Darren Reisig was an old-school, two-way player. Now he’s headed just one way and that’s into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame with the Class of 2023.
“I am humbled and honoured,” said Reisig.
He was cited for his boxla play in the Western Lacrosse Association with the Victoria Shamrocks and in the professional National Lacrosse League and for sa国际传媒 in international field-lacrosse.
“Moments like these make you think about the years that have passed. The NLL and WLA were both great experiences but the Shamrocks time was special in that I got to play 10 years with a group of friends who were all Victoria guys,” said Reisig.
The connections began in youth lacrosse and carried through when Reisig won the Minto Cup national Junior A championships in 1988 with Esquimalt Legion and three Mann Cup national Senior A championships with the Shamrocks in 1997, 1999 and 2003 and was WLA MVP in 1995. He played in the NLL from 2002 to 2007 with the Vancouver Ravens, San Jose Stealth and Portland and was named a first-team all-star in 2002.
“I was proud to be good at both ends of the floor,” said Reisig, an attribute rarely seen in modern box lacrosse.
Representing your country takes an athlete’s career to another level.
“Playing for sa国际传媒, and putting on the Maple Leaf jersey, was an amazing opportunity that I got to do twice,” said Reisig.
“Even though it was a loss to the U.S. in overtime in the worlds in 1998, it is something I will never forget, playing in front of a sold-out crowd in the heart of field lacrosse at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.”
Reisig later turned to coaching in the Claremont Secondary lacrosse academy and has sent 125 players on to NCAA field-lacrosse since 2008.
The former players to be inducted with Reisig in the Class of 2023 are four-time WLA and two-time NLL champion and Team sa国际传媒 player Troy Cordingley, three-time Mann Cup-champion Len Powers, Mann Cup, NLL champion and Team sa国际传媒 player Gavin Prout and former Penn State and Team sa国际传媒 star Jennifer Johnson.
Entering the Hall in the 2023 builders category is Scott Browning of Victoria, a long-standing administrator in box and field lacrosse with 70 of his former players having played NCAA. Browning coached sa国际传媒 to two U-19 world championship silver medals and was also head coach of the Hong Kong men’s team from 2013 to 2020 and instrumental in forging the game in Asia.
Also going in as builders are Paul Gilkinson and Robert Matte. Rick Lum, Jim Price and Frank Lawrence will be enshrined in the officials category and the world-champion 2015 Canadian women’s U-19 squad in the team category.
The 2023 induction ceremony will be held Nov. 5 in Ontario and will bring to 572 the number of players, builders, officials and teams enshrined.
The Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame is located in New Westminster.
