Strathmore athlete to lead Calgary Junior Roughnecks

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Strathmore’s Ryder Endall has been selected once again to play for the Jr. Roughnecks program to compete at the Jr. National Lacrosse League Championship.

The tournament will take place in Toronto, at which, teams from across Canada and the United States will compete for the Jr. national title. 

To qualify for the team, Endall was required to participate in a tryout which took place at the end of May and in early June.

“You need to try out for the Calgary Junior Roughnecks, so all the teams from across Alberta come together and if you want to play you can come try out,” said the 16-year-old. “There are 20 guys who make the team and 10 callups, and then we practice all summer and go to Toronto at the end of August.”

Endall said there were some nerves going into the tryouts at the beginning, but as the camp went on, he began to feel more comfortable with the fellow athletes he was competing with. 

This year will mark Endall’s second year having qualified for the Calgary Junior Roughnecks. He is the sole returning player to the team from last year, and has been named captain for the summer. 

“It should be a little bit better for my competition and my development. We came third (in Toronto) last year … it was a pretty good tournament for us and the team definitely improved as we played more games,” he said. “I think this year is definitely going to be a challenge for us, but I think as long as we stay motivated and keep our minds proper, we should be able to go for gold.”

Endall has previously played a defensive role for the Calgary Junior Roughnecks, though has not been told yet of his position this time around.

The Junior Roughnecks practice together three nights a week now that the team has been selected in preparation for the tournament.

“The first couple practices, we did struggle a little bit because it was new guys – a new team. I haven’t really played with these guys before, but as practices went on, we have been getting better and better,” said Endall. “I am really confident with our team now. We have bonded quite well even though we have been pretty much rivals for the last 10 years … I am pretty sure I played against every single one of the guys who (are) on my team now for definitely a couple of years now.”

Endall and the Calgary Junior Roughnecks will be competing at the tournament Aug. 18 to 20 for the Jr. National Lacrosse League Championship title.