INNISFAIL – The Mavericks Lacrosse Club of Innisfail went to the Founders Cup in Calgary this year with a goal of playing in the gold medal round following its improbable run in 2024 of just making it to the national tournament.
In 2024, the Mavericks finished their Founders Cup run in fifth place and came away believing they were the team of destiny for the 2025 national tourney held from Aug. 18 to 24.
Not quite yet.
There is an old adage in sports that great teams have to learn how to lose, sometimes in heartbreaking fashion, before becoming champions.
And in 2025 it was a lesson the Mavericks learned big time.
After playing well in their first three games of the eight-team tournament and proving they absolutely belonged with the country’s best Junior B lacrosse teams, the Mavericks lost in the semifinals to B.C.’s Coquitlam Adanacs by a score of 8 - 7.
“It was. It sure was,” said Mavericks’ assistant coach Wally Genz of the heartbreak. “It was basically by one goal and maybe a few minutes away from making it to the national championship.”
The Adanacs went on to the gold medal game against Ontario’s Kahnawake Hunters.
The Hunters won 9 – 4 to win gold, with the Adanacs claiming silver.
The Mavericks played tournament host Calgary Shamrocks for bronze but fell in another close game by a score of 9 – 7.
The Innisfail-based lacrosse squad was left with an undeniable fact they belonged with the best, but with painful lessons.
There was different Founders Cup competition in 2025, and while the Mavericks were prepared it was a big difference over 2024.
“Last year we were put in a pool with not as many strong teams, whereas this year we faced all the strong teams,” said Genz, “Kahnawake has quite a few players that actually play division one lacrosse in the States.
“Our guys know who these guys are, and know how good they are, so when we were first playing them, they were a little bit snake bitten, just because of who was there.”
However, Genz said his team, led by head coach Trey Christensen, showed the competition at this year’s Founders Cup they had plenty of first-class skills.
“Trey is renowned within Alberta as being a transition specialist type coach, so our transition game was just on a different level compared to a lot of other teams, meaning we were controlling the ball,” said Genz. "We were always in their face, because it's fast breaks, and everybody on our team buys into that part of the game.
“Our defence was unreal,” he added. “We had so many shorthanded goals. It was crazy.”
Despite the heartbreak, Genz said the Mavericks will bring home plenty of positive takeaways from the 2025 Founders Cup.
“Absolutely. Because it's a week-long tournament, the amount of mental preparation and the stress they put their bodies through, it educated our players of how to be able to try to recoup in such a short period of time, as far as rehydration, taking care of their bodies by eating properly,” said Genz. “We were able to really dive into that this year, whereas last year we didn't.”
But for now, its back to school for most of the young players, and for coaches and management they will take some time off and then regroup for next season.
In 2026, Innisfail’s lacrosse team will host the Larry Bishop Memorial Cup, the championship tournament for Junior B Tier I lacrosse in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League.
The winning team earns a spot in the Founders Cup.
