(August 4, 2012)… Curt Styres stood on the turf at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena Tuesday and pointed out that traditionally, the 12 to 14-year-old players were a part of at Six Nations. With rows of Championship banners honoring the Creator’s game hanging overhead, and Arrows’ legends at the far end of the floor, as they began to prepare for the Canadian Provincials. The OLA Final Six “A” Provincials start on Friday, August 17th in Guelph, Ontario.

Styres, who serves as the Knighthawks owner and general manager, works with the team alongside Rochester Assistant Coach Jason Johnson, and Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Green.  The trio won the NLL Champion’s Cup in May. For Johnson, it’s an opportunity to get back to coaching youth lacrosse after spending most of his time with the Knighthawks and the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse.

“It’s good to get back into it again,” said Johnson, who recently helped the U-19 Iroquois team win a bronze at the World Championships. “It’s a lot of fun. It has been awhile since I have been able to coach the little guys.”

Johnson joined Styres in his latest mission to transform Six Nations lacrosse into a powerhouse for decades to come. Styres has won at every level to date, adding the 2012 National Lacrosse League Championship to his list of accomplishments. He added the Champion’s Cup to the 2009 MLL Championship with the Nationals, as well as four straight Ontario Championships with the Six Nations Arrows and the 2007 Minto Cup.

“Arrow Express Sports is throwing their hat into the ring at the Bantam level,” said Styres in June. “The plan is to produce players for the NCAA, Junior and, hopefully, professional levels.”

After the Knighthawks season, Styres took over the Bantam program to groom the Six Nations players into the next generation of NLL stars. With the assistance of coaches Johnson and Matt Atkins, coupled with the fitness expertise of Green, the kids have flourished this summer, winning two tournaments. In July, they captured the Bantam “A” Division gold at the 35th Annual Super Series and the 20th Annual John “Gus” McCauley Tournament in Brampton. The results were not surprising to Green, who has seen Styres fulfill a similar plan with older players less than a decade ago.

“In 2004, Curt had a certain recipe for success. Players would work out daily instead of just once a week. He treated them like elite athletes and they won a string of Provincial and National Championships,” said Green. “These kids now have a five-year head start on the players they look up to. We are trying to get them to understand that the hard work they put in now is going to pay off in Provincials, but for years to come.”

When Styres huddled his team together Tuesday at the ILA it was fitting that former Six Nations Arrows stars like Cody Jamieson, Sid Smith, Craig Point, Alex “Kedoh” Hill and Johnny Powless were at the far end of the floor. The group accounted for nearly a dozen of the Championship banners at the arena, including the 2007 Minto Cup banner.

“You have a chance to add your names to the banners. We need everyone here working together and doing everything for a purpose,” said Styres.

Six Nations advanced to the OLA Final Six “A” Provincials after finishing third with an 8-3-2 record at the OLA Qualifiers last weekend. Leading up to the tournament, Green continues to stress body-weight conditioning, fundamentals and principles. With the team’s advanced training regimen, he has no doubts that Six Nations can compete with any of the clubs in the Provincials and in the future.

“We are doing a lot of repetition and doing it five times more than any group their age,” said Green. “We are practicing three to five times more than any other team. When they are in their junior careers, they will have hundreds of hours more than their peers.”