Tag: Lacrosse

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Be The Best.

I’ve got nothing…

‘I’ve got nothing.  I can’t think of anything to say.’

I’ve heard that a lot in the past few weeks and again today.  Guess what?  I totally get it…and I totally respect it.  Guess what else?  We deeply respect and appreciate any thought or action including many who don’t know what to say.

What is there to say?  Ingrid asked me how I was doing today.  Good and sad was my answer.  It was a good day…but losing Chris has left a hole that is so large it will simply be impossible to fill in this lifetime.  That being said, so many awesome things are happening.  I’m hearing stories (facebook, email, phone calls, in person) about people Being The Best.  It is awesome.  The Chris Friesen-Be The Best lacrosse sticks are amazing! (reminder: orders close this Sunday). I got a call this week from Team BC, the Provincial lacrosse team.  The U16 and U19 teams will be wearing a CF on their jerseys at the Canadian Nationals this Labour Day in Saskatoon!  How cool is that?

Chris (41) handles ball at Field Nationals 2009 in Winnipeg

These are the things that keep us moving forward.  Not just the remembrance stuff, but the knowledge that Chris touched so many lives and has inspired so many.  And don’t forget, Be The Best doesn’t mean winning all the time.  Max and I were watching Steve Nash and the Suns lose to the Lakers in a heartbreaker tonight.  Yah, they lost, but Steve Nash was the best.  He was incredible.  That’s what it is all about.  Breaking your own records, setting the bar higher and HELPING PEOPLE along the way.  Life is a team game!

Go rock your Friday.

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Be The Best.

Facebook saved our lives?

This was a quick update note that we sent earlier today to everyone who had joined Chris’ memorial page on Facebook.  I wanted to share it with you here as well.

Ingrid, Max and I wanted to thank you all so much for the support over the past 2 months.  It has been incredible.

If you want to continue to be with us as we journey forward towards the ‘new normal’, you can follow the blog link at: christianfriesen.com (I’ve added an email subscription thing at the bottom right of the page to make it easier for you to know when the new posts go up)

The other HUGE news is that through the generosity of Harrow Sports and the Burnaby Mountain Selects program, a Chris Friesen memorial lacrosse shaft will be produced and orders are going to be received through next Sunday, May 30.  When I first saw the artwork, and even now, I get goose bumps as this is very cool!

Here’s the great part.  All net proceeds (beyond the manufacturing cost) are going to the Christian Friesen Memorial Award at SFU!  We’ve had people ask if you have to play lacrosse to own one.  Answer? Nope!  They are real pieces of art complete with Chris’ signature, ‘Be The Best’ and the lacrosse ‘silhouette’ on the end cap of the stick. To see the sticks and for order info check out: christianfriesen.com and click on the ‘stick order’ tab at the top of page.

We can’t believe it is almost 2 months since Chris’ passing.  Month two in many ways has been harder than month one as the continued reality of Chris not being with us physically sets in.  That being said, the spirit of Chris is here in a growingly significant way.  I see it through people’s (young and older) desire to Be The Best and through people working together on positive change…including push-ups!

We will continue to keep the Facebook group open for the months ahead and want it to be a place you are free to drop a note to us or to Chris as well…and yes, that’s a completely ‘legit’ thing to do.  One of my first blog posts was about how ‘Facebook saved our lives’.  Those notes of support meant more than you can ever imagine.  We sincerely thank you all for your support during these weeks, not only of us, but your support of each other.

Randy

(for Randy, Ingrid and Max)

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Be The Best.

FAQ re CFMA

Ya, for the non-texting among us..that would be code for Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Christian Friesen Memorial Award.

Q: Are you funneling the money into an account in the Cayman Islands?

A: No.  All funds collected are given to Simon Fraser University.  SFU administers the fund and issues tax receipts for all donations.

Q: I’ve heard about this $20,000 target.  That is strangely similar to the price of Canucks season tickets.

A: Good point.  The $20,000 is the level at which the Christian Friesen Memorial Award will live forever.  The interest is paid out each year, leaving the principle intact and ready to earn more interest for the following year.

Q: So how much is the yearly award going to be and who gets it?

A: Your questioning has a very aggressive tone.

Q: YAH….I COULD GET MORE AGRESSIVE

Editor’s note:  you having enough of this approach? I’m sorta done with it 😉

A: The yearly award will vary depending on interest rates, but will be in the $1,000 per year range and increase as the fund grows over time.  The funds will be given out yearly at the Maple Leaf Award dinner that the SFU and Burnaby Mountain Select lacrosse organizations organize.  The Christian Friesen Memorial Award will be given to a lacrosse playing student who exhibits leadership skills and the ability to contribute to his community.

Q: When will the first award be given out?

A: Even though the interest on the fund will not have a full year to mature, Ingrid and I are determined to give out the first award in January 2011 at the next banquet…just 8 months from now.  We will do this by making an additional one-time donation personally.

Q: Do you and Ingrid contribute to the fund as well?

A: Yes and so does Max.  Our donations to the fund will continue for the rest of our lives.  We want to continue to see the fund build over time through personal donations and we want to challenge lacrosse playing students for decades to come to Be The Best.

