Mitchell Pellarin seems to be continuing exactly where he left off.
Fresh off a stellar high school field lacrosse career while studying at Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School in Orillia, the 18-year-old is now making major inroads on the post-secondary circuit where he plays for McMaster University’s varsity squad.
Pellarin recently received the Mel and Marilyn Hawkrigg Award, which goes to the school’s athletic rookie of the year.
“I received it a couple of nights back so that was really nice,” Pellarin said during a telephone interview this weekend from Hamilton where he is finishing up his first year in health sciences.
Pellarin said the honour is extra special, given the fact lacrosse is a relatively small-scale sport compared to McMaster’s football and volleyball programs.
A skilled junior hockey player who was drafted by the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, Pellarin has been playing lacrosse since the age of two.
“It’s been a long time in the making,” he said of the most recent honour. “I’ve been fortunate to have had a lot of opportunities.”
Besides playing a university sport at the highest level, Pellarin noted his program of study is also fairly elite and requires a great deal of study.
“It’s good for time management,” he said, referring to ensuring his academics don’t suffer as a result of athletics.
“Playing and practising is a nice break when you’re in the library all day studying. It’s an oasis for me,” Pellarin told OrilliaMatters.
During the season, the team begins practising daily in mid-August before switching to thrice-weekly practices once school begins with a game once or twice a week until the season finishes in November.
This past year, the team had two wins (one more than the previous year) against eight losses.
But Pellarin noted the win-loss record isn’t a good indicator of the team’s forward progress since many of the losses occurred in tight, hard-fought games.
“We missed the playoffs by one game,” he said. “We had to win the last game and lost by one goal.”
Pellarin was also named to the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association’s All-Canadian team.
He added: “I was the only freshman in the country to be named an all-Canadian or even an honourable mention.”
