Hello, I am Andrew Coghlin currently a senior B lacrosse player for the year-old K-W Velocity lacrosse team (formerly K-W Kodiaks) and a student approaching graduation this spring at Conestoga College. Before reaching the senior ranks in lacrosse I was a four-and-a-half-year journeyman of the Ontario Junior C lacrosse league (aka the Junior C “jungle”) Wilmot Wild. Those years had a lot of ups and downs, a lot of blood and even more sweat and yes maybe a tear or two near the end but junior lacrosse with the Wilmot Wild was one of the most exciting things I’ve been apart of so far in my young life.

My story begins in the summer of 2012. I was attending my first junior lacrosse training camp after making the worst decision (in my sports career), choosing to sit out my final midget box lacrosse season to pursue inline roller hockey. I was 5 foot nothing, 130 pounds soaking wet but ready to make a splash. I gave it all I could but unfortunately was partially released after only 6 games with the club. The Wilmot Wild would finish that season with a mediocre 6-8-2 record bowing out to Halton Hills in the first round of playoffs. As I was still signed to an affiliated player card I remained with the team throughout the season, and like the other twenty guys involved with the club, I was left with a very bitter taste in my mouth because of the seasons early end.

Start Summer 13’
The summer of 2013, I wanted to make my year. I reevaluated my lacrosse career deciding this was a sport I loved and wanted to pursue and came back to training camp bigger, stronger and faster. The vibe at training camp this time around was much different. Dedicated  team president and owner Wayne Paddick brought in long time K-W Lacrosse icons Jamie Diebolt and Greg Hummel to take the reigns of the team after recently letting go of the entire coaching staff and general manager from the 2012 campaign. I was finally signed to a full player card by the new coaches and ready to take on a bigger role with the team. Diebolt/Hummel quickly started to develop a winning culture jumping out that season to a 7-0 record before finishing a club best 8-8 en route to sweeping our first round playoff opponents the Fergus Thistles. The Wild in 2013 unfortunately lost out in the conference semi finals to the eventual Meredith Cup Champions the Halton Hills Bulldogs but this was just the beginning.

Summer 14’
Another year, another training camp. Looking to build on the teams new direction taken in 2013, the team was just starting to take off. By this time the Wild had acquired the full time services of Kitchener Rangers legend Dan Lebold. To this day that is one of the greatest things to happen to the Wild program. Dan takes care of his players to a level which is second to none.  I speak on behalf of everyone who has had the pleasure of dawning a Wild jersey during the Lebold-era when I say he taught every single one of us what it takes to be a team, and how it takes being a team to become champions. This proved itself as during the summer of 2014 the Wild boasted a conference and club best 12-4-0 record claiming the clubs first regular season title in history. Unfortunately the luck ran short, after again sweeping our first round opponents the Wild were swept at the hands of the Halton Hills Bulldogs. 4 years, 4 playoff exits at the hands of Halton Hills… a lot of us were starting to believe we were cursed.  Personally the summer of 2014 was great to me.  I hit personal highs in points, penalty minutes and just two summers after being partially released by a Junior C team I received my first call up to the Junior B ranks finishing out the last 5 games of the OJBLL regular season with the Guelph Regals.

Summer 15’
After a disappointing playoff exit following a very promising regular season in 2014, the Wilmot Wild head office only had one thing on their minds.. Championship. I showed up to camp that year honoured to have been given assistant captaincy and also to learn the team had pulled trigger on a trade bringing in Kingston Junior C stud and very good friend of mine Zach Masterson. The trade kind of sent the message around the locker room that the staff were all in this season. Technically the Wild finished summer 2015 with an undefeated 16-0 record (the Wild actually finished 14-2 however Six Nations used an illegal player and was forced to forfeit 13 wins including two they had over the Wild) and their second straight league best regular season record. 14-2 or 16-0 the Wild had no excuse but to buy in and make 2015 our year. After sweeping the first round against Mimico, by a combined score of 40+ to 0, Wilmot was set to face Six Nations in a semi final series almost the entire league had pegged as the final series before Six Nations forfeited their wins. The Wild had their hands full on this occasion bowing out in the semi final series for the third year in a row.. at least it was finally another team rather then the pesky Halton Hills Bull Dogs. No one was happy with the result but leading into my 5th and final year I knew something had to change for summer 2016.

Summer 16’
Another winter came and went, here I was at my last junior lacrosse training camp, exactly a full foot taller and 45 pounds heavier than I was five years ago just starting out. The roster was almost identical to the previous year, giving the Wild absolutely no excuse this season. In fact I still remember Greg Hummel making eye contact with me at the first run of the year in late February saying, “championship or bust this season eh Cogs.”  He was correct. With only a 5 year life span in junior sports for players, windows of opportunity to win come very few and far between and the team realized that early on and everyone bought in. Finishing 2016 with a 14-2-0 record tying us for first place with the Fergus Thistles was bitter within itself, everyone knew that we would need to step up and finally shake the second round woes the Wild had been suffering from. After sweeping round one, round two was set to be a rematch of 2015 against the Six Nations Warriors. A lot of teams in this league fear Six Nations however the 2016 Wilmot Wild did not. The series was wild (no pun intended) with many goals, big hits and the occasional fight or two but finally the Wilmot Wild beat the Warriors 3 games to 1 advancing us to the clubs first conference final birth since inception in 2011. Unlike the 2011 Wilmot Wild, the 2016 version was just hitting their peak in full stride come the conference final and our team swept the Fergus Thistles 3-0. This personally was a dream come true to be a Western Conference champion and punching my ticket to the Provincial championship, the Meredith Cup in my fifth and final year of junior lacrosse. Unfortunately this tale has no story book ending as we ended up being defeated by a powerhouse Clarington Shamrocks team in the Meredith Cup.

As disappointing as the loss still is to me, the 2016 year was my favourite year of lacrosse ever. 81 games, 25 points, 489 penalty minutes later and my junior sports career in the Junior C “jungle” was finished. Competing a full season, right to the final championship series with my family in Junior C with the Wild, to be given a chance to yet again play at a higher level competing in 9 or so regular season games plus some playoffs with the Guelph Junior B Regals is something I’ll never forget. 

Fast forward to today, I am preparing for my sophomore summer season with the K-W Sr. B Velocity as well as currently competing in training camp with the semi-professional Arena Lacrosse League’s Whitby Steelhawks but will never forget the Thursday night practices or Sunday afternoon home games battling beside my brothers. However I can honestly say I owe Jamie Diebolt, Greg Hummel, Dan Lebold, Kevin Miller and Wayne Paddick,  in no particular order, some of the biggest thanks anyone could ever give for not only making me the lacrosse player I am today but for opportunities they gave (and still give) to myself and their other players. Opportunities to lead, learn and teach.

Andrew Coghlin - December 2017