Brendan Bomberry has always been well known for scoring highlight goals.
Throughout the years, whether playing with the Six Nations Arrows, Six Nations Chiefs, Iroquois Nationals or in the NLL, this star who has played all over the globe, has always put up some lofty offensive numbers.
Along with lacrosse, Bomberry has shown a real flair for the pen as he recently showed his creative side and passion for lacrosse by coming out with a 450 page book by Turtle’s Back Publishing called Akhwatsirehko:wa My Big Family-Our Game, Our Experience, Our Way.
Naturally this publication which is being virtually released, includes lots of eye catching Six Nations content, including stories about the various lacrosse legends.
“I was approached in 2018 just after I had finished my degree at Syracuse about jumping aboard but I wanted to wait just because of how stressful school has been for me,” Bomberry said. “I eventually took a meeting with Turtle’s Back Publishing and I was hooked from there.”
Bomberry, who at three years-old had his own lacrosse stick cut down to size, went on to state,
“The book from start to finish took about two years. We talked to players like Randy Staats, Cody Jamieson, Lyle Thompson, Warren Hill, Brandon Montour, John Tavares, John Grant Sr, Bobby Allen and so many more. It’s geared towards adult literacy to help people find a book that they might find interesting but I think its good for all ages.”
Meanwhile co-authoring this book is another established lacrosse player in goalie Brennor Jacobs who is a good friend of Bomberry and has excelled playing Junior ‘A’ and ‘B’ in Six Nations, Wallaceburg, Toronto and London.
In the book’s beginning, Jacobs wrote, “Lacrosse is probably my favorite sport in the world. The sport has such a long history within my culture that it just seems natural that I have come to enjoy the game so much. Ever since I was a kid, I have had a passion for the game, and I would regularly attend games with my father and grandfather. I actually taught myself how to ready mostly through following the stats of the summer leagues and the National Lacrosse League.”
Readers will get to learn and get the inside scoop on not only players but also coaches, referees, stick makers, fans and builders of the game.
“The book talks about the various stories throughout our game that aren’t really told in the main stream media,” Bomberry said. “There are so many stories out there from people in our game and we wanted to bring that out to share with people.” Bomberry also went on to add,
“My highlight was definitely just finally seeing it all come together and be finished. It was a long road and a lot of work so to see the finished product was kind of surreal.”
This book also includes in depth stories of such lacrosse icons as John Tavares, Connor Wilson, Joakim Miller, Reilly Smith, Brendan Smith, Tim Wunderlich, Frank Lawrence, Keith Nyberg, Darris Kilgour, Allie Jimerson, Oliver Hill, and Jacelyn Lazore.
Reminiscing on the book, it was a big highlight for Bomberry meeting and hearing the unbelievable lacrosse tales from the high calibre lacrosse players from Peterborough such as Bobby Allan, and Johnny Davis.
The legendary stories are included in the chapter called, ‘A sit down with the Legends of Peterborough Lacrosse.
“I hope that people enjoy the book. It’s not a novel or anything like that. But there are a lot of different stories in there that I hope people can learn from and take away some things that will help them in their own lives,” Bomberry said.
A purpose to this book was to explore the three areas of lacrosse which are spirituality, intellectual scholarship and emotional well being.
“This is more than a sport,” said Alexandra Rosetta, publishing manager of Turtle’s Back Publishing. “It’s a way of life. It’s beautiful to hear people’s stories.”
Looking ahead, Bomberry is hoping this book will get people across Canada interested in the game of lacrosse.
“This has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my life,” Bomberry said. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of growing this amazing game that I love so much. To be able to do that while helping boost indigenous literacy is an amazing feeling.”
Writing this book is something that both Bomberry and Jacobs have always wanted to do. Now, they can sit back and admire the incredible in- depth lacrosse book which people are already talking about.
“It’s been an amazing and very rewarding process,” Jacobs said. “To be able to bring to light, and share all these incredible stories has been truly captivating. To hear just how far our sport has gone and how its strength has touched so many people around the world is very uplifting and as a Haudenosaunee person I really hope me and Bombs have written someindithing that captures that love and passion we both share for this game.”
Meanwhile, reflecting on what lacrosse means to him Bomberry responded.
“It’s tough for me to explain. It’s more than a game. It’s not just about wins and loses. It’s a traditional medicine game that I hold near and dear to my heart.”