Q: Where is the fund at?

A: We are nicely half way there…over $10,000 has been donated to date for which we are humbly grateful!  This includes direct donations, cash and cheque donations and monies received from wrist band sales etc.  Every penny has been amazing.  In addition to these monies, every thought, email, Facebook post, prayer, food donation at the service, food for us etc etc is all a part of this in our opinion.  The support has been amazing.

Q: How do we participate?

A: On-line is safe and direct.  NOTE: When designating, choose Fund of your choice (top of list) from drop down menu and then specify: Christian Friesen Memorial Award  Direct Link to on-line

Link to printable PDF

Secret:  There is a human at the other end of the SFU forms, so as long as you put Christian Friesen somewhere on the form, they will process it correctly.  The staff at SFU University Advancement office have been fantastic.  (thanks Wanda!)

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Be The Best.

Look close, ‘giving’ is a part of ‘grieving’.

Chris' Grandma and Grandpa above Okanagan Lake

Vernon is a picturesque 70 minute drive from Kamloops.  Ingrid and I blitzed up there on Saturday to have lunch with my sister, AC (Cathy AJ Hardy) who had some weekend concerts in the Okanagan and also my parents who live in Vernon.  In honour of Mother’s Day (yes, I know it’s next week!), we took Mom out to the restaurant at Gray Monk Winery just south of Vernon.  Editorial: Great food, service and wine. Go.

Do these people look like they’re in their upper 70’s or late 50’s? It’s hard to tell!

Chris and Max loved going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  When they moved to Vernon, the adventures would usually be week long summer jaunts that included hiking, biking, swimming and the now famous, ‘midnight snack’!  Another highlight was word games which Mom and Dad still play daily.  Scrabble and Boggle were constants or should I say consonants.

I’m not sure why, but I was thinking about the noun GRIEF and the VERB GRIEVE this week.  Grieve is an ‘action word’ if we remember our high school English teachers.  Then I saw something very interesting.  The word GIVE lives inside the word GRIEVE.  We have been blown away by people giving to us during this time.  I write this post from the Boomer family home in Kamloops where they’ve been so incredibly wonderful to us.  (when Langley plays Kamloops today at 1130 in the semi’s we are really going to be in a pickle!!)  From the lacrosse families to my brother-in-law in Vernon (Steve Wulff) who made me speechless yesterday when re presented Ingrid and I with a pencil drawing of Chris…the GIVING has been incredible.

Let me also tell you that our ability to GIVE has been helping us.  A simple act like taking family for lunch or providing support to others has been incredibly helpful for us as well as we continue to find the ‘new normal’.

Is GIVING part of GRIEVING?  Yes…it’s there in black and white.

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Be The Best.

Kamloops and the ‘new normal’.

We went to a lacrosse tournament without Chris this weekend.  We couldn’t stay away.  The Alan Price Memorial Tournament is held each year in early May and Chris and the Langley Thunder have been a part of the event for at least 4 years as memory serves. The people in Kamloops are just fantastic.  (thank you Boomers for opening your home to us!!)

Chris takes on Larson Hill en route to Loops 2009.

This tournament was always a favourite. In fact last year at this same tournie, it was a father/son trip with Chris at the wheel just weeks after getting his ‘L’. What was I thinking? I figured out what those handles are for that passengers can hold onto.  I snapped a quick pic with my blackberry for this white knuckle, hands position 10 and 2, full concentration shot you see here. All in all he did a great job and it was a great experience.  You can see some 2009 action below (Chris is #2) including Riley, the Langley goalie swallowing a tough Kamloops player after a mega hit.  To make things more interesting I met the brother and mom of that Kamloops player (Justice) last night.  I think his younger brother was quite impressed that he had a brother starring on Youtube!

Rhys and James again make me look small!

Check it out.  More on the Loops and the amazing people up here in Sunday’s post.

It is good to be here.  It is good to be with amazing people who have stood with us. It is good to see those Langley players wearing that patch (amazing). It is great to talk to so many and continue to feel the support.

As hard as this is, it’s good too.  Very good.  This is all part of the ‘new normal’.

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Be The Best.

When a poem hits hoem..that pun was for Chris..he ‘hated’ them ;)

Chris always loved to hate my puns and we’d share a laugh…ok Max and I usually laughed, he usually groaned and Ingrid asked, ‘Are you mocking me?’. (see Zipline vid for context!)

The poem you see below really did hit home.

It was on a card sent from the Langley Minor Lacrosse Association.

It stopped us in our tracks.  Very cool.  Nuff said.

His Journey’s Just Begun

Don’t think of him as gone away – his journey’s just begun,

life holds so many facets – this earth is only one.

Just think of him as resting from the sorrows and the tears

in a place of warmth and comfort where there are no days and years

Think how he must be wishing that we could know today

how nothing but our sadness can really pass away.

And think of him as living in the hearts of those he touched…

for nothing loved is ever lost – and he was loved so much.

E. Brenneman

——————————

We LOVE you Chris Friesen!!

