Aamjiwnaang athlete starring with National Lacrosse League’s Rochester Knighthawks
By Sam Laskaris
AAMJIWNAANG FIRST NATION – Kyle Jackson is fulfilling his childhood dream. Jackson, a member of Aamjiwnaang First Nation in southwestern Ontario, is in his third season starring with the Rochester Knighthawks, members of the professional National Lacrosse League.
“Ever since I picked up a lacrosse stick at age three, I knew I wanted to be a pro,” said Jackson, who is now 25. “But I didn’t know how I would get there.”
Lacrosse was the first sport that Jackson was allowed to play.
“My dad wasn’t able to register me for hockey when I was three,” he said. “But he was able to sign me up for lacrosse then.”
Jackson ended up playing a number of other sports while growing up in Sarnia, a city adjacent to his First Nation. In addition to lacrosse and hockey, he also played tennis and was on basketball, volleyball, badminton and cross-country running clubs.
Though he aspired to be a pro lacrosse player rather early in his life, Jackson said he decided to focus on achieving his dream early on in high school.
At that time, he had been drafted to play Junior A lacrosse with the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves.
So he gave up all his other sports in order to focus on lacrosse.
“It was a huge time commitment driving to Kitchener three to four times a week,” he said.
Jackson ended up playing five seasons with the Braves, members of the Ontario Lacrosse Association. He racked up some rather impressive numbers with the organization, accumulating 258 points, including 140 goals, in 87 games.
Before turning pro, Jackson also played four seasons of field lacrosse at the University of Michigan. He was the team’s MVP in his senior year in 2016.
Jackson then had an immediate impact in his first season with the Knighthawks. He earned 60 points, including 26 goals, in 16 regular season outings.
As a result, besides being named to the league’s all-rookie team, Jackson was also the runner-up in voting for the NLL’s top rookie in 2017.
Jackson improved his stats in his sophomore season with the Rochester club. He collected 73 points (37 goals and 36 assists) in 18 matches.
As for this year, both Jackson and the Knighthawks are off to a somewhat slow start.
After winning their season opener, the Rochester side is on a three-game losing streak.
“We know we’re capable of much bigger things,” Jackson said.
He added there is no panic setting in the Knighthawks’ dressing room. Last season the squad lost six consecutive games but still advanced to the NLL’s championship finals.
“Getting back to the finals is our first goal,” Jackson said. “And winning it this time is our main goal.”
Jackson also has an individual goal he had established heading into the current campaign.
“One of my biggest goals is to increase my assists production,” he said. “It would result in my teammates having better success.”
Rochester’s next game is this Saturday, at home against the Buffalo Bandits.
The NLL this season features 11 entrants, including four Canadian franchises. They are the Toronto Rock, Calgary Roughnecks, Vancouver Warriors and the defending league champion Saskatchewan Rush.
Also taking part are the Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, New England Black Wolves, as well as two squads that are first-year entries, Philadelphia Wings and San Diego Seals.
During his downtime from being a pro lacrosse player, Jackson works at The Hill Academy, a private sports school in Vaughan, Ont. He has a number of responsibilities at the school which include helping to coach the three lacrosse clubs at the school, performing as the academy’s marketing coordinator, and teaching a post-graduate leadership class.