Nipissing First Nation lacrosse member to join brother at Humboldt State University

By Sam Laskaris

MERRITT, B.C. – When he starts playing university lacrosse, Connor Kaboni will be well acquainted with one of his teammates.

That’s because the 17-year-old has signed a letter of intent with Humboldt State University, the same California school that his older brother Clinton attends.

The brothers were born in North Bay and their mother Kerri is a member of Nipissing First Nation.

Since 2014, they have been living in Merritt, B.C., with their father Wayne, a member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory.

Clinton Kaboni is a freshman at Humboldt State, located in the city of Arcata. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he remained home in Merritt and is taking his first-year Business classes online.

Humboldt State’s lacrosse squad competes in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League’s Division II, a circuit comprised of teams from California and Nevada.

Because of the pandemic, however, Humboldt State will not participate in its spring season this year.

The brothers are now hoping to commence their in-person classes at Humboldt State this coming August and start training with its lacrosse club in the fall.

“It’s going to be amazing,” said Connor Kaboni, who is a Grade 12 student at Merritt Secondary School. “I’m so excited.”

Connor Kaboni, who is hoping to follow in his brother’s footsteps and study Business at Humboldt State, said it was an easy decision for him when it came time to pick a post-secondary school.

“I used to love playing with him,” he said. “I thought why not go where my brother is and play there with him.”

The last time the siblings had suited up for the same team was back in 2018 when they represented an Indigenous squad at the B.C. Summer Games in Duncan.

There is also a chance the brothers might have an opportunity to suit up for the same team before they do so at Humboldt State.

Connor Kaboni is hoping to play for the Kamloops Venom, a Junior B squad, this spring and summer. And his brother just might play for the club as well.

But because of the pandemic, it remains to be seen whether the Venom, members of the Thompson-Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League, will have a 2021 season.

Connor Kaboni is also hoping to play some tournaments this summer in California, with Goon Lacrosse, a program for elite players.

Goon Lacrosse is headed up by Mario Waibel, who is also the head coach of California’s Sierra Canyon School, a private school located in the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth.

Clinton Kaboni transferred to Sierra Canyon while he was in Grade 10 and completed his high school studies there.

Connor Kaboni believes he’ll be ready to step into the Humboldt State lineup as a rookie.

“I do believe I’m ready,” he said. “But I’m still training every day.”

The thought of attending a Canadian university had crossed the younger Kaboni’s mind. He was planning to apply to B.C.’s Simon Fraser University, in large part because they have a men’s lacrosse team.

But Humboldt officials promptly responded to him when he inquired about the possibility of joining his brother at the school.

“They got back to me right away,” he said. “So, I didn’t apply to SFU seeing that I had the opportunity at Humboldt. I decided to go there.”