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Weyburn's Sawyer Leko has had the opportunity to travel throughout Canada and the U.S. playing a game he loves.
Lacrosse has become a way of life for Leko, who is currently playing with the Junior B Tier 1 Regina Queen City Kings Box Lacrosse Team. They'll soon be heading to Hamilton to play in the Founders Cup, a national championship for Junior B lacrosse. The 16-year-old is also coaching the U15 Team Sask for minor box cross nationals.
He said he's been playing with the Queen City Kings for a couple of years, where he's made some of the best memories of his life.
"So I like seeing it a little bit from the coaching perspective as well. I feel like I've always been here as a player and I've never seen the behind-the-scenes," he shared. "All these guys work really hard for all the kids, so I love to kind of give back a little bit."
Going up against skilled lacrosse players up to five years his senior, Leko said playing with the QC Kings has been a fantastic opportunity for him to hone his skills and learn from more accomplished players. He has had a successful season up to this point playing on both the offense and defense.
"I've played with a lot of the Regina guys over the years, just kind of got to know them, and then I decided to go play there for the Queen City Kings, it's a great organization. They've been very accommodating, especially with me being from Weyburn and driving in. Great coaches and everything like that."
Leko said being first in their division going into the Founders Cup even after being swept by the Winnipeg Blizzard, he looks forward to the opportunity to learn from some great coaches and great players.
"So me being a young guy, just being a first-year player on the team, it's just one of those ones where I've got a lot to take away and hopefully we'll be back there again," he said. "I think we will be back there again. We've got great guys down there in Regina. They gave me one of my first times playing at that big stage. I think it's gonna be a great experience."
Once finished with the Founders Cup in late August, Leko will attend Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia to complete his Grade 12 education and focus on lacrosse. Leko, and a few others from Saskatchewan, were recruited by Coach Chris Panos to be part of Fork Union’s inaugural Post Graduate Lacrosse team.
"It's a unique opportunity that I just cannot pass on, especially playing for Coach Panos in both the high school and his postgraduate team," he noted.
With not only having to leave his friends and family, Leko said the military format will also be a bit of an adjustment.
"It's going to be a little bit different," he commented. "I love box, being a Canadian, and a lot of college coaches and American coaches love the Canadian players, we just have great stick skills and stuff like that. So the transition from box to field will be a no-brainer for me, I think. It'll be super not challenging at all."
"The school will definitely be a little different, being away from home and stuff like that might be a little bit of a challenge, but I think a lot of guys that have the same mindset, same goals," he said. "We'll all have a great time and there'll be great opportunities. So we're going to learn how to be organized, that's for sure. I still I'm pretty organized at home, but it's going to be a whole new level there and a great campus."
Leko said the great teachers, staff, and accommodations at Fork Union will make it easy for him. However, he has never had any aspirations to go into the military and that aspect may take some getting used to.
"I'll do my best to fit in quite well. Just go sit down for a year and grind it out. But I think it'd be a great experience and definitely take some life lessons there from it," he said. "I have no problem putting forth the effort. I can focus for a year and hope it will pay off as I play against other colleges in the U.S."
His career path has not been decided yet, but he hopes to play lacrosse at the college level in the United States or Canada. However, his chances are better in Virginia, since college-level coaches don't come to southeast Saskatchewan to recruit players.
"It's still too early for me, I have some schools that I like, but I don't really care what the division, just kind of where I can go to get a good education is kind of where I want to go. Lacrosse will get you so far, but I find every NCAA Division is good enough for me. I don't have a specific school in mind yet, just talking to a few, but I think whatever opportunity open that presents itself to me down there, I think I'll definitely consider everything."
Leko said he'd love to see his lacrosse career take him to pro level, such as the MLL, or the PLL, but for now he'll take it one step at a time and focus on the college-recruiting process.
