Q & A with Roxanne Curtis
Roxanne Curtis is a teacher at Whitby’s Sinclair Secondary School and is also the coach of the 5-time defending LOSSA and 2-time defending Ontario champion Sinclair Girls Varsity Lacrosse team. Roxanne was kind enough to share with us in an electronic Q&A session recently:
Background
How did you get started in lacrosse and what was your involvement before starting the girls program at Sinclair?
Started coaching in 1989 under the guidance of Barb Boyes. We were both teaching at Ajax HS, she was the coach of the Sr. National Womens Team at the time so she taught me the basics so I could coach the “Rookie Team” at Ajax and from there I was hooked. She figured if I could coach basketball, then I could transfer that knowledge to field lacrosse…. that’s worked out fairly well for me!
Do you have other interests in lacrosse outside of the Sinclair program?
Yes, lots!
- I am the Technical Director for Ontario Women’s Lacrosse - a role which involves setting up all coaching and officiating clinics.
- Provincial Team Program Co-ordinator [Team Ontario]
- NCCP Master Facilitator - instruct both Community Coach: Development Clinics and Competitive Coach: Introduction clinics
- CLA coaching Committee - member
- OFSAA Sport Advisory Chair for Girls’ Lacrosse - this year the Provincial Cup is a sanctioned event by OFSAA, we are moving in the direction of an OFSAA Festival….need more associations within OFSAA participating before this will happen!
- Convenor of the OWL International Tournament - has attracted teams from England, Wales, U.S. and Canada in the past; held at Oshawa Civic Fields
- I have 2 young boys…. so last year, was on son Kyle’s bench as trainer [OMHA Level 2 hockey trainer certification]
At Sinclair
Sinclair has a large player pool - how many teams does Sinclair field?
We run a Varsity team and a huge JV program, usually enough for 2 big teams; Varsity competes in the LOSSA league while JV is strictly for development and play an exhibition & tournament schedule only.
How successful has the Sinclair program been, LOSSA & OFSSA championships, etc?
Currently, we are 5-time defending champions of LOSSA and have captured the Provincial Cup in its first 2 years of existence, lacrosse is not currently a sanctioned OFSAA Championship sport so the Provincial Cup is our version of OFSAA. In the school’s 13 year existence we have won the LOSSA championship 6 times (other in 1996).
How supportive is the school towards the program and do you see girls lacrosse growing as a varsity sport in LOSSA & Ontario?
Support - fantastic! Growing - yes, LOSSA has grown to 11 teams this year; last year several new schools ran JV programs to introduce lacrosse to the girls. Across Ontario - yes; three main areas - LOSSA, COSSA (Peterborough area), ROPSSAA (Peel region) but also in SOSSA (Welland, Cayuga, Hagarsville areas), CWOSSA (Orangeville & Brantford areas), GBSAA (Orillia area)
While I am sure there have been many memorable players over the years, have there been standout players that have had a positive impact on the other players and the up-and-coming players?
Definitely - Grad. year in brackets: Kristen Millar (2004) - currently on scholarship at the University of Vermont; Christine Comeau (2005) - currently on scholarship at the Longwood U.(Virginia); Veronica Johnston (2005) - a fantastic athlete who picked up lacrosse in Gr 9, was our MVP last season! Currently playing university hockey at University of Western Ontario; Amy Fincham (2003) - currently at Wilfred Laurier U., a member of their OUA Championship team. Lynz Keys (1999) - currently assistant coach of the Junior National Team and coaching at Longwood U. All of these players were team captains in their time - true leaders with great work ethic! Our program has sent players to Wilfred Laurier, Brock U., Queen’s U., Western U., McMaster.
-There are many athletes which I still keep in contact with who are still actively involved in lacrosse as coaches, umpires & players in the OUA or in OWL summer league; many of these come back to help out with the High School tournaments we run in the spring.
Coaching
What roles do the other coaches play at Sinclair? (i.e. do you have an offensive coach, defensive coach, etc.?)
Dan MacDonald and Mariette Rozon coach with me and they also co-ordinate the JV program. If all three of us are on the field together we will generally break into three groups for drills, then run strategy together. I wouldn’t say we have defined roles as Offensive/Defensive.
How do you keep the coaches/players fresh each year while still maintaining a high level of success?
We focus a lot on team cohesion, the girls truly enjoy each other’s company and motivate each other to keep the bar high! Each season we introduce something new (offensive set, or a new defensive strategy) so even the veterans have to be sharp and are learning. We set challenges for ourselves for the year and each game, then reward each one appropriately.
Is there any pressure on the coaches/players to ‘live up to expectations’ of success each year?
Our program is focused around expectations - both in the classroom and on the field, are they high, absolutely. If you aren’t challenging your players to get better and improve, in my opinion, you’re not doing your job as a coach. We keep that in mind every time we take the field - practice or game. Do the players feel the pressure, I’m sure they do… as coaches we prepare them to face all challengers and to enjoy the challenge, reach our goals for the game so then the focus isn’t entirely on winning….so just in case we don’t, it won’t be the end of the world!
What schools do you see as Sinclair’s chief challengers this year?
In the first two years of the Provincial Cup, it has been an ALL LOSSA championship final; I think as a league this is a goal for us. With that said, I expect that Donald A. Wilson will be our toughest competitors, last year the LOSSA Final was so intense and exciting…. it was AWESOME! Same with the re-match in the Provincial Cup. We know they will definitely be expecting to change the outcome this season!
Note: Barb Boyes, the same who got me involved, now coaches at Donald A. Wilson, so for us it’s a friendly rivalry.
Finally…
If you could have one wish for Girls Field Lacrosse what would that be?
That more areas would start teams for the girls in their schools; it is a fantastic game - inexpensive to start up (we don’t wear equipment), great for fitness, can offer a new sport to girls within their school … and as with other versions of lacrosse, it truly is the fastest on two feet!
Thanks again Roxanne for taking the time to share with us!
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