The future is now at Altona Lacrosse Club, with the Vikings banking on their current group of promising youngsters to take them back to Lacrosse Victoria’s top flight.
Once promoted, the Vikings have no interest in making it a short stay as happened last time – this team is built for sustained success at the top level.
Vikings president Mark Lewer said the last time the Vikings were in state league, they lacked the personnel to stay there.
“We’re a much younger side now, so the goal is to get back into state league as soon as we can, and this time to stay there,” he said.
In pursuit of that ambition, Altona looks to be a contender for the division 1 crown this season.
The Vikings only loss so far has come in a golden-goal defeat against Williamstown.
The team has an experienced leader in Alan Lewer, assistant coach for the Australian indoor team and Victoria.
Both of the Lewers – Mark is the under-17 coach – have found players with strong work ethics and eagerness to improve.
“Once you’ve got the vast majority of the side turning up to training every week, the peer pressure gets stronger,” Mark said.
“They want to be there … they don’t want to let their teammates down.
“If they keep their attitude up and work hard, there’s no reason why we couldn’t get up [to state league] and stay there.”
One of the keys to Altona’s success is centre Lachlan McDonald, who was recently named to represent Australia at under-19 level.
He is a multi-sport talent who is also proficient in cricket and is a smart student with an engineering degree on his radar.
Lacrosse could play a big role in both McDonald’s sports career and academic future.
“He’s a very talented lacrosse player, but he’s also good at school and cricket, so he’s one of those lucky kids,” Mark said.
“He wants to do an engineering degree, so if he could get picked up by one of the colleges in the United States to do that on a scholarship with lacrosse, that would be fantastic.”
In the short term, McDonald will be the central figure in Altona’s push for promotion.
One of the best face-off exponents in the division, McDonald often gives his team first use of the ball.
“He wins the ball out of the centre and gives us first use eight times out of 10,” Mark said.
“We’ve got a talented side, so if you give us that much ball, we’ve got a good chance of winning.”
Altona is home to seven teams at PJ Lynch Reserve but wants to continue to expand.
“We’ve added another side this year, so we’ve got division 1, division 2, division 3, under-17s, under-13s and under-11s, and a women’s B-grade side,” Mark said.
“But we always want to attract more players, whether new or experienced.
“We’ve got good coaches, so we feel we can develop players to be the best they hope to be if they’re willing to put in the time.”
