Muslim Bible Day

Jason Ward hadnt played a full-out competitive game of lacrosse in nearly 15 years.
That changed on Saturday as the Brampton Battalion assistant coach suited up for the Brampton Inferno against the Oshawa Machine in the final game of a new Canadian Lacrosse League triple-header at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa.
Of course there is a pretty good reason that the now 32-year-old Oshawa native has gone so long in between.
Ward won a Minto Cup with the Whitby Warriors in 1997, the same year he was selected by the Montreal Canadiens, 11th overall, in the first round of the National Hockey League draft. He then spent the next 13 seasons between the OHL, AHL and NHL, playing 336 games at the sports highest level for the Canadiens, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning.
His playing days now in the rear view, Ward said his desire to compete at a high level once again prompted his decision to go for a run with the Inferno.
Lacrosse was always one of those games I had a lot of passion for. Ive always enjoyed it, he said. Ive always been a competitive guy and been in competitive sports. Coaching lacrosse and coaching the hockey, I definitely still get to be around the game, but I lose that part of being in the game. I use my voice as the tool rather than my feet and my hands and Ive always preferred to be a hands-on kind of guy.
Despite the long layoff between his junior days and this shot with CLAX, Ward isnt completely rusty. He picked up the stick last year and played in one masters tournament with a couple of friends and did the same again this summer, even playing in the provincial championships held in Whitby.
While Ward isnt sure of his chances of cracking the Inferno lineup, he insists the opportunity itself is something to cherish. So, too, is a chance to play the game in a place where, really, it all began for him many years ago.
Its always nice to go back where your roots are and stuff like that. Its definitely exciting, said Ward, who played all his minor hockey in Oshawa and still brings his kids through old neighbourhoods that he remembers as a youngster when he comes through town.
Worst-case scenario I go out to a couple of practices and find out the game is too fast or I just cant adapt. But you know what? This is fun, so why not try it for a little bit, he added.
And Ward served notice that he still has the goal-scoring ability. He scored once for the Inferno as they dropped an 18-10 decision to the Oshawa Machine.
The league also hosted a Christmas Box Lacrosse Clinic on Saturday, led by Brampton native Jim Veltman. Sessions were held for peewee, minor bantam, major bantam and midget aged players, along with others born between 1992 and 1995.

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By Ellie Parry in General Sports on 5th Jan 2012 8:00

A sports field remodelling project at Hylands School in Chelmsford, Essex, has hit all targets with regard to the environment, the available budget and the provision of additional high-class sports facilities for the schools 900-plus pupils.

According to Estates Manager, Charlie Manning, the scheme prepared by expert agronomist, Gordon Jaaback, and produced by specialist pitch and water engineering contractor, MJ Abbott Limited, remains on schedule to provide much needed extended school sports facilities by summer 2012.

Comprising a full-size football pitch with a perimeter grass athletics track, the project involved the re-use of 2,700 cubic metres of soil that had been removed during the construction of a new school building.

We were faced with two choices, explained Mr Manning, Dispose of the surplus soil off-site at considerable cost or use it to improve a large existing undulating grassed area that was wholly unsuitable for competitive sports.

It was not a difficult decision to go for the second option, a move which represented best value and enabled responsible re-use of the soil.

At the recommendation of surveyors, Barker Associates, the company that had designed its new building, Hylands School engaged Gordon Jaaback to draw up a scheme to upgrade the northern pitch, as it is known, into a top-class playing surface, built to Sport England specifications and within the available budget.

Tender documents were sent to five companies with MJ Abbott securing the contract due to the Wiltshire firms competitive price and high reputation gained on previous pitch and golf course contracts using solely its own machinery and staff.

Commencing in August 2011 and following Mr Jaabacks computer-generated design, MJ Abbott used cut and fill techniques to reposition some 4,500 sq m of subsoil to establish the required pitch levels before replacing the top soil to a firmed depth of 200mm, ready for seeding with top quality perennial ryegrass.

Budget restrictions meant that a comprehensive drainage system was out of the question. Instead, a central camber was formed within the pitchs surface by MJ Abbott to Gordon Jaabacks specification. This was designed to remove excess surface water following heavy rain, with run-off being captured in swales created on three sides of the pitch.

To aid optimum grass seed establishment and growth, MJ Abbott incorporated a high phosphate fertiliser into the soil prior to the sowing of grass seed coated with a natural mycorrhizal growth inoculant.

Sown in September, the grass is now becoming well established and the school is hopeful that the field will be ready for use in early summer 2012. Until then, MJ Abbott is carrying out a full pitch maintenance regime which the school expects to take over next summer. This will ensure that the surface remains both free-draining and in prime condition for the future.

www.mjabbott.co.uk

Read more articles in General Sports,
by Ellie Parry
or from January 2012.