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Be The Best.

Rivals, respect and the number 2.

I had to stare at this picture for a long time before I began to write this post.  My words will be hopelessly inadequate. I’ve always been amazed at the end of a tough lacrosse playoff series or hockey series that the players who had hit each other, jawed at each other and ‘hated’ each other, would suddenly shake each others hands at the end of the series.  Ultimately, it’s about respect.  When the game or series is on, you want nothing more than to pulverize the opposition.  Chris desperately wanted to win…every time he played.  New West is a premiere lacrosse organization with deep roots in the game.  When Steve Millikin, a New West lacrosse Dad and very involved in all things lacrosse, showed up on our doorstep with this flower arrangement my knees buckled.  This gesture was so amazing, I could only try to catch my breath and I simply could not hold in the emotion.  I feel it to this moment.  The decision of what to do with this display was obvious.  We put it front and centre at the church on the day of Chris’ funeral and many of you saw it there.  For our ‘lacrosse fans in training!’, what you might not know is that red and white are the colours of the New West Salmon Bellies…the ultimate tribute to a respected competitor and Team BC teammate, Chris Friesen.

To the New West lacrosse association, families and players, we thank you for your amazing symbol of respect and honour.  It is as breathtaking in the pictures as it was in person on that day just several weeks back.

Good luck to the Bellies…(and of course the Thunder!!) in the new season.

Warmest regards and heartfelt thanks from myself, Ingrid and Max.

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Be The Best.

Chris Box Lacrosse Video Tribute

Mean group of players, ready to rumble...!

For those of you who could not make it last night and for those who want to see it again, here is the video portion of the tribute to Chris from the April 27th Junior Thunder game.

You’ll see some of the same interview clips from the memorial service, but I’ve added some box lacrosse pictures as well as a little more intense soundtrack as the 3-minute tribute moves on.  Yes, that is Thunderstruck by AC/DC, but I think my Mom had already guessed that….or not.

Who's that short guy in the middle?

It’s a funny thing…I put this movie together so I knew exactly what was coming and when, but even that did not stop the flow of emotion seeing when viewing the presentation and seeing Chris speaking through the interview clips on the big screen.  “I really want to win”, stated Chris.

So do I man, so do I.

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Be The Best.

Tribute to Chris at Junior A game

Max had to work tonight, so Ingrid and I represented our family at the Junior A Thunder game.  We want to THANK Joe Willmott and his team for their attentiveness and incredible respect shown to our family and to Chris’ memory.  Seeing the Junior Thunder lined up across from the Intermediate Thunder wearing their jerseys over their street clothes was an amazing show of respect.

THANK YOU ALL.

Having so many fans out to the game was fantastic and they were treated to a highly competitive match with the Burnaby Lakers.  Before the game a video tribute for Chris was played and a certain Mrs. Ingrid Friesen completed the ceremonial face-off duties.  We don’t have pictures of all that stuff yet, but they are coming courtesy of the Thunder and I’ll bring those forward as soon as I can.  The Thunder’s official jerseys arrived just hours before game time so we had Will pose for a shot with Ingrid and I showing approximately how the commemorative patch for Chris will be worn.  Looks good eh?

You can see more pics taken by Ingrid of me with the Intermediate A players and a few shots of the Junior game as well by clicking on this link. (hey, I even got Ingrid, Lenna and Carolyn (all lacrosse moms) to pose for a pic!)

This was again one of the hardest but great evenings we’ve had.  We wouldn’t have been anywhere else.  Thanks again to the Thunder and to all of Chris’ friends, teammates, school buddies, lacrosse families, relatives etc etc for your amazing support of Chris’ memory and our family!

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Be The Best.

Lacrosse and loss

As I wrote about yesterday, we were heading to the Langley Thunder Intermediate-A home opener at the impressive Langley Event Centre.  With 5,000 seats, a friends and family crowd may appear small, but when the game was preceded by a moment of silence for Chris we could feel the quiet energy fill the entire building.      The Thunder’s new jerseys had not arrived by game time so they wore their blue-striped Stickmen unis as  you can see in this shot as Langley scores.  (The lefty scoring is Cody Robertson and number 15 is Adam Will..thx to Larry for info from comment below) The Thunder are a younger squad with a few Intermediate aged players playing up at the Junior level. They battled a typically strong Victoria Shamrock team and though the scoreboard showed a loss at games’ end, they exhibited strong desire and the makings of a team that looks out for each other.  We are looking forward to the Junior A Thunder home opener on Tuesday night.   Team President, Joe Willmott, announced that a tribute for Chris (including big screen video) would take place at 7:30pm immediately followed by the Junior Thunder taking on visiting Burnaby. 

Keep working hard boys.  Be The Best.  It will pay off for you.

Of course I brought my camera to the game and couldn’t help but think how good the light was in the new facility.  It’s funny how your mind works…I kept thinking about how I would have loved to be snapping some pictures of #2 clearing the front of the net in that great light…but I suppose he is in some even better light now. cf #2

Lacrosse Boys…you can see more pics on Picasa.  Remember…200 push-ups er day!