Brent McDougall remembered for his love of lacrosse

Brent McDougall was a staple in the Arthur lacrosse community.

So much so that during a celebration of life held Sept. 23, several lacrosse players held up their sticks as attendees passed beneath.

McDougall passed away on Sept. 16 at Wellington Hospice at the age of 46 after battling kidney issues for several years. He is survived by his three children.

McDougall was a longtime coach and president of Arthur Aces Minor Lacrosse Association, (AAMLA). His love for the sport was passed down from his parents Ron and Linda, who founded Arthur Minor Lacrosse in the early '90s.

McDougall came up through the Elora minor lacrosse program and later starred for the Guelph Regals junior B team. During his time, he made 117 goals over the span of 93 games and served as its captain.

“I know that he was one of the one of the top scorers there,” said Reg Holinshead, now the president of Arthur Minor Lacrosse. “I believe he's still in the top 10 for scoring for their junior B team after all these years so he ... was pretty good there obviously.”

Holinshead didn’t get the opportunity to play with McDougall, but said players who did get to play alongside McDougall said he was very skilled.

Growing up, McDougall also played with Arthur Minor Ball, Arthur Minor Hockey and Arthur Tigers Hockey. He dedicated much of his time coaching both his boys in lacrosse and hockey and his daughter in ringette, baseball, and hockey.

Prior to his passing, McDougall had been the president of AAMLA since 2014. Holinshead said he would have done things like organizing all of the teams in Arthur, from children as young as four, to adult teams.

“Basically, everything that falls under the umbrella of Arthur Minor Lacrosse is ultimately the responsibility of the president,” Holinshead said. “So organizing tournaments, organizing coaches, organizing volunteers, ordering jerseys, ordering equipment, all that kind of stuff.”

Holinshead said McDougall was the often seen coaching various teams and supporting the league by filling in as an assistant coach when needed. He added that McDougall often advocated for smaller clubs in Zone 8, a zone that contained municipalities from Owen Sound to Brantford.

“He would always worry about the smaller clubs and the cost and all that kind of stuff,” Holinshead said. “The larger clubs would have hundreds and hundreds of kids playing, but in smaller clubs – like ourselves with 150 players, couldn't afford some stuff … he was always a good spokesperson for the smaller clubs.”

The Ontario Lacrosse Association held a moment of silence in honour of McDougall during their Board of Directors meeting on Oct. 4. And the AAMLA is working on a plan to commemorate McDougall’s memory after donations were made to the club in his honour, according to its website.

Celebration of life for McDougall was held at the Arthur Community Centre in September.