by Glen Herbert

Faculty member John Dinner was recently honoured with the Jim Bishop Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Minor Lacrosse. Presenting the award is Keri Black, President of the Huntsville District Minor Lacrosse Association.

The citation with the award reads that "this nominee lives and breathes lacrosse and does everything they possibly can to promote and grow the sport." That includes being an advocate, which Dinner has done on campus most visibly through the planning and development of lacrosse as a key sport within the Outdoor Education program. That involved helping develop close partnerships with the Haudenosaunee Sports Development Group and the Strong Roots Charitable Foundation. Through those partnerships RLC has been able to gain the resources, including coaching, to build a foundation for growth. Dinner has been instrumental in creating the Lacrosse Lake League to benefit players of all skill levels within the student population and neighbouring communities.

Through coaching, mentoring, and development, Dinner has helped make RLC a regional centre of sorts for lacrosse. That we also have Steve Priolo on staff—Captain of the Buffalo Bandits, the current NLL champions—only adds to our ability to deliver a strong program, but also to draw interest and expertise to the campus. This spring the Huntsville Hawks, and others, came to the campus to meet Steve and have their photographs taken with the NLL Championship Trophy, effectively the Stanley Cup of Lacrosse.

The citation continues that the recipient has "the most infectious positive attitude. They make a point of stopping players to complement their play or point out something they accomplished outside of our organization. He invests time in getting to know each member of the team and creates a space where their accomplishments may be recognized." Certainly, we get to see him do that on campus every day, both on and off the field.

This award is significant of a developing story of lacrosse at RLC. In the short term, we will host and participate in exhibition games with our local area high schools and promote the Lake League. In time we intend to make RLC a destination for lacrosse players not only in the area, but also provincially and internationally. By any metric, we're well on our way.