Leave Your Mark Lacrosse is celebrating their third anniversary next month. The business, owned by local resident and lacrosse coach Jamie Knight, recently received approval from the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit to run small group lessons, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Knight said they have the courts booked at Glen Mickle Park in Wallaceburg, to start holding these sessions beginning in July.
“We can only have 10 people on the court at a time and that is including coaches, while we all will be social distancing, so groups will be small but your child will get the coaching that they need to excel.”
Details about the lessons are available on the Leave Your Mark Lacrosse Facebook page, here.
Knight said they opened their first summer camp in Bothwell in 2017, with about 40 boys and girls, many of them new to the sport.
“Our summer camps are what I like to call ‘carnival lacrosse’ as we teach stick skills in a non contact setting that allows players to test themselves throughout the week while doing measurables like target shooting, shooting and breakaway competitions,” Knight said, adding that due to the pandemic, the full-scale camps have been cancelled for this year.
Knight said since he started Leave Your Mark Lacrosse he has had tremendous help from professional lacrosse players and local Junior ‘B’ Red Devils players as well.
“We have even extremely lucky to have pro NLL players attend our camps like, All Star goalie Doug Jamieson, from the New England Blackwolves, Knight said.
“I am really fortunate to have great help as local pro star Jordan Durston is the highlight lead instructor at almost every event and is eager to share his experience with all our young athletes. Local Red Devils have also been instrumental as Tanner Cole, Bronson Bea and Tyler Brown are always helpful at camps.”
Knight said camps have taken place in Bothwell, Moraviantown, Wallaceburg and Petrolia over the past few years.
They also run lessons at Edward International Academy in Wallaceburg, which has been sold out the last couple of years.
“Almost 35% of these athletes are traveling from out of town,” Knight said, adding they’ve been able to do over 20 school visits across the region.
