Player Spotlight: Breton Penney
2017-06-09
Breton has been lighting up the score sheet for the 2016 Garnet Knight Cup champion Dartmouth Bandits. In this Player Spotlight, Breton shares some insight into his lacrosse journey. Click READ MORE for details.
Name: Breton Penney
Team: Dartmouth Bandits
Height: 5’7
Weight: 165 lbs
Hometown: Gaetz Brook, Nova Scotia
Sports hero: My father. He was not a professional athlete, but he taught me the most about any sport.
Breton is one of Nova Scotia’s best exports, having been named a U.S. Lacrosse All-American and VISAA Division II Player of the Year playing for Virginia Episcopal High School in Virgina.
Breton grew up playing for Eastern Shore through the MMLL and eventually found himself on the Dartmouth Bandits by way of the ECJLL Midget Entry Draft.
He has been a mainstay on that team for four seasons, and is currently running away with the ECJLL scoring race - through seven games Breton has 56 pts (28G 28A). It’s worth noting that he led all playoff scorers in 2016 with 35 pts (20G 15A) in six games after a shortened 2016 Regular Season. Penney has notched more than 10 pts in three of seven games this season.
Breton was willing to answer some questions for us.
Q. You came from the Eastern Shore minor association, can you tell me what your minor experience was like?
A. “I remember I was too young to play in games when I started playing lacrosse on the Eastern Shore, so all I could do was practice with the older kids. I was fortunate enough to join lacrosse when it started to grow again after being on hold for a couple years in all minor associations. It was a great experience playing on the Shore, we had great numbers. Most years we were lucky to put two Eastern Shore teams in leagues. Our program was always competitive due to great coaches like Sean Kent and Brad Boucher.”
Q. From there, you began playing for the Nova Scotia provincial team. How did that experience and level of competition differ?
A. “I started playing Provincial lacrosse my first year Peewee, then both years of Midget. The highest I’ve finished wearing an NS jersey was bronze in the Midget A division in 2013. Anytime you leave the province or country the competition is going to change and it was great to go and learn from larger and much better programs and players.”
Q. How did the opportunity come up to play south of the border at Virginia Episcopal?
A. “After playing Field Nationals in Alberta, I received a few calls about attending schools in the States. Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey were my options and I decided to attend Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Virginia. I chose that school because of the attention I received, and just the overall direction of the program/academics. I played two years before graduating, we won the state championship my senior year.”
Q. What advice can you give for any younger players looking to play in the States?
A. “The advice I would give to any player considering it would be to go. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. However there are a lot of factors to consider, such as the financial commitment and academics. Also I would say try to play everywhere you can just to get your name out there and don’t be afraid to contact a school first.”
Q. Your Bandits team-mates - who is one guy that quietly leads the team that might not show up on the score sheet?
A. “Chris Mallette, as an underage player he was a huge presence on defence for us. Every year he continues to get better and I would back him up on being the best defensive player in the league.”
Q. What one coach has had a big impact on you locally?
A. “Luke Parker and Mitch Hannigan have had the biggest impact on myself because I think I’ve improved the most during my last 4 years in Junior lacrosse.”
Q. The season is almost half over, what expectations do you and your teammates have for the rest of 2017?
A. “Our goal never changes and that is to win, but we don’t take any team for granted. We expect to win another championship in 2017.”
The Dartmouth Bandits are once again sitting atop the standings and in contention to compete for another Garnet Knight Cup ECJLL championship. Catch them tomorrow in Moncton, or their home rink in Shearwater.
ECJLL SCHEDULE
ECJLL STATISTICS
BANDITS ROSTER
Team: Dartmouth Bandits
Height: 5’7
Weight: 165 lbs
Hometown: Gaetz Brook, Nova Scotia
Sports hero: My father. He was not a professional athlete, but he taught me the most about any sport.
Breton is one of Nova Scotia’s best exports, having been named a U.S. Lacrosse All-American and VISAA Division II Player of the Year playing for Virginia Episcopal High School in Virgina.
Breton grew up playing for Eastern Shore through the MMLL and eventually found himself on the Dartmouth Bandits by way of the ECJLL Midget Entry Draft.
He has been a mainstay on that team for four seasons, and is currently running away with the ECJLL scoring race - through seven games Breton has 56 pts (28G 28A). It’s worth noting that he led all playoff scorers in 2016 with 35 pts (20G 15A) in six games after a shortened 2016 Regular Season. Penney has notched more than 10 pts in three of seven games this season.
Breton was willing to answer some questions for us.
Q. You came from the Eastern Shore minor association, can you tell me what your minor experience was like?
A. “I remember I was too young to play in games when I started playing lacrosse on the Eastern Shore, so all I could do was practice with the older kids. I was fortunate enough to join lacrosse when it started to grow again after being on hold for a couple years in all minor associations. It was a great experience playing on the Shore, we had great numbers. Most years we were lucky to put two Eastern Shore teams in leagues. Our program was always competitive due to great coaches like Sean Kent and Brad Boucher.”
@GreggForce has the perfect twit pic <3 pic.twitter.com/1ww7OE5A4Y
— Breton Penney (@Bpenney23) March 29, 2013
A. “I started playing Provincial lacrosse my first year Peewee, then both years of Midget. The highest I’ve finished wearing an NS jersey was bronze in the Midget A division in 2013. Anytime you leave the province or country the competition is going to change and it was great to go and learn from larger and much better programs and players.”
#tbt to me and coach @BrendonSmithson pic.twitter.com/Oc1Bv8QSth
— Breton Penney (@Bpenney23) March 13, 2014
Q. How did the opportunity come up to play south of the border at Virginia Episcopal?
A. “After playing Field Nationals in Alberta, I received a few calls about attending schools in the States. Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey were my options and I decided to attend Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Virginia. I chose that school because of the attention I received, and just the overall direction of the program/academics. I played two years before graduating, we won the state championship my senior year.”
My playground for the year pic.twitter.com/aR6wgxhNhl
— Breton Penney (@Bpenney23) September 10, 2014
Q. What advice can you give for any younger players looking to play in the States?
A. “The advice I would give to any player considering it would be to go. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. However there are a lot of factors to consider, such as the financial commitment and academics. Also I would say try to play everywhere you can just to get your name out there and don’t be afraid to contact a school first.”
Q. Your Bandits team-mates - who is one guy that quietly leads the team that might not show up on the score sheet?
A. “Chris Mallette, as an underage player he was a huge presence on defence for us. Every year he continues to get better and I would back him up on being the best defensive player in the league.”
Q. What one coach has had a big impact on you locally?
A. “Luke Parker and Mitch Hannigan have had the biggest impact on myself because I think I’ve improved the most during my last 4 years in Junior lacrosse.”
Q. The season is almost half over, what expectations do you and your teammates have for the rest of 2017?
A. “Our goal never changes and that is to win, but we don’t take any team for granted. We expect to win another championship in 2017.”
19-7 bandits with 15mins left in 3rd pic.twitter.com/7wm2lbLxDH
— JrABandits (@JrABandits) May 27, 2017
The Dartmouth Bandits are once again sitting atop the standings and in contention to compete for another Garnet Knight Cup ECJLL championship. Catch them tomorrow in Moncton, or their home rink in Shearwater.
ECJLL SCHEDULE
ECJLL STATISTICS
BANDITS ROSTER