Bishop’s lacrosse player relishes professional league opportunity
After waiving his National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligibility last summer, Sam Firth entered the 2020 National
Lacrosse League (NLL) draft, where the Georgia Swarm selected the Bishop’s University stand out 39th overall.
Firth, a 21-year-old junior for the Bishop’s Gaiters field lacrosse team, once aspired to play at a university in the United States of America. But with just over a year left to complete his bachelor’s degree in sports studies, he felt it was time to move on.
“I think just there’s no point anymore,” Firth said. “I’m finishing up here at Bishop’s and I wanted to play in the NLL, that was my goal, so there was no need to wait any longer.”
The Gaiters forward has blossomed into a bonafide threat on the field, claiming the team’s rookie of the year and offensive player of the year honours. He was also named Bishop’s University freshman athlete of the year in 2018.
“It’s been awesome, I’ve loved my time here so far,” said Firth. “I don’t know how to talk about my own personal accomplishments, but they make it so easy to welcome players onto the team.”
In three seasons with Bishop’s, he has accounted for 115 points in 32 regular season games. He put up 51
points in his rookie season, notching 32 goals and 19 assists in 12 games. However, like so many others, the pandemic has kept him off the field this year.
But Firth, an Ottawa native, came back to Quebec when the university reopened its campus following several months in lockdown. He has been busy training with his teammates in preparation for the next regular season, hopefully in 2021, he told The Record.
The NLL also pushed back its start date. Firth explained that normally the season opener takes place in November. The league stated it hopes to kick off again in April. He expects to be on the Swarm team ready to play alongside his new teammates.
“My short term goal is to make the team and solidify a spot on the team first, that’s my main priority and I don’t know I’m not thinking too much more after that,” said Firth.
If he cracks the roster, the sports studies major plans to travel to and from games while simultaneously completing his degree and balancing a social life. He said this is a sacrifice he is willing to make, especially if it means playing in a professional league.
“I would just fly out from here, so I would continue living here and just fly out on the weekends and then fly back,” he said.
There is a difference, however, between Bishop’s lacrosse and the NLL. The Gaiters play field lacrosse in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association ( CUFLA), which involves more players and longer sticks. He compared it to soccer.
But the NLL is a box lacrosse league. Firth said the best comparison would be basketball to hockey. The good thing is that the 21-year-old played box lacrosse his entire life, taking lessons from his father, who played for Buffalo in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.
“I grew up playing box lacrosse my whole life, field lacrosse is not as big in Canada as it is in the States,” Firth said. “I just kind of started playing field lacrosse in high school a little bit and then picked it up from there and continued here.”
While he has a knack for finding the back of the net, Firth also understands he is entering a league primarily made up of grown men. He said he made it a priority during the offseason to bulk up in order to get a jump on the competition.
“That’s something I’ve put a big emphasis on this summer is getting bigger and stronger to prepare to play against men,” Firth said.