Cambridge Highlanders head coach and general manager Brady Campbell believes there’s a lot to build on from his team’s inaugural season, which wrapped up at the end of June.
The Highlanders, who finished 9-11 in the regular season before being swept 3-0 by the No. 2 seed Elora Mohawks in the playoffs, routinely rolled out a lineup with 12 first year players and four second year players.
The experience his young players obtained playing prominent roles is something Campbell hopes will prove beneficial heading into 2024.
“To be honest I didn't know what to fully expect going into the season,” Campbell said.
“I can't complain for such a young roster. I think we exceeded expectations.”
Now Campbell is tasked with building a roster that’s ready to take the next step, which begins with establishing who’s returning.
Based on recent meetings with all the players, Campbell expects a lot of them to return, which he says is important as they build toward being a championship contender.
“It’s tough being a 16-year-old playing against 20 years olds,” Campbell said of his group.
“Guys can get bigger, faster and stronger in the off season. They also know my systems so it helps that I won’t have to reteach a lot of that to the returning guys.”
Rounding out his coaching staff, expanding the team’s executive to assist with operational costs, trades, signings and evaluations is also on the to-do list.
“It’s going to be a big off season,” Campbell said.
“We've established this roster but we can pull from U17 groups coming up. There’s also trades. We’re going to have a huge influx coming in hopefully.”
When the final horn sounded, bringing an end to the first season of junior B lacrosse in the city, Campbell’s message to his team was a simple one.
“I told them I was proud of them,” he said.
“There were a lot of exceeded expectations but we have to keep getting better and progressing for the future.”
To keep up to date with the Cambridge Highlanders visit cambridgehighlandersjrb.com.