West Island offers plenty of options for big three sports

If you’ve just moved to the West Island and wondering whether your child can participate in any of the big three sports of hockey, soccer or football, you’re in luck.

Soccer continues to be the most popular participative summer sport in the region while amateur football remains a popular choice for parents to register their children in. Hockey, meanwhile, is the most popular winter activity on a participatory level.

Despite the fact the numbers don’t match up well with the amount of fields available, the Lac St. Louis Soccer Association oversees 11 local associations that offer youngsters the chance to play house league and inter-city soccer, as well as adults the opportunity to play senior soccer. Some graduates, like Ile Bizard native Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault, have even gone on to play professionally in Europe and internationally for Canada.

The Lakeshore, St. Lazare and Western Patriots Football Associations along with Sunnybrooke, Westpark, Alexander and A Ma Baie parks offer children the chance to play some pigskin at the atom, mosquito and peewee levels under the North Shore Football League inter-park umbrella. Meanwhile, North Shore, Lakeshore and St. Lazare also have competitive bantam and midget AAA teams to try out for. Several graduates have gone on to play professionally, including offensive lineman Mark Lambert of the Montreal Alouettes and defensive back Sammy Okpro of the Edmonton Eskimos.

The Lac St. Louis Hockey Association oversees 12,000 house-league and inter-city players, 3,000 coaches and 500 on-ice officials. From Dorval to Hudson, boys and girls take to the ice at arenas located in zones representing Hockey West Island, Lakeshore, Deux Rives, Dollard des Ormeaux and Trois Lacs. Meanwhile, youngtimers play in Dorval, intermediate players in Pointe Claire while oldtimers raise money while playing games in Dorval, Pointe Claire, Beaconsfield, Kirkland and Pierrefonds.

Lac St. Louis graduates who now find employment in the National Hockey League include Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Matthew Lombardi of the Calgary Flames and Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks.