Special Lacrosse People in Nova Scotia Through the Years!

Brian Thompson
1939-2017
 
Having been born in the United Kingdom, Brian’s sport was ‘football’ but raising his family in Canada, he became, mind, body and spirit, truly devoted to his new favourite sport-LACROSSE. Seated in the stands, with his wife Jan, at many lacrosse events, over decades, Brian was thelacrosse professor. Brian coached his son for a few years around 1978, in the Wolves club, but joked to his family that he was a bad coach, as he got too involved in the game, and forgot to change the lines. He knew all the rules (due to him writing most of them), and was a long-standing lacrosse volunteer.
 
His volunteer commitments are too lengthy to list but he started out as Treasurer for the Wolves in the late 1990’s. He was a founding member of the Metro Minor Lacrosse League (MMLL), circa 2000, as their Registrar, Scheduler and Treasurer.  He was the Lacrosse Nova Scotia VP of Admin and Finance for close to 20 years.  He was an LNS liaison for many provincial teams going to Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) Nationals.  He attended many CLA meetings of behalf of LNS and made many friends and was well respected across the country. He was a board member for National events hosted in NS, including the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships.
 
Brian was a mentor of mine.  We were kindred spirits with a love of developing governance.  I was honoured to work with him in the late 2000’s, to update LNS governance, working our way through bylaws and regulations and listening to his many stories about lacrosse in NS.  He was also a mentor for others, including Steve Brown, long-time Wolves President, who stated, “that above all, Brian was a true Lacrosse Fan. Brian could be seen in all the rinks, often wearing a Wolves Jersey or one of the NS Provincial team jerseys he had collected through the years. The Game was part of his family and lacrosse was a big part of his life. Brian’s legacy in our sport and his contributions to building the game in our province will be hard to match.”
 
Brian inspired so many to bring their time and talent to lacrosse administration.  His work in the early days of lacrosse, and through the years he committed to the sport, has been instrumental in building a foundation that has served us well.
 
Submitted by Donna Goguen