Venom turn a corner, Redneck Rumble slate set
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Adelle Ellis Photo
The local Junior B Tier II team started the year on a six-game losing streak and got outscored 112-39.
“We have a young team this year with only seven returning guys out of 22, with a lot of them coming up from the Strathmore Lacrosse system,” said the second-year Venom bench boss Lucas Bobbitt. “It’s a big jump for them. The change of pace is a shock, the games are more physical and there is a culture change at the junior level. We had a lot of young kids dealing with all of that trying to figure out life at the junior level.”
One of the Venom’s key returning players is fifth-year forward and captain Kaleb Robinson, who was instrumental in turning the season around in mid-May.
He netted six goals and five assists to carry the Venom in a 19-4 beatdown of the West Kootenay Timberwolves (4-5) May 12 at the Castlegar and District Recreation Centre.
The following evening, he had a hand in all the scoring for the Venom, as his seven goals and two assists guided the Venom to a 9-7 victory over the T-Wolves.
“Being a fifth-year and the captain, my role has definitely changed from what it was when I started here,” said Robinson. “Back then, I was a defensive guy who tried to shut down the other team and get the ball to our offensive players. Now, I’ve switched to an offensive mindset and my teammates are the ones doing a great job of getting me the ball in space and I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple go in.”
Robinson’s hard work is paying off, as he leads the entire RMLL Tier II in goals by a large margin with 31. Zack Wilson of the Medicine Hat Sun Devils is the next closest to Robinson with 22 snipes.
The Venom sniper is also tied for the most points in the league with Adam Sylvester of the Sylvan Lake Yetti, with 46.
Robinson couldn’t save his Venom (2-7) May 23 at the Strathmore Family Centre, when his squad dropped a 10-7 back-and-forth affair with the Calgary Sabrecats (3-6).
Even after seeing the consecutive wins come to and end, there were still positives to draw from.
“Defensively, we have really been harping on taking away shooting angles. It’s something that we have been getting better at as the season has gone on,” said Bobbitt. “For us, we really need to do the small stuff well, like win loose ball battles and to clear guys from in front of the net to give us the best chance of winning in the end.”
The Venom looked to get back into the win column May 30 when they hosted the Calgary Axemen (3-5) at the Family Centre.
Bobbitt’s squad has a long-standing tradition of filling out the roster with locally based players. Many of the 15 rookies this year are graduates from the Strathmore Lacrosse Club.
This weekend, with the Venom on the road for a pair of games, the Family Centre will be taken over by future Venom players during the 12th annual Redneck Rumble tournament, which runs June 1-3.
Eighteen teams across the novice, peewee, bantam and midget B levels will take part in the annual tournament. Each age division will be highlighted by one local team.
“This is always a great tournament to get the kids playing against some different competition and the chance to play in a lot of games over the weekend,” said Tournament Coordinator Shannon Anderson.
Both arenas will be in use as teams compete for the tourney title. There will also be several fundraising events such as 50-50, raffles and a radar gun competition to raise money for the Strathmore Lacrosse Club.
Each team is guaranteed four games; the playoff round kicks off at 8:30 a.m. June 3.