The years keep coming, but Airdrie Mohawks back-up goaltender Rod Quinn is not ready to call it quits – at 61, the veteran shot-stopper for the Senior C team is the oldest player in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL).
“Every year, I keep thinking it’ll be my last year because I’ll be too old to play,” he said. “But then I come out and practice with these guys, and if I can keep up with them, I can probably keep up with anyone [in Senior C].”
Quinn said his lacrosse career started nearly 50 years ago. In the early 1970s, he played minor lacrosse for a team in the Calgary community of Fairview, before the club folded and he moved to another in Acadia. His junior lacrosse was played for the Calgary Junior B Shamrocks, Quinn said, but his career had to be postponed while he attended college. He studied at SAIT, and added he worked on drilling rigs during the summers to make enough money to pay his tuition.
After 25 years out of the game, Quinn said he started playing for an over-35 team in Calgary. Wanting more time on the floor, he contacted local Senior B teams to see if they’d have some room on their roster for a back-up goaltender.
“I had no visions of a comeback or anything like that – I just wanted some more shots,” he said. “I ended up with the Senior B Raiders [about 15 years ago].”
Quinn was a member of the Calgary Raiders for more than a decade, playing with and against many of his current Mohawks teammates. He said he joined the Airdrie squad three years ago.
“I just plain love it,” he said. “I’m just one of the guys in the dressing room. There’s nothing special about me or anyone else. We get changed, chirp each other during practices, and then go out and play the games.
“I’ve played with most of these guys, on and off, for the past 15 years.”
Quinn’s arrival coincided with an ongoing dynasty for the dominant Mohawks.
The ‘Hawks is, indisputably, the top Senior C team in Alberta – Airdrie has won three consecutive RMLL Senior C championships, and hasn’t lost a regular-season fixture or RMLL playoff game since 2015. It’s a win-streak that is currently more than 60 games long, and the team is boasting an 11-0 record this season.
“They’re good players and they’ve played together forever,” Quinn said. “When they got too old to be playing Senior B, their legs went, but their minds are still willing and they’ve got their hands.
“For many of them, after all the years they’ve been playing, it’s pretty intuitive.”
Like some of his teammates, Quinn said he has also adapted his playing style to accommodate his age.
“I’m not a reflex goalie anymore,” he said. “Over the years, you settle and just play the angles – predicting where the guys are going to shoot and just getting ready for the shot.”
While he tends to play just a few games per season – the team has two other goaltenders – Quinn said he fared well in his most recent outing between the sticks.
“The guys have been fantastic, and I hope it doesn’t end anytime soon,” he said.
“I’ve always made it clear that I’ll be the first one to know when it’s time not to play anymore. So far, I’ve been lucky that day hasn’t come yet.”
