Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports A runaway success how you get possession and one of the most important things in field lacrosse is possession. Possession wins games." Inacio drove that point home in January during a scrimmage between Canada and the United States that was being used to evaluate players for the national under-19 team for worlds. The U.S. looked to have won the game when it scored with six seconds to play to take an 11-10 lead. But Inacio won the ensuing faceoff, broke free from his opponent and heaved a Hail Mary pass down the field, where it was caught by his Burlington Chiefs teammate, Ryan Lanchbury. Lanchbury turned and fired home the tying goal with two-tenths of a second remaining and Canada went on to win 14-13 in overtime. Now Inacio, a two-time national champion with Team Ontario, will have another chance to show what he can do for the Canadian team at the U19 Men's Lacrosse World Championships. There will be a lot of familiar faces on the Canadian team as Oakville landed five players on the 24-man roster. Kyle Kolwich, Jonathan Donville, Dalton Follows and Matthew Kim will also don the Canadian jersey at worlds, which begin July 7 in Coquitlam, B.C. Kim is among the players Inacio calls on to help him work on draws. Kim didn't set out to be a faceoff specialist. He hadn't really tried it until See Oakville on pg. 26 25 | Friday, July 1, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Oakville lacrosse players ready to face off vs. world at under-19 championships By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Justin Inacio enjoyed playing lacrosse but it wasn't until that moment that he realized how much. His parents had always encouraged him to play many sports, so he had other options, but hearing the news that he had been cut from the Oakville Hawks' novice 3 team was devastating to the nine-year-old. "I cried for three days," Inacio said. "That's when I knew I couldn't live without lacrosse." Instead of pursuing one of the other summer sports he played, Inacio dedicated himself to getting better. He'd never let another opportunity to play the game pass him by. In the eight years since, Inacio has worked hard on developing his skills, none more so than his ability to win faceoffs. During the summer, he'll spend at least an hour working on taking draws. If one of local faceoff fraternity isn't available to practice with, he'll work on it on his own, searching videos, improving his stick speed, he's even downloaded an app that mimics a referee's faceoff instruction. Inacio has also attended several faceoff-specific clinics in the U.S. At the Faceoff Academy National Showcase in New Jersey in December, Inacio beat 52 rivals to win his class in a head-to-head showdown. "It's really evolving and people are starting to realize how important it is," Inacio said. "Faceoffs are Michael Ivancic of St. Matthew's (top right) celebrates as he wins the Grade 6 boys 200-metre race at the Halton Catholic District School Board elementary track and field meet at Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary School in Burlington. St. John's Abigale Acheampong (right) pulls away from the field to win the Grade 7 girls' 200m. St. Mary's Lucas Sanders (above) competes in the Special Olympics race before receiving his ribbon from superintendent Tim Overholt. | photos by Nikki Wesley -- Oakville Beaver ® Ultimate Drivers "Driver Training That Makes a Difference" SIGN UP ONLINE Program www.ultimatedrivers.ca For Reinstating Driver's License Prepares you for G2 or G License defensive driving Certificate Minimizes Road Test Time and Qualifies for Maximum Insurance Discount Minimizes Road Test Time, Qualifies for Maximum Insurance Discount and Teaches You Emergency Skills driver retraining Program Complete refresher Program Helps Reviewing Your Driving Habits for Test on our BeGInner drIVer eduCaTIon ProGram. summer sPeCIal $ saVe 100 Preparation and evaluation Warm Up Practice Before the Test advance defensive driving Program refresher Program Winter Time driving Helps overcome your Winter Time Driving Jitters 4 day Condensed llent Exce ices Serv ce Sin 1993 July 2, 3, 4, 5 July 7, 8, 9, 10 2 WeeKends July 2 & 3 July 9 & 10 2380 Wyecroft Road Unit #3 Oakville We Are Licensed by MTO Gift Certificates Available 905-825-1172