He may not have started the season as the head coach of the Knighthawks Tyke lacrosse team, but there was no doubt by season’s end about the importance of Todd Herold’s role with the group of six, seven and eight year olds.

With the team searching for a coach back in April, Herold stepped forward to volunteer, noting a couple of motivating factors for his decision. “Obviously, my son’s involvement with the team…and I think that fact that I played lacrosse growing up”, said Herold.

Much more well-known in local sporting circles as one of Canada’s top long-distance hitters on the golf circuit, Herold believes lacrosse has always had a special appeal to him. “The chance to have my son involved in a different game, not one of the more traditional sports certainly helped.”

With almost his entire roster experiencing lacrosse for the first time in 2008, Herold suggests his goal was simple enough – try and develop some basic improvement in each and every child. 

“The growth from the opening camp to now is phenomenal”, states Herold. “It has been incredible to see how well this team has molded together.” Trying to maintain a focus that puts “fun” at the very top o the list, the Knighthawks’ coach suggests that the mix of kids and the different personalities on the team provided him with the most memorable moments. 

As the Knighthawks season wound down on this Saturday afternoon in Garson, Herold points to his team’s final game as yet another indication of the progress they all have made. Down 7-3 at one point, the Hawks rallied to draw to within one, narrowly missing a handful of close opportunities in the final 90 seconds before dropping a 7-6 decision. 

Still, as the disappointed crew gathered along the blue line, Herold was quick to share words of encouragement and countless “high fives” along the way. Soon, it was difficult to tell which team had won and which team had lost as the players filtered back to their respective dressing rooms. 

“I would like to hope that they all had some fun while learning about the game”, summed up Herold. Judging from the smiles, it appears that this mission was accomplished. The 2008 Knighthawks Tyke lacrosse team included: Darcie Smith, Riley Bruni, Matthew Allen, Jackson Herold, Murray Potts, Torrie Dunlop, Spencer Lavallee, Lauren Hancock, Matteo Seguin, Mark Thom, Mathieu Gareau, Max Crowder, Cole Crowder and Nicholas Vaillancourt.