Some young, 鈥榳ild鈥� lacrosse players received a few pointers from a retired pro at a recent clinic at the Comox Valley Sports Centre.

Lewis Ratcliff 鈥� sixth all-time in National Lacrosse League goal-scoring 鈥� played with three different organizations over the course of 14 seasons. In 2010, he was voted Champion鈥檚 Cup MVP after scoring five goals and one assist to help the Vancouver Stealth defeat Toronto in the finals.

Ratcliff now works as a Realtor in his hometown of Victoria. He is also an owner of the Seattle Starz Lacrosse Club, which provides a pathway for players through a development/feeder system.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so many opportunities that you can take with lacrosse, whether it鈥檚 college, whether it鈥檚 playing at a higher level,鈥� said Ratcliff, who notes that hockey tends to take over by a certain age.

鈥淲hich is unfortunate. Just based on strict numbers, there鈥檚 more opportunities because there鈥檚 fewer players playing, compared to hockey. To play junior A lacrosse, it鈥檚 maybe a tenth of the amount of kids that are playing hockey. Kids that stick with it normally can play for a while.鈥�

The professional league is box lacrosse, but everything at the collegiate level is played on a field. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to be able to do both,鈥� said Ratcliff, who had plenty of opportunities to play both streams while growing up in Victoria.

Throughout the course of his playing career, he never suffered any major injuries.

鈥淚 think in any sport, things happen. I think it can look worse than it is. Same with any sport. I played for 25 years. I played pro for 14. You鈥檙e going to get bumps and bruises. Concussions are the big one now. In any sport, if somebody wants to go out there and do something stupid, it鈥檚 going to happen. I don鈥檛 think lacrosse is any more dangerous than anything else 鈥� it鈥檚 just your comfort zone, and what you鈥檙e familiar with.鈥�

For more information about lacrosse in the Comox Valley, visit www.comoxvalleywild.com