and Girls Field Lacrosse and is a real pioneer in terms of being a player for Stars girls lacrosse programs. She also served as Wexford Collegiate’s golatender. Jen always played at her highest level and quite often with injuries. She was a quiet leader on all of the teams she net-minded for.

Tory Merrill– Tory really brought technical direction to our U15 Girls Field Team. Under her mentorship the Stars U15’s won the Silver medal at the 2009 Provincials. Tory is one of Canada’s great female athletes and Stars girls were fortunate to learn from her over her two year involvement. Tory would often travel from Orangeville to coach our girls. Along with starring at U of T in lacrosse, she is also a nationally ranked track athlete in hurdles. Tory is currently pursuing her Masters in Sports Administration at the University of Ottawa.

Volunteers

Our organization only exists because of volunteers. We need parents and friends of lacrosse to step up and fill coaching, training, refereeing, media relations, promotions and other positions. If you are interested please contact Jim Calder at james.calder2@sympatico.ca for more information.

High Schools

The Toronto Stars are working closely with Ontario Women’s Lacrosse, the TDSSAA and the University of Toronto to help grow Girls Lacrosse within High Schools on the east end of Toronto. If you would like to find out more about starting a program at your high school contact Jim Calder at james.calder2@sympatico.ca for more information.