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Georgetown teen wins Face of Lacrosse Contest By Eamonn Maher emaher@theifp.ca Halton Hills has long been considered a hotbed for lacrosse and now the poster boy for the sport lives within its borders as well. Fourteen-year-old Jackson Webster went to some extreme lengths to win the recent Face of Lacrosse Contest organized by lacrosseplayground.com, which drew approximately 150 entries from across North America and as far away as New Zealand. Entrants were asked to get creative with their content, whether it was performing a trick, sketching a lacrosse-related drawing or pretty much anything to do with a strung-up stick, and the 16 submissions with the most likes on Instagram would move on to the next round. Webster, with the assistance of his dad Peter, went all Gulliver's Travels on their concept-- a Brobdingnagian piece of lumber held together with vinyl siding, steel rods, zip ties, rope an table-cloth fabric that's 15 feet, nine inches in length and the head is four feet, two inches wide. "It's opened up a lot of opportunities for me," said Webster, who's been asked by Toronto Rock owner Jamie Dawick if the replica stick can be permanently hung on a wall at the National Lacrosse League team's practice facility in Oakville. "It's fun to have around and show people, but it's so big, I can't handle it on my own." Creating the monster stick was only half the battle en route to winning the contest, however. The top 16 finishers had to come up with another creative entry to submit for the head-to-head Instagram competition to determine the 2016 Face of Lacrosse. So the Websters went back to the drawing board in their Georgetown home and took another direction-- making a stick that was just four inches long. Much simpler to manufacture than the ultra-long pole, one would think? Webster figures he and his dad spent about one day making the big stick before the Top 16 deadline of Dec. 31, but the tiny stick was an exercise in tedium, at some stages involving knitting thread for the pocket with a lighted magnifying glass. "It took a lot of patience," recalled Webster, who has played in the Halton Hills Minor Lacrosse Association since age three and can usually be found amongst his team's top scorers at the rep level. "We had to use tweezers to string it up to make it look exactly the same as a real stick, using thread that wasn't any thicker than a hair. You had to get your hands in there and you're trying to take the perception in with the depth because it totally throws you off at first. The big stick gets all the attention, but the mini stick took about a week to make. At least we had a lot more time to make that one." Webster's second entry won the first two rounds of the head-to-head competition. In round three, he won by 10 votes and went up against a six-year-old from Pennsylvannia in the final. After trailing by 90 likes at one point, Webster had to recruit extended family members and friends (a person could only vote once per day) in order to prevail in the end, 507-504. "It was pretty nerve-racking and it didn't help that the six-year-old got a lot of publicity because of his age, but the voting continued after the contest was over and I was still in front, so that made it feel deserving." Along with winning prize packs from the contest-sponsoring companies, Epoch Lacrosse and East Coast Dyes, Webster was given space for a monthly column on the lacrosseplayground.com website, but the Grade 8 Halton Hills Christian School student had another idea. "I decided to change it up a little for my intended role on the website and they were fine with it," he added. Webster instead has begun interviewing with National Lacrosse League stars on a monthly basis and posted chats can be found on the website with the Toronto Rock's Damon Edwards and Bill O'Brien of the New England Black Wolves. The 16-foot stick was taken to the team's recent practice in Grimsby for a group photo that made yet another social media splash. Continued on page 13 NEWS BEAUTIFUL SMILE YOU DESERVE · Specializing in Braces for Adults and Children · No Referrals Necessary · Evening and Weekend Appointments Available · Flexible Payment Options Available · Ask Us About Invisalign, a clear method to a Thursday, April 21, 2016 - The IFP - Halton Hills - www.theifp.ca CREATING THE Jackson Webster with his 15 ft. 9 in. lacrosse stick. Submitted photo 14 Boland Drive, just off Dundas Street April 30, 10 am - 4 pm straight smile Visit our booth at the Erin Home Show and learn just how easy it is to attach your existing portable generator to your house in an emergency! FREE CONSULTATIONS Want a hands-free, automatic solution? Ask about our GeneracTM line, power restored in 15 seconds! 905-702-0515 ESA #7003060 DEKER eLeCTRIC ltd. www.dekerelectric.ca 905-846-2030 10025 Hurontario St. #9 Brampton, ON, L6Z OE6 www.fernandesorthodontics.com Page 11 SALES SERVICE INSTALLATIONS