It began with a walk along the beach – Chris and Michele had recently moved to the Beach, and while they were strolling along the boardwalk, they came upon a game of paperweight lacrosse being played at the Box. Michele was pregnant, and Chris decided, “This is what my kids will play.” And the rest is history.
Neither Chris nor Michele grew up around lacrosse; it was a foreign sport to them. However, they both embraced the sport as they watched their two children fall in love with the game. From the very beginning, paperweight for Andrew and tyke for Sam, both Chris and Michele were extremely involved.
It didn’t take Chris long to learn the game, and he would go on to coach both Sam and Andrew in all versions of the game — box, women’s field, men’s field, house league, and rep – he really did it all. Chris has always taken great pride in the game of lacrosse, and if he wasn’t on a bench, floor, or field, he would be found volunteering. While he held no formal role, he was instrumental during the transition period when Toronto Stars folded their women’s field lacrosse program into Toronto Beaches — he served as a liaison of sorts. As Chris continued to fall in love with the game, he decided to begin refereeing.
With that decision, he had to take a step back from coaching. However, after becoming the Toronto Beaches RIC (referee in chief), it became clear that Chris’s passion for coaching continued — he remained focused on “coaching” the next generation of Beaches referees. To this day, Chris is a devoted Beaches volunteer and acts as the RIC. He will be traveling to PEI in September to represent Toronto Beaches and Ontario as a referee at the men’s field lacrosse nationals.
The love for the sport and Toronto Beaches Lacrosse was shared by both Chris and Michele. While Michele left the coaching to Chris, she played an instrumental role in Beaches Lacrosse for over 15 years.
Regardless of the team or role, Michele could always be found providing players with snacks on the bench or between games, or organizing the best team lunches and dinners. She drove many of Andrew’s coaches to arenas all over southern Ontario, and she truly became a member of Sam’s team’s coaching staff, holding the role of manager for five straight years.
Her dedication to the sport, her coaches, and most importantly, the kids, never went unnoticed. In 2009, the lacrosse club hired Michele to serve as the club administrator – she would go on to hold the role for the next 14 years. As the role, club, and sport developed, Michele remained focused on helping grow the game and creating the best environment for the kids.
She put in many hours every week of the year to ensure the club had facilities, uniforms, insurance, coaches, and registration. Michele made sure the club could keep going. In addition to her job with the club, Michele continued to volunteer as a team manager and an active fan on the sidelines for her kids. Even after they stopped playing, you could likely find Michele on the sidelines cheering on the kids that her KIDDS were coaching.
If you’ve been around a Beaches Lacrosse event, it’s quite certain that you know or know of Chris and Michele. Michele is always there to answer questions, whether in person or via email. Chris is always there to advocate for and grow the game.
There is nothing the two love more than watching their kids play the game, and it’s a love they’ve spent the past 17 years trying to share with as many other parents as possible. Chris and Michele — thank you for your dedication to the club and your advocacy for the game.
