YORKTON - If you are a sports fan in Saskatchewan you no doubt know about and follow the NLL Rush – or at least you certainly should since box lacrosse is fantastic.
You are also far less likely to know about the Toronto Rush – although again you really owe it to yourself as a sports fan to learn about and follow the team.
The Rush play in the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) which was founded in 2012, and originally known as the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). Like box lacrosse, Ultimate is an amazing sport which truly deserves a much higher profile.
The UFA encompasses 23 teams across North America, the Rush and Montreal Royal being the two Canadian franchises at present (the Ottawa Outlaws folded after the 2022 season and Vancouver Riptide some years earlier), both toiling in the league’s east division.
To catch up on the UFA Yorkton This Week caught up with new Rush head coach Jamie Millage for an interview.
Millage returns to the bench after serving as Associate Coach in 2022 and spending the last two seasons contributing on the field as a Rush player.
In addition to his career with the Rush, Millage’s coaching journey included years with the Durham junior ultimate program, Ontario Tech/Durham College, Centennial College, the Toronto Ultimate Club, and multiple Team Canada coaching appointments.
He also has a lengthy playing history, including a 2023 World Ultimate Beach Championships Masters Silver Medal, a 2016 CUC Gold, and 4 years captaining Durham’s Hound, which included a CUC bronze and the 2018 Spirit Champions.
So does Millage see an expanded UFA presence in Canada again one day?
“I think the fan base and the community is there to support it,” he said, but added it also needs an ownership group willing to finance and support a new team.
Millage said in terms of the broader game beyond the pro league Ultimate is seeing good growth.
“The sport is seeing huge growth in (in TO) middle and high schools,” he said, adding “. . . I don’t think that’s a Toronto specific pattern.”
In part the growth is influenced by the UFA where Millage said he believes the teams “all do a good job of promoting the game.”
As for his new role, Millage faces a challenge to turn the Rush’s fortunes around after a dismal 2024 season which saw the team manage one win in 12 games.
The new coach thinks the Rush are better than their record.
“They had some close losses that if we had a time machine we’d like to go back and have another crack at,” he said.
And obviously in November hope springs eternal for all UFA teams, including the Rush, he added.
“There’s lot of exciting conversations happening with players in Toronto and much farther away,” said Millage, adding it’s a time of exploring options – “all the potential things that could happen.”
From there you just hope it comes together in a new year ahead of a new season.
For Millage he most certainly wants to see a bounce in the standings.
“My goal is to make the playoffs and to go into the playoffs believing we can beat any team we come up against,” he said.
