West Island trio proud to wear Canada’s colours

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI One of the highest honours to be bestowed upon an amateur or professional athlete is the opportunity to represent one’s country in his or her chosen sport.

Kirkland resident Frank Bruno along with Pierrefonds residents Ameet Pall and Samael Lavaud, have earned that right. The threesome, each of whom grew up in the West Island learning their football abilities under area coaching, will be part of the Canadian under-20 squad scheduled to participate in the 11th annual NFL Global Junior Football Championship slated for Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 28 to Feb. 3. Canada will be looking to win its third consecutive gold medal at the tournament, which will include teams from France, Japan, Mexico, Panama and the United States. Bruno, a five-foot-10, 180-pound wide receiver is a Lakeshore Cougars product while Pall, a five-foot-11, 230-pound defensive end and Lavaud, a six-foot, 220-pound linebacker are North Shore graduates. Last season, they were teammates on the CEGEP AAA Vanier Cheetahs. Each played a big part in the Cheetah’s first Bol d’Or championship in 15 years. “If you work hard, give 100 per cent on the field, there is no reason why you can’t accomplish anything in life,” said Bruno, who showed a lot of heart a little over three years ago by returning to the football field after winning a fight over Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer. “It’s nice to know I was rewarded for the effort I put in at training camp.”

While Bruno looks to continue hauling in passes for Team Canada like he did last season for the Cheetahs, when he set a school record with 52 catches for 967 yards, Pall hopes to put a cap on what was an outstanding campaign as well. He was named the league’s defensive Most Valuable Player after setting a league record with 14 sacks. “I decided to go into camp not worrying about what the other guys I was competing against would do,” said Pall, known for his quick speed on the field, enabling him to hunt down opposing quarterbacks with regularity. “I just worried about myself. You can only control that. It’ll be a tough test for us down there, though. The Americans will be made up of the best high-school senior from South Florida. But we should hold our own.”

As should Lavaud, one of five football-playing brothers either retired or still playing, including older brother Gregory, who enjoyed a tremendous varsity career as a cornerback with the University of Montréal Carabins, where he was named a first-team defensive all-Canadian. “We won’t be intimidated,” said Lavaud. “We’re all men out there. We’ll just have to strap it up and play ball. Everyone down there will be against us, so we’ll have to be tight as a team. We’ll have to be a family down there. Most importantly, we’ll have to mentally tough.”

Grid note: Besides Bruno, Pall and Lavaud, there are two other West Island connections on head coach Glenn Constantine’s Canadian squad, including defensive co-ordinator Warren Craney, a Kirkland resident, and John Abbott Islanders offensive lineman Sébastien Tache, a Gatineau native.