And when we say Mustangs, we mean all of them. Every single team the Moose Jaw Lacrosse Association put on the floor last season.
The Novice Mustangs fielded two teams, with both reaching the South Saskatchewan Lacrosse League final. The Pee Wee Mustangs claimed gold in their division. The Bantam Mustangs? Bronze. And the Midget Mustangs rounded out the run of success with a league title in their age group.
That’s four of five teams reaching championship finals, with the other just missing out and winning a medal anyway.
So needless to day, it’ll be a hard act to follow. But one the Mustangs will be looking to take a shot at regardless.
“That’s the one thing about this organization, there’s a lot of championships,” said MJLAX president Cody Nidesh. “Kids get involved and fall in love, you put a stick in their hands at four years old and they’re a lot more entertained than just kicking a ball around. Then they stick with it and that means we have teams with a lot of experience.”
That’s the case heading into the 2019 SSLL campaign, as numbers are impressive almost across the board – up to 22 from 13 in Midget, 20-plus in Bantam and, most impressively, 30 in Pee Wee, meaning there will be two teams in that division this season. Novice numbers were down slightly to around 30, but that’s still enough for two squads and potential Moose Jaw vs. Moose Jaw league final repeat.
“So our numbers are actually really strong and that’s always great to see,” Nidesh said.
Early returns have also been positive, as both the Bantam and Midget Mustangs came away with first-place showings at a pre-season tournament in Swift Current during the Apr. 13 weekend.
The SSLL season kicks off on Tuesday as the Bantam Mustangs travel to Regina, followed by the Midget Mustangs in Regina on Wednesday.
The first home games are this weekend as the Pee Wee Mustangs 1 take on Estevan on Saturday (2:30 p.m., Kinsmen) and Pee Wee Mustangs 2 face the Voltz on Sunday (11:15 a.m., Kinsmen).
The home opener for the Bantam squad will be Monday, Apr. 29 against Weyburn (6:30 p.m., Mosaic Place) before the two Novice and Pee Wee teams face off for the first time on Wednesday, May 1 (Novice, 6 p.m., Kinsmen, Pee Wees to follow immediately after).
