Number 11 will be retired by the Barrie Bombers Junior "C" Lacrosse Club on Sunday.
The number belonged to Luke West, who first hit the lacrosse floor at age 3, and through the years displayed his talent for the sport and gave back to it with countless hours of volunteering when his playing days ended.
On April 23, prior to a preseason game between the Bombers and Huntsville, his jersey will be retired in a ceremony honouring him.
22-year-old West was one of six people killed last August on McKay Road in Barrie when the car they were in plunged into a large construction hole. At the time of the crash, the road was closed.
The other victims were also in their early 20s - Curtis King, Jersey Mitchell, Jason Ono-O'Connor, Haley Marin and River Wells.
Many in the lacrosse family knew West including Jim Lowe of Barrie, who is currently the commissioner of the Ontario Junior "C" Lacrosse League, and prior to that was governor of the Barrie Bombers Junior "C" Lacrosse Club.
Lowe recalls the many league games West played with his son, and how at the age of 14 West was brought up as an affiliated player with the Junior "C" club and went toe-to-toe competing against men in their early 20s. When West turned 16, he became a longtime player with the team.
"His lacrosse intelligence, hands down," says Lowe when asked about what made West such a good player. "Anybody who coached Luke will likely immediately say he was the smartest player they've ever coached. Even when he was eight or nine years old he would tell adults about that the strategies that would work."
The fact this ceremony honouring West is taking place when the opponent is Huntsville makes sense.
"Luke's dad, Dave West, is a legendary player up in Huntsville," says Lowe. "Huntsville has an incredible history of lacrosse, and Dave came up through that Huntsville scene and is still one of the all-time leading scorers in Junior "D"."
In lieu of regular admission prices, the Barrie Bombers Junior "C" Lacrosse Club will be accepting donations with the proceeds split with the Barrie SPCA.
"We really want to focus on the legacy Luke left behind," says Lowe.
The memorial game begins at 4 p.m. from the Peggy Hill Community Centre on Mapleton Avenue.
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