As a head coach again in the B.C. Intermediate A Lacrosse League, Gord Frederickson couldn't feel more at home than behind the bench of the Richmond Roadrunners at Minoru Arenas.
Frederickson left an assistant position in the Western Lacrosse Association just to be back in the building that has been such a big part of his life.
His family was front and centre when Canada's official national summer sport thrived here in the 1970s, highlighted but the dominance of the Junior "A" Roadrunners that won the Minto Cup national championship in 1971.
His father, Gord Sr, won three Mann Cup national senior "A" championships and has been inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. His brother Gary was a standout player for the old Richmond Junior "A" Outlaws franchise and went on to play in the WLA for the Vancouver Burrards.
In total, Gord Jr. has been involved in Canada's national sport for over 45 years, including a playing career that began in mini-tyke and concluded at the senior "A" level. He played for the Junior Roadrunners and won a Mann Cup as a member of the New West Salmonbellies.
"When I played for New West, my mom had a hard time cheering for me because both my dad and brother played (for the arch rival) Burrards," laughed
Frederickson. "I'm just so happy to be back in Richmond. There's lots of lacrosse history here and, next to Queen's Park Arena, this has always been my favourite building."
The Intermediate Roadrunners are coming off a silver medal finish at the 2013 provincials and Frederickson has them contending again. They improved to 8-4 on the campaign with a big 7-6 victory over the Victoria Shamrocks (8-2) on Sunday afternoon at Minoru. The result came on the heels of a heartbreaking 10-9 overtime loss to the league-leading PoCo Saints (12-1) four days year.
It also showed how much progress Richmond has made in the past month after being drubbed by the Saints 16-4 back on May 22.
The game winner against the Shamrocks came with less than two minutes remaining and the hosts shorthanded.
"We had chances to win both games and today we did the little things right," said Frederickson. "All the kids were on the same page and we worked really hard. I'm really proud of them.
"We've been trying to concentrate on our execution. All the kids are buying into our program and, with our recent success, you can see they are starting to get it. I think we are going to have a good run."
When Greg Rennie left the Roadrunners at the end of last season to return to coaching at the junior "A" level, team president and general manager Terry Wolfe was able to convince Frederickson to come onboard after six years as an assistant with WLA teams. It's been a refreshing change to work with up-andcoming talent again compared to senior 'A' where many players are also regulars in the National Lacrosse League. "You're not teaching NLL guys how to catch a pass," quipped Frederickson.
The Steveston resident is now trying to guide Richmond back to the provincial championships for the fourth consecutive time. This year's tournament happens to take place at Minoru over the B.C. Day Weekend, however, the hosts still have to earn a berth in the four-team format.
"We have been saying since day one the only reason we are here is to win the gold medal," added Frederickson. "I think you have to play lacrosse with that kind of mentality. Terry puts on such a good program here. He runs it more like a junior 'A' team than anybody else. I'm so happy he has allowed me to come in coach and I hope he asks me again next year too."
The Roadrunners return to action Wednesday when the Delta Islanders visit Minoru at 8 p.m.
