Hat trick for Roy
Peterborough Century 21 Lakers' John Grant Jr. hugs family members his wife, Raygen, daughter Gabrayel, father John, mother Louise, Raygenís mother Bonnie Rogers, John Juniorís sisters Jaime-Lyn Grant and her family Andrew McArthur and daughter Melina-May McArthur and his other sister Jillian Lefevbre during a pre-game ceremony at a Major Series Lacrosse game on Aug. 2, 2016 at the Memorial Centre. GRANT from C1
At 42, having gone through numerous injuries in his career, he’s had two reconstructive knee surgeries and says he’ll likely need a knee replacement and after a 2009 infection that threatened his life, retirement was something he’d considered. He’s a full-time lacrosse coach at Valor Christian School in Denver, which he led to a state championship last year, but then the decision was taken out of his hands.
Grant said the neurologist and Mammoth doctor indicated they would not clear him to play again, at least not any time soon.
“They said maybe in time. I don’t have time. I’m old,” he said.
With that, one of the greatest players to ever play lacrosse, in an arena or on a field, was done. The all-time leading scorer in the pro field Major League Lacrosse and the second all-time scoring leader in the NLL, behind John Tavares, Grant won scoring titles in every league he played in from junior through pro. He won NLL, MLL, MSL, Mann Cup and world indoor and field championships, often as the MVP of those championship series or games.
While the decision was not completely his, Grant accepted it because, he says, it’s gotten harder to put his body through the rigours of playing in three leagues.
“With all the damage I’ve done to my body it was getting very difficult to get my body to do anything,” he said. “I pushed hard again this last month but when I’m sitting down and being honest, I’m somewhat symptomatic at times but way better cognitively. I feel I’ve got that back. My memory is back and my focus is back. My mood is back.”
Within hours of informing the MLL’s Ohio Machine he was retiring, he got an offer from his former MLL team, the Denver Outlaws, to be offensive co-ordinator. It was an offer that wouldn’t require him to move or give up his full-time job.
“What a blessing for me to get a call from the Outlaws to continue to stay in the game,” Grant said. “I’ve played with those guys and love those guys and the coaching staff I look up to and respect. It’s a silver lining in an otherwise very dark cloud.”
Grant feels fortunate he squeezed another eight years out of his career after that 2009 bout with infection.
“I’ve been doing this since I was in diapers and people were genuinely worried whether I’d be able to handle (retirement),” Grant said.
“You can’t beat Father Time. He got me in, I guess, double or triple overtime. I wouldn’t say the fourth-quarter because my fourthquarter was a long time ago. I love the game and I’m still going to have an opportunity to stay involved as a coach. I love my job at Valor and to be able to coach the best lacrosse players in the world is going to be a challenge. Do I know what I think I know? We’l see.”
His first game in Denver will be surreal, he said, because they’ll be raising the MLL championship banner they won beating Grant’s Ohio team in the final.
“I may have to stay in the tunnel for that one. That one obviously stung because I knew I was getting near the end. Had I helped Ohio to win it, I might have packed it in then,” he said.
Grant has not officially retired from the Mammoth but that is merely a formality. The Mammoth are gearing up for the playoffs and Grant said he doesn’t want to distract from that.
“The Mammoth are a firstclass organization; I love everything about it and I’m going to be their biggest cheerleader. I really, really hope they can do it and I think they’ve got the opportunity. There is no reason for me to get in the middle of that. There is plenty of time,” he said.
At a press conference in Denver on Wednesday, Grant was asked how he wanted to be remembered and at the time he didn’t know what to say.
“I want people to think of me as a guy who gave everything I had to give physically and emotionally to help my team win. I never really wanted the credit. It may have appeared that way but that look you get from your teammates when you’re helping them to achieve something is hard to match, it really is. I’ve given it everything I’ve got and I’ve got nothing left to give. Now it’s time to give it in another way. That’s how I’ve come to terms with this,” he said. Frederique Roy scored a hat trick to lead Lakefield College School’s 1st girls soccer team past Belleville’s Albert College 5-1 in CISAA action on Wednesday. Sophie Welch and Nikki Cannon also scored for The Grove who will participate in a tournament Friday at Trent University.