Just a couple of minutes after pulling on his Zone 7 jersey for the first time, Kypton Farkash could already appreciate the magnitude of the imminent Alberta Summer Games.
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“It’s an honour, because we get to represent Wheatland,” Farkash said Saturday after an early practice at Vermilion Stadium in his hometown.
Soon bound for Strathcona County, the Zone 7 contingent brings together under-15 players who have grown up playing with or against each other in the Wheatland Lacrosse Association or elsewhere. The 18 boys come from Lloydminster, Vermilion, Bonnyville, Cold Lake, Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray, representing the Lloydminster Border Brutes, the Vermilion Roar, the Lakeland Heat and the Wood Buffalo Bisons.
“Some people, I used to hate when I was playing against them,” Farkash said. “Now, I really like them in the dressing room and on the floor. We’re good friends and teammates.”
The 14-year-old member of the U15 Roar believes his zone team can make its mark in the Summer Games lacrosse championship, set for July 17-19 at the Ardrossan Sports Complex.
“I feel like we have a really good chance in the tournament,” he said. “I feel that our team will be really good.
“We have good ball movement, we have fast people, and we have good goalies and good defence.”
Sporting his spiffy blue Zone 7 jersey, William Wallis is equally thrilled to play in the Summer Games.
“I’m super proud that I get to play with this team,” said Wallis, who is from Lloydminster and normally plays with the U15 Border Brutes.
“I’m excited to play with these boys — new kids and a new still level. I’ve played against some of these guys for 10 years now — close to that — and now I get to play with them, so I’m really excited.”
The boys’ chemistry has only increased with each practice, from the initial session in Bonnyville to workouts last weekend in Lloydminster and Vermilion.
“We just clicked immediately,” said Wallis, whose father Mark is an assistant coach with Zone 7, working alongside head coach Jarret Eyben of Vermilion and assistant coach Chris Fox of Bonnyville.
“We came in the dressing room, and nobody was shy or anything. We talked and we had fun.
“On the floor, everybody understands their play, everybody understands the coaches.”
With his father involved at the coaching and executive levels, Wallis is part of an active lacrosse family that includes older brother Eric, now playing junior B with the Rocky Mountain league’s Lloydminster Xtreme.
As he continues to climb the lacrosse ranks, William Wallis, turning 14, hopes to someday play with the Xtreme. He and Farkash rank lacrosse atop their personal lists of sporting pursuits, though both also dedicate much time to hockey and school sports.
This past school year, Farkash played with the 14U Lloydminster Athletics academy team in the Junior Prospects Hockey League.
Next week at the Summer Games, the lacrosse teams will reside in an athletes’ village at Sherwood Park, and bus to Ardrossan for their games.
“It’s going to be fun to hang out with them,” Farkash said about the Zone 7 group.
“It seems like a fun experience, bonding with all my friends and teammates,” Wallis agreed.
Overall, schools in the Sherwood Park area will bunk some 2,500 athletes representing 13 sports.
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