by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
“My advice to a young-student athlete would be to invest in your education,” said Ty Logan. “A degree is something nobody can ever take away from you. You learn a lot of transferrable soft skills from school that can be used in the workplace and in a sports team setting. Due to the increase of injuries, you are not guaranteed to play sports to make a living forever; your education and work experience will ensure you have something to fall back on to have a good life after sports.”
Ty Logan is a 5’11 rookie defensive player for the New England Black Wolves in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
“I am a Mohawk from the Six Nations Reservation located 20 minutes south of Hamilton, Ontario but currently live in Ottawa, Ontario,” said Ty. “My parents are Wilfred and Natasha Logan.”
Ty Logan plays for the Iroquois Nationals. He shared his recent experiences: “Represented the Iroquois Nationals at the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships (WILC) in Langley, British Columbia where we won a silver medal. Signing an NLL contract is one thing, but being able to represent your people by playing for the Iroquois Nationals is a whole other world. Playing for the Iroquois provided myself a chance to represent my people by playing our sport that we created and love.”
“This is my rookie season playing for the New England Blackwolves,” said Ty. “You can ask anyone who plays indoor lacrosse and they’ll tell you their dream is to play in the NLL. I didn’t take the same path to get here that a lot of guys do. I never entered the draft and honestly never really thought about playing in the NLL. I graduated University and immediately started working a corporate job. Lacrosse was a way to relieve stress from my daily 9-5. The turning point was my play at the 2019 Presidents Cup tournament in Montreal that resulted in the Blackwolves signing me to a contract.”
Ty also competed with the Capital Region Axemen Sr. B Lacrosse (2018, 2019), Carleton University Varsity Lacrosse (2014–2018) and Six Nations Rebels Jr. B, Six Nations Arrows Jr A, and Akwesasne Indians Jr B.
“Everything I do always relates back to my immense value of family,” said Ty. “My grandfather, Wilfred Logan Sr, is famous for crafting his own traditional wooden lacrosse sticks, ‘The Logan Special’, that have been famous across North America. With that being said, lacrosse was always a key part of our family. I got my first stick from my grandpa, I learned how to run, pass and shoot from playing backyard lacrosse with all of my cousins.”
“Through my growth as an athlete, family still remains my core value,” said Ty. “Now, that I am a professional athlete, the biggest thing for me is to be a good role model for not only my own family, but for young athletes of Six Nations and all surrounding Indigenous communities as well. Coming from a community that faces poverty, alcoholism and heightened suicide rates, I think it’s vital that there are figures in the community that can exemplify a good standard to the younger generation. Most importantly I do not only want to promote athletics as an escape but moreover I want to promote the value of education just as much if not more.”
“I have been lucky enough to have some amazing coaches and teammates throughout my minor, junior, senior and professional career,” said Ty. “They helped shape me into the competitive athlete I am today. There are too many teammates to name but on the coaching side guys like Derrick General and Jason Johnson (Six Nations Jr B Rebels), Pat Merrill and Billy Greer (Six Nations Jr A Arrows), Brandon Francis (Akwesasne Jr B Indians), Joe Sullivan, Jamie Forester and Steph Collins (Capital Region Axemen), Clem D’orazio & Darryl Gibson (New England Blackwolves) all played a part in shaping me into the athlete I am.”
“There are three coaches I need to give a special shout out to,” said Ty.
“Tim Bomberry, Six Nations Minor Lacrosse Coach, was my coach throughout minor for as long as I remember,” said Ty. “He played a vital part in not only teaching me the game of lacrosse but he made sure I understood defensive systems from a young age. He also coached, two of my best friends growing up as well, teammate Douglas Jamieson (Goalie-New England Blackwolves) and Tyson Bomberry (Defence-New York Riptide). We not only learned a lot from Tim but we learned from each other growing up and continue to do so.”
“Just want to say how proud I am of Ty`s success in the NLL,” said Tim Bomberry. “I had the privilege of coaching Ty in his minor box lacrosse career with our Six Nations Minor Lacrosse system. Ty has always been a disciplined and hardworking student of the game. He always gave his best effort every time he hit the floor. He always listened to his coaches and worked hard at doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well. His route to the NLL was a little different than his close friends Tyson Bomberry and Doