Over the last year, the Vancouver Warriors have given fans tons to cheer about. Since bringing in head coach and general manager Curt Malawsky, the culture of the Warriors completely changed.
Malawsky has the team playing better than ever before. Since the second half of last season, the Warriors have turned it around and are making lacrosse exciting in Vancouver. Someone who has seen lacrosse grow in the Lower Mainland is Warriors defenceman Matt Beers. Beers grew up in Coquitlam and has played professional lacrosse in two different eras – first with the Vancouver Stealth, and now with the Warriors. He knows all about the culture of the sport in this region.
“The culture of lacrosse is really strong, it’s a very blue collar sport. There’s a lot of hard-working kids (who) just want to have fun and it’s still affordable for families.”The Warriors are very active in the community with their Stick to School program and lacrosse camps for kids. Beers explains how Malawsky emphasizes the importance of community to the team.
“The culture of lacrosse in our dressing room with Curt is really professional. There’s a lot of emphasis on growing the game on and off the floor. There’s a lot of accountability for us to do more in the community. I think that’s something he brings to the table, (and) that’s really changed the culture in our dressing room.”
Beers is also a fan of how the National Lacrosse League is helping grow the game across the country.
“I will say I think across the league, they do a pretty good job of that because a lot of us (players) have gotten here from volunteers and we know what it means to give back, so I do see that around the league, but the culture that Curt brings to his dressing room is unmatched.
Tonight, we welcome Brendan to Curt’s Corner!
Brendan was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in October 2023. After a long journey, he completed his final treatment in March 2024 and has since been declared cancer-free.
Brendan is a passionate lacrosse player for the Langley… pic.twitter.com/1CG9JTv7VA
— Vancouver Warriors (@VanWarriors) January 25, 2025
If you’ve been to a Warriors game, you know how much effort they put into making it fun for the fans. Every game is a theme night with tons of festivities like a mechanical bull on country night. They make every game feel like a party. With how the team is playing and in the middle of a seven-game home winning streak, the attendance at Rogers Arena is growing. We all saw how much buzz there was around town with the Canucks in the playoffs last year. The Warriors are currently on pace to make the playoffs this year for the second time in franchise history. The first time came in 2017, but lacrosse has grown a lot in British Columbia since then. Beers knows how important playoff lacrosse would be for the province.
“Really important, I was actually part of the team we played a championship game at Langley Events Centre and sold it out. You can just see the hunger in this city for playoff game. People came out in droves in 2010 when we won in Washington. A large portion of those people were from B.C. ‘If you build it, they will come’ (is what) Chris Hall used to say (when) we were playing our first year in Washington. We’re building it right here in Vancouver and we hope as we continue to grow and have success, the fans will come out and support us, and they have. So (we’re) really excited for a hopeful playoff game.”
The Warriors are currently fourth in the NLL and everyone around the franchise is excited for a potential playoff game this spring.