Roe brothers are CVLA scholarship pioneers

Writen by Kevin Rothbauer, Cowichan Valley Citizen Newspaper
Published: Friday, January 18, 2013

With just a couple of exceptions, due to being two years apart in age, Tyson and Jeremy Roe have almost never played lacrosse together.

"One year, it was his second year in mini tyke and my second year of tyke, and he came up and played a few games with us," Tyson recalled with a grin.

Jeremy is quick to point out that he also played a handful of games with Tyson's junior A Nanaimo Timbermen last summer, called up from the intermediate A T-Men.

The brothers will get more playing time together in the near future, with the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons.

Believed to be the first Cowichan Valley Lacrosse Association products to receive post-secondary scholarships, the Roes will head to the school in Wisconsin, just 15 minutes outside of Milwaukee, later this month. Next month, they will suit up for the Falcons field lacrosse team, competing in NCAA Division III.

"I'm very excited to start practicing," said Tyson, who started at CUW last semester and has already played with the team.

A coaching connection landed the brothers at the school on the shore of Lake Michigan.

"I used to play field in Nanaimo, and my coach used to get coached by the coach at CUW," Tyson explained.

Although both Roes have more experience in box lacrosse, their coach has already voiced his high expectations for them on the field.

"He likes Canadians, I know that," said Jeremy.

NCAA regulations limited the number of practices the Falcons could hold in the fall, but they did manage to play a few games, including one against NCAA Division I Marquette University. CUW kept that match close, losing just 8-5, with Tyson scoring one of the Falcons' goals.

Graduates of Cowichan Secondary School - Tyson in 2010 and Jeremy in 2012 - who both played on the Thunderbirds basketball team, the brothers have both studied at VIU, but are still considered freshmen at CUW. Tyson is enrolled in justice and public relations, the equivalent of criminology in Canada, while Jeremy is taking business management.

Tyson has taken some ribbing about his north-of-the-border origins, but shrugging it off has been easy.

"It's cold there, too, but they're very stereotypical about Canadians," he related. "They're always asking what there is to do in Canada with all that snow all the time. I tell them it's colder there than where I'm from."

After the collegiate field season wraps up, the brothers plan to play box in Nanaimo -together once again - Jeremy in his first year with the junior A Timbermen and Tyson in his final season.