DeRush gearing up for a fun August

Kayla DeRush wasn't expecting to make the cut when she tried out for Team Ontario's U-22 team earlier this summer. "I didn't think I was going to make it at first because there was a lot of talented kids there." Derush said.

Photo: Bob Bellacicco

Having already represented the province, a lot of those kids were wearing Team Ontario gear when they arrived. "They all had the helmets and the gear that said team O on it and I was there with nothing." The 18-year old said with a laugh.,

DeRush was right to feel out of place at first. Afterall, she didn't start playing lacrosse until three years ago. She was a Lakeshore hockey player but had her hands in the game. "I grew up at the arena with a (lacrosse) stick in my hand." Kayla explains.

Her father, Dave, is an assistant coach with the Windsor Clippers Jr. B lacrosse team and Kayla says she would bring a stick and shoot the ball against the wall during home games while waiting for her dad. "He didn't let me play until three years ago and he didn't want me playing boys."

Mainly at the provincial tryout for the experience, Kayla was hoping to make the team and stuck to what she does best to make an impression. "I just kept moving my feet and doing my best. I had confidence."

The approach worked. She made he team and she is looking forward to playing for the Carol Patterson Trophy in Regina, Saskatchewan starting August 12th.

Kayla is practicing with Team Ontario and also her Windsor Warlocks team who are gearing up for provincials a week before. With hockey no longer in the equation the St. Joe's grad is heading to Lambton College for firefighting. She'll continue playing lacrosse with the hope of eventually landing a scholarship.

"Now that I'm aged out of hockey I'm just gonna focus on lacrosse now."