Ten years of memories and growth: Gee-Gees men’s lacrosse celebrates milestone season

The Gee-Gees men's lacrosse team opened its 2023 season on September 9 with a road game at Trent, but before the season began two key members of the program reflected on the 10 years since the founding of Gee-Gees men's lacrosse as a modern day program.

Lacrosse has been part of sports on campus at the University of Ottawa since as early as 1880, and in 1883 the Ottawa Daily Citizen predicted that "Ottawa College will have a rattling lacrosse team in the field for next season."

A new chapter in the University's lacrosse history was opened in 2013, and through the dedication of volunteer coaches and organizers the team has been built into a solid part of life on campus once more. 

Brett Perras has been a huge part of the Gee-Gees program since 2013, when he was a goaltender as well as a team organizer. He remembers the groundwork laid in the first seasons, and knows that it has paid off for the program's group of over 100 alumni.

"I would say very humble beginnings," says Perras of the 2013 season which featured exhibition games only and the team's practice and game facilities off-campus. But in Perras's mind, he could already see opportunities.

Spurred by Perras's organization and commitment, major changes for the program occurred relatively quickly: uOttawa joined the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) in 2014, winning three games in its first season. A few years later, the team made Gee-Gees Field its on-campus home for practices and games. 

"We have a very passionate group of kind of coaches and volunteers and we would have never got there without kind of the efforts and time they put into it," says Perras, who is the head coach of the 2023 team. "Our mindset is to continue to build this into a long-standing pyramid, and the foundational pieces were put there by not only the coaches, but obviously the players as well that have been part of this from day one."

Jordan Joncas, last year's head coach who has been with the team since 2014, echoes Perras's view of the positive steps the program has taken each year. "When we started the program we were playing on a dirt field in Vanier, to now where we're playing under the lights at Lees, right? Seeing how far it's come, that's kind of been what's brought me back every year because I do want to see it grow."

One key area of growth for the program has been the approach to recruiting players, who now come in as first years from across Canada knowing they will be members of the team. "In our first years, it was really a group of buddies that kind of played lacrosse together that came together at the university and decided to try to put a program together," says Joncas, reflecting on the difference heading into the 2023 season. 

"We kind of were just grinding our way through and it's great to see kind of where we are at now," Joncas continues. "The numbers of players that are coming in and the quality of players that we have coming in, I'm very excited for this season."

Both Perras and Joncas highlight 2016's run to the Baggataway Cup, CUFLA's conference championship tournament, as the program's on-field highlight. Ottawa defeated top-ranked McGill by a 11-10 score to advance to the league quarterfinals. "We've had some great players come through our program and some great teams," says Perras, "That was a big one."

Perras also highlights the team of 2020 as a special time in the program's growth, despite the circumstances of the COVID-cancelled season. "Everyone still showed up, put in that effort in training, and I think there's a lot of great foundation that was put in and we're starting to see a lot of those kids that are coming out of that really take on leadership roles with the team."

The 2020-2021 season also marked an important moment in the program's history as long-time team member Isaac Lavallee passed away at the age of 24, after being diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2019. The annual Isaac Lavallee memorial game is a focal point for the team, offering a chance to gather and remember, celebrate, and reflect. This year's event will take place on October 21.

Off-field experiences are clearly important to the leaders of the program. "At the end of the day, success isn't just what happens on the field," underscores Perras. "Their education is paramount. What I try and really focus on is developing our guys and giving them the opportunity to kind of get the best of themselves as student-athletes."

"I've always been passionate about the sport so it's important to me that we're hopefully molding the next group of kids who have that same kind of passion I do for the game and hopefully get them to where they want to go at the end of the day." 

"Brett's the absolute backbone of this whole program," says Joncas. "The program doesn't exist without Brett and that doesn't include just the fact that he started it at the beginning. It doesn't work year by year without Brett, he's putting in so much time behind the scenes. I can't say enough about him and he's the reason that it's thriving today."

And the proof of that thriving culture is shown each year as the program's alumni games get larger. "At our alumni games we see everyone who's still passionate about it coming back," says Perras with pride, realizing the impact the program has had on its players.

"Those relationships continue to evolve as lives change and it's great to see the people that truly cared about being part of this program still come back. And hopefully this kind of thing becomes something that continues beyond my time." 

Gee-Gees Men's Lacrosse 2023 Schedule

Gee-Gees Men's Lacrosse Historical Volunteer Coaches: Jeremy Kearns: 2013-2014, Mike Dube: 2014-2015, Brett Perras: 2014-Present, Jordan Joncas: 2014-Present, Jordan Weedmark: 2014-2016, Callum Crawford: 2016-2017, Jon Patrik Kealey: 2017-2019, Brett Cass: 2017-2018, Kevin Middaugh: 2018, Connor Primeau: 2019-2022, Carter Badour: 2019, Aaron Forster: 2020, 2022, Isaac Lavallee: 2019, Keith Lee: 2021, Brady Martin: 2021, Mitchell Tunnel: 2019-2021, Adam Brown: 2021, Brendan Dinsdale: 2021-Present, Brandon Perras: 2018, 2022-Present, Evan Coolidge: 2022-Present, Martin Legault: 2023, Evan Fox: 2023, Ashcon Dawoudi: 2023, Jay Peacock: 2023