As he prepares for Grade 10 at St. Mary Secondary School in Cobourg, lacrosse star Landon Kenny is thanking his family, teammates, coaches and friends over the years for their support.
This was a key element to the 14-year-old player’s success, most recently in the Final 6 lacrosse and Ontario Summer Games that took place Aug. 1 to 4.
Landon started out playing house league lacrosse for the first time in the spring of 2013 for the Northumberland Nemesis, whose age groups included Peanut (U5), Paperweight (U7), Tyke (U9), Novice (U11), Peewee (U13), Bantam (U15) and Midget (U17). In each age group, kids play for two years as a minor and a major.
After playing house league in Northumberland for three years, he loved lacrosse so much that he wanted to try playing on a rep team. The Northumberland Nemesis organization did not have a Tyke rep team, so they gave him a release to play rep lacrosse for the Clarington Gaels. He remained with Clarington for the remainder of his rep-playing days.
This year, as a minor, Landon had a banner year playing for the U17 Clarington Gaels 1 box lacrosse team, Ontario Summer Games and Ontario Lacrosse Association Final 6. This spring, the Clarington Gaels lost to the Orangeville Northmen in field provincials but captured the silver medal as the second-best Field Lacrosse team in the province.
To make it to the Ontario Summer Games, the top 10 box lacrosse teams in the province had to play each other once. The top six teams with the best record move on to the Ontario Lacrosse Final 6 and the 2024 London Ontario Summer Games (the Ontario Summer Games occur every two years). Clarington finished with a tie for second going 5-2-2.
In the Final 6, each team plays each other (five games total) in round-robin play. The top two teams play for god, the third and fourth teams for bronze. Clarington finished first in the standings with a record of 4-0-1, which gave them a spot against second-place Orangeville Northmen.
In all Landon’s years with Clarington, they have never beat the Orangeville Northmen. In the Final 6 at the Ontario Summer Games, Clarington beat Orangeville 4-3, and in the finals 4-2. Landon was tied for sixth in points with 11 (plus one goal and 20 assists). He ended the season playing in 21 games with 12 goals, 31 assist and 43 points.
This is the first time that the Clarington Gaels have won gold in the U17 age group.
Landon also represented Ontario and Canada in playing on two different occasions in the World Youth Series of Lacrosse in the United States. This series consists of the best U13 field lacrosse teams in North America. Landon played for Evolve Elite Lacrosse in the 2022 and 2023 WYSL events.
Landon is a multi-sport athlete – he also enjoys playing rep basketball with Northumberland Edge. The two sports are similar in many ways, which has helped him over the years.
As for the years ahead, the Port Hope resident is also looking forward to pursuing lacrosse even further.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
