The recent holiday break allowed Cody Nass to catch his breath following a whirlwind few months of his promising lacrosse career.
The Richmond native was back home from his freshman season at Robert Morris University where he has earned a full-ride field lacrosse scholarship. Nass arrived at the Pittsburgh school just four days after his box lacrosse season ended at the Minto Cup national junior "A" championships as a member of the New West Salmonbellies.
"It wasn't much of a summer.
I saw my buddies maybe three or four times," recalled Nass. "It was basically lacrosse every day for the Minto Cup. I missed the first week of school and got there for the first day of training. It was pretty exhausting."
The fall season at Robert Morris featured mostly training and a couple of exhibition games.The Colonials are now preparing for the start of their schedule in mid-February. They participate in the Northeast Conference which features schools from the the New York and Pennsylvania areas.
"I love everything about it," continued Nass. "It's lacrosse, lacrosse all the time and they set you up to succeed in school too.
"They really stress the importance of strength and conditioning. You are lifting five times a week and there are 5 a.m. runs and workouts too."
The Colonials have typically loaded up on Canadian talent and the current team is no exception with 14 players coming from north of the border, including three from B.C. "It's going to be a real young team but we still should do well in our conference," he said. "The years to come are going to be even better though."
When he returns home in early June, Nass is expecting a much less turbulent box season.
He began the 2013 campaign as an underage member of the Delta Islanders and went on to win the league scoring title with 125 points in 22 games, including 42 goals. However, the Islanders sent shockwaves around the league when he was dealt to New West, along with high-scoring teammate Eli McLauglin, at the July 1 trading deadline for a package of prospects and draft picks.
The deal stipulated Nass and McLaughlin's playing rights were reverted back to the Islanders in 2014. Delta will have a roster loaded with returning players as it attempts to win its first league title in franchise history after reaching the finals in 2012.
"It was real tough at the time," recalled Nass of the trade. "One thing the Islanders have over so many other teams in the league is we are all such good buddies. But in the long run I think (the trade) paid off.
"I feel like me and Eli can bring a lot to the Islanders. It was a real good experience playing in the Minto Cup. Even though I wasn't one of the key players, I learned a lot from it."
Nass will be reunited with his former intermediate coach Greg Rennie who has taken on the Delta head coach and assistant general manager duties after highly successful three-year run with the Richmond Roadrunners that included a runner-up finish at the 2013 provincials.
"I had Greg for two years and really worked well with him. "He knows my style and I am glad to have him as a coach."
