Andrew Heitman wasn't allowed to play lacrosse in Edmonton this past weekend with his Prince George Posse teammates.
Not after undergoing surgery on June 19 to remove an inflamed appendix, a day after his 16th birthday. His emergency flare-up was about the only glitch in an otherwise spectacular spring for Heitman.
As one of the leading scorers on the midget A2 Posse this season, Heitman's efforts to help the team build a perfect record have not gone unnoticed. Heitman was a standout at the Team B.C. tryouts in late May, playing for the Interior team in a tournament format and the provincial team coaches were watching.
Heitman made the Team B.C. roster as one of three alternates and will accompany the team to Whitby, Ont., for the midget national championships, Aug. 2-8. If any of the 20 roster players are unable to play due to injuries or illnesses, Heitman could get penciled in on the Team B.C. lineup.
"I was pretty happy about that because not a lot of kids from Prince George make it," said Heitman. "I was just trying hard to show them what I've got and tried locking down the better players on defence."
Heitman's surgery was done arthroscopically, which left him with three small wounds on his abdomen, which should hasten his return to the lineup. Old-school surgery would have left a large wound which likely would not have healed in time for the midget provincial championship his team is hosting at the Kin Centre, July 22-26.
"I was feeling good on my birthday and the next morning I woke up in excruciating pain and went to the hospital and had surgery that day and it burst when they were taking it out," said Heitman.
"My recovery is going really fast so hopefully I'll be good by provincials. The doctor said they're optimistic and I've been throwing the ball around but I just have to make sure I'm in shape for lacrosse. Now that I'm feeling better again I'll start running."
With his six-foot-two stride and well-conditioned fast-twitch muscles, Heitman has built up breakaway speed and he's a magician at making good things happens when he has the ball in a lacrosse stick, averaging close to four goals per game. When he's fighting for loose balls, his fierce approach to defence and the full force of his 180-pound weight tend to strike fear into an opponent.
"Lacrosse is just really fun to play -- it's fast-paced and physical and I like how it's a team game and you have to move the ball around," said Heitman, who also plays high school basketball at Duchess Park. "I think this year I'm doing better because I've done a lot of weight training and just shooting around with the ball. I did spring training up at UNBC with PacificSport and the IGNITE program and I've gotten a lot quicker, faster and stronger."
Heitman has yet to play senior lacrosse but should be one of the top picks in next year's Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association entry draft. He wants to play intermediate A lacrosse next year and was in Langley on Wednesday for a game against the U.S. national box lacrosse team.
After wins in Armstrong, Richmond and Kelowna, the Posse won all four of its games in Edmonton to capture a fourth tournament title. Jake McIntosh scored four goals to lead the to a 6-2 win over beat the Sylvan Lake (Alta.) Buccaneers in Sunday's final.
Heitman grew up on the lacrosse floor with McIntosh and teammates Griffin Wal, Doug Porter and Jonathon Wittmeier and they've spent the better part of a decade learning the game together. Heitman appreciates the efforts of coaches Don Wittmeier and Blake McIntosh to keep the core of the team together and take them to out-of-town tournaments, a project now paying dividends to the midgets in the win column.
"I've had two grea`t coaches my whole life and I'm grateful for that," said Heitman. "They've given 10 years now to our team and hopefully we can give it back to them by winning the provincial championship."
All four levels of midget competition -- A1, A2, B and C -- will be featured on the provincial lacrosse front at the Kin Centre and Heitman likes his team's chances. The Posse earned the midget B bronze medal last year and will compete this yer in the A2 provincials.
"I've never had a tournament in Prince George," said Heitman. "This is my last year of minor lacrosse so it's nice to have provincials hosted here and hopefully we'll do good because we have a good team. Hopefully Prince George will come to watch and we get more people in the (Prince George Minor Lacrosse) association."
The Prince George Posse bantams, behind an MVP performance from Liam Froese, captured the bantam B tournament title in Edmonton, defeating Red Deer 8-7 in the final on Sunday. Jake Nohr had a four-goal game and Corey Cunningham scored twice in the final to lead the Posse, which fought back from a 2-0 first-period deficit.
Coached by Tom Esopenko and Ken Eyles, the bantam Posse opened with a 9-8 win over the Edmonton Warriors and also defeated the Parkland Posse 16-1.
