Dartmouth Bandits Announce Jr A Female Team

After a lot of planning and a proposal submitted by Chris McNeil, Allyson Crooks and Lawrence Taylor, our bid was approved to have a Dartmouth Female Junior A Lacrosse franchise. This is huge news for us!! With lacrosse growing so rapidly, we are pleased to be able to have our Bandit females make their mark at the Junior level.

 

With this announcement comes the exciting news and great honor to welcome our first ever head coach, Allison Burke. Allison comes with many years of experience and knowledge as both a player and a coach. As we embark on this thrilling new adventure, we would like to take some time to share a bit of the passion and commitment that Allison will be bringing to this new role.

Allison’s involvement with lacrosse started with the Dartmouth Bandits, where she then went on to play for 11 years at various levels. Allison was a part of team Atlantic, which was the combining of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick athletes, she played for the first female Nova Scotia Team, as well competed at the first ever junior aged lacrosse nationals with the Female Nova Scotia team.

Allison started coaching lacrosse in 2015 with the Dartmouth Bandits Association and has now become one of only two female coaches in Nova Scotia to successfully complete qualifications and receive certificates to stand on the bench at a national level. Allison’s passion for coaching started to grow immediately and she then became involved at the provincial level as an assistant coach. Shortly after, Allison took on the U17 female Nova Scotia team as head coach, which later went on to bring team Ontario into overtime for the first time in history for team Nova Scotia. Furthering her commitment to her coaching excellence, Allison has since gone on to be a part of the coaching staff at the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ontario.

 

Allison helped with the development of young athletes at the national level, fostering a love for the game and inspiring future generations. In addition to her involvement with Canada games, Allison was a part of the coaching staff with the original Sackville Wolves female junior A team since its inception into the East Coast Junior A Lacrosse League.

 

In 2016, Allison was acknowledged with a Ricoh award for female box lacrosse player. This past year, Allison proudly accepted the Ricoh Award for lacrosse coach of the year in Nova Scotia.

These awards are a true testament to the hard work, passion and commitment Allison has shown to the lacrosse community in Nova Scotia. We are thrilled to have her lead the way for our new franchise and provide a platform for elite competition and assist with the growth and recognition of female athletes in the sport of lacrosse.

 

Allison believes in the transformative power of lacrosse to instill discipline, resilience, and a sense of belonging. She hopes to transcend the boundaries of the game into character development and personal growth.