Father and son to represent different squads at national lacrosse tournament

As it turns out the father-and-son duo of Jay and Layne Smith will be participating in this year’s Presidents Cup, the national Senior B men’s lacrosse tournament.

But in a bit of an odd twist, the Smiths, members of the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, will be representing different clubs at the Canadian tournament, which begins Aug. 25 in Delta, B.C.

Jay Smith is the rookie general manager and an assistant coach with his hometown Six Nations Rivermen, who qualified for the Presidents Cup by winning the Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL) title.

As for Layne Smith, he started off the 2024 campaign with the Rivermen, the team he has also suited up for the past several seasons.

But once there was an appealing offer to join the New York-based Allegany Arrows, the younger Smith, who is 27, had to ask the Rivermen GM (yes, his own father) for a transfer to the Can-Am Lacrosse League squad.

That request was begrudgingly granted. Layne Smith went on to help the Arrows capture their league crown, thus also earning a berth into the Presidents Cup.

The Ladner Pioneers, the two-time defending national champs, will host this year’s tourney, which continues until Aug. 31.

Also taking part will be British Columbia’s Victoria Shamrocks, Edmonton Miners, Saskatchewan’s Standing Buffalo Fighting Sioux and the Snake Island Muskies, who are based out of Cornwall, Ont.

Both Smiths admits it was a difficult conversation to have once Layne requested a trade.

“He explained his reasons and why he wanted to go,” the elder Smith said. “I told him it hurts but I understood why he wanted to.”

Once he joined the Rivermen organization this year, Jay Smith had visions of replicating a previous family success.

His grandfather Russell (Beef) Smith had served as the head coach of the 1967 Presidents Cup champion Brantford Warriors, a club which also included Wayne Smith (Jay’s uncle).

“The goal was to get both of our names on the cup,” Jay Smith said of Layne and himself. “It’s bittersweet that potentially only one of us will get our name on it.”

Jay Smith knew he had the power to prevent his son from being traded.

“I told him I didn’t want him to hold a grudge and not play at all,” he said.

The elder Smith agrees it will be a different feeling knowing that his son is on an opposing squad at the Presidents Cup.

“It’s kind of like the student versus the teacher,” said Jay Smith, who coached his son on various minor squads while he was growing up.

While this marks Jay Smith’s first time competing at the Presidents Cup, his son has been there twice before with the Rivermen, including last year.

Though he had spent the season in the Junior B ranks, the younger Smith joined the Rivermen during their 2017 playoffs and was part of the club, which hosted and won a silver medal at the Presidents Cup.

Layne Smith was on the Six Nations club that participated at the 2023 national tourney, which was held in Oakville, Ont. The Rivermen posted a 2-4 round-robin record at that event and did not advance to the playoff rounds.

Competing against his father this year, however, will be a new experience.

“I think it will feel a little different for sure,” Layne Smith said, adding this will mark his first trip to B.C. “It’s going to be a little different playing my dad.”

He added he’s looking forward to other aspects of the tournament.

“It is very competitive,” he said. “But off the floor you’re meeting up with old friends and watching games together. It’s kind of more of a gathering than a tournament.”

Layne Smith said the idea of joining the Arrows first popped up this past winter while talking to one of his childhood friends, Chase Martin, a Six Nations member who is a goalie with the Allegany squad.

After starting the year with the Rivermen, Layne Smith saw the Arrows were adding some quality players to their roster in the hopes of advancing to the Presidents Cup.

And when he was presented with the opportunity to join the Allegany club, he was forced to ask his father for a trade.

Now that a couple of months have passed and both the Rivermen and Arrows have qualified for the Presidents Cup, there is plenty of good-natured ribbing of what will happen at the tournament, especially when the two squads meet.

“It’s mostly me,” Jay Smith said of the banter between father and son now. “I’ll throw in a dig at the end of our conversation every time.”