Jordan Jarvis has been here, there, and everywhere for his lacrosse career.
The 23-year-old's latest lacrosse endeavour took him to the Czech Republic. He suited up for one of four Canadian-based teams in the 20th annual Aleš Hrebeský Memorial Tournament on April 24-27. Some of the top lacrosse players in the world took part in the tourney in honour of the late Hrebeský, who lost his life in 1993 when a drunk driver hit him at a bus stop. It entailed 20 teams from 13 different countries.
Jarvis' team, Love you to Death, which was named after goalie Scott Komer's band, not only thrived with a sixth-place finish, but he did too as an individual. He was named to the tournament's all-star team after scoring three goals and eight points.
"I was happy with how I played, especially since it's the biggest box lacrosse tournament in the world," said Jarvis. "We played some great teams like the Czech Republic national team that's ranked the fourth best team in the world. It was nice to be able to contribute and score some goals. And it was pretty cool to be named to the all-star team."
Living in the Czech Republic was a bit of a culture shock for Jarvis.
"There are so many old buildings and such rich culture," he said. "There is so much different food and just a totally different culture than here. They use trains a lot and it just is totally different than here."
The strong fan support also caught Jarvis off guard.
"There was like 4,000 people at each game," he said. "It was great to see all of the support. It was cool to play in front of that many people."
Getting started
Jarvis initially got involved in lacrosse at just 12-years-old when he helped kids with Yorkton minor lacrosse registration at his step dad's store.
"My stepdad (Shaun Parsons) is a part owner of Hometown Source for Sports, and when Wayne Teale started getting lacrosse going in Yorkton, he had registration at my step dad's store and that's when I started getting involved in lacrosse," said Jarvis. "I started just stringing sticks for kids and helping them with registration and I got curious about the sport and wanted to try it. I started playing at 12-years-old and it just really grew on me."
At just 14-years-old, Jarvis started playing in the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League for the Yorkton Bulldogs as a call-up. He went on to play for the club until he was 18.
"It was a good experience," said the Saltcoats native. "It was my first junior league that I played in and it helped me grow as a player."
Following graduating from the Yorkton Regional High School, Jarvis moved to Missouri to play for Lindenwood University's lacrosse team. After one year in Missouri, he moved to B.C. for lacrosse. He played for several different teams including the Vernon Tigers, a junior 'B' team, the Burnaby Lakers, a junior 'A' team, and he played in the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association.
"Missouri was a good experience and I enjoyed playing in B.C.," said Jarvis. "Lacrosse is a lot more popular in B.C. than Saskatchewan, so it was nice to get that experience there."
Jarvis isn't quite sure what's next for him in his lacrosse career, but he does know he's not ready to walk away from the game.
"I'm considering going to Germany to coach," said Jarvis. "I'm hoping I'll be able to do that. I'm not sure if I'll get to play in another big lacrosse tournament, but I'd like to. I want to keep on playing and get into coaching."
