Lacrosse duo stepping up to Junior A

By Dale Woodard on March 17, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDsports@lethbridgeherald.com

Ries Bower and Carter Cook were preparing to be rivals.

Fortunately for the two Lethbridge Cudas lacrosse players who will be moving up to the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Junior A ranks, that only lasted one day.

And they didn’t even have to play against each other.

Bower and Cook were two of 20 players chosen in the Junior A Lacrosse Entry Level Draft Sunday. Bower went second overall to the Okotoks and Calgary Jr. A Raiders and Cook was snapped up shortly afterward, going sixth to the Calgary Jr. A Mountaineers.

But the prospect of the two friends and Cudas teammates having to stare each other down at the next level of lacrosse was rendered moot when the Raiders shipped Bower’s rights to the Mountaineers Monday afternoon.

Now, the teammates — both 16 — are together again.

“It was a wicked feeling to know we were back together,” said Cook. “It’s funny, because throughout the whole day him and I looked at each other pretty funny knowing we were on rival teams.”

Even if they didn’t end up teammates, the excitement of getting drafted was evident.

“When my name was called I was on Cloud Nine,” said Bower.

“I wanted to be able to move up and compete at the next level and I was just excited.”

For Cook, the selection comes with a family connection with his older brother, Conner, already on the Mountaineers.

That put him firmly on the team’s radar, but Cook was still thrilled with his selection.

“I had a pretty good connection with the coach (Cody Hawkins) because my brother was on the team, so I had been talking to him a lot,” said Cook. “He told me I had a really good shot at being drafted. We were at my house with my family. But still, my heart was racing the whole time. Even though I knew, it was a great feeling. I was really excited.”

The excitement level kicked up a notch when the Raiders and Mountaineers pulled the trigger on the deal Monday.

“It means quite a bit to me,” said Bower. “There aren’t as many people to be able to compete at the level Carter does. To play with Carter and our chemistry overall, it’s really exciting to play with him again.

“I’ve been in touch with the coach and so has Carter. Because we both live in Lethbridge they said they wanted to keep the chemistry together.”

The teammates took stock of each other’s game.

“Overall, he brings the intensity up and he’s a great teammate,” said Bower of Cook. “He gets everyone involved. He hypes everyone up and he’s a great leader.”

Cook’s scouting report on Bower was similar.

“I love playing with him,” said Cook. “He’s a tenacious guy, he always wants it. He’s a very skilled guy and always makes me a better player. He’s a really good worker.”

The duo’s drafting is welcome news after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 season.

Still, Bower and Cook kept in game shape.

“I built a bench press,” said Bower. “So I started working out at home and Carter has a gym at his house. We both worked out at our houses and played pass whenever we could.”

“We tried to stay busy,” added Cook. “I was always trying to get better every day with the things I have around, whether that’s wall ball or playing with Ries or going for runs. I always want to get better.”

Bower and Cook spent the 2019 RMLL season with the Junior B midget team, but also spent some time with the Cudas Junior B Tier I team as well.

“We were playing with a lot older guys and to play with them at a fast pace and helped us to get noticed, too,” said Bower.

Bower and Cook now gear up for team camp, a date that has yet to be determined, with a hopeful late-April start.

With Conner already on the roster, there will be another familiar face there.

“He played first year junior and then because of the pandemic they had to skip his second season, so now he’s going into his third year,” said Cook, adding his sibling was looking forward to sharing some floor time with him again.

“We were pretty pumped about that. It was pretty good to get (drafted) before him, so we had a little joke about that.”

His older brother also dispensed some advice on moving up to the Junior A ranks.

“He’s a small guy, he’s five-10, 155 pounds,” said Cook. “So for that league, he’s very small. He told me about the intensity and how you have to bring the work ethic and want it.”

Cook said both he and Bower will need that mindset at camp.

“I think Ries and I are going to have to bring out the intensity to really fight for a spot on that team. So we’re going to be going hard and working out for the next couple of weeks,” he said. “I’ve always felt confident in my abilities. It’s going to be difficult, for sure. But the coach is a really straight-forward guy and if you work really hard out there, you’re going to get your chances.”

No matter what happens, Bower and Cook are hopeful their selection will score one for the south as far as searching out lacrosse talent.

“It’s actually very exciting because last year Carter’s brother got drafted to the Mountaineers,” said Bower. “So that broke the barrier a little bit to start looking down south and at our teams down here. That opened their eyes to start looking here.”

“I think it’s pretty good that we can put Lethbridge on the map where people are going to look down here for skill and talent,” added Cook. “It’s good that we can finally bring notice.”

Registration for the 2021 Box Lacrosse Season is opening up across southern Alberta. Visit to http://southernalbertalacrosse.com for more information.

Follow @@DWoodardHerald on Twitter

Comments are closed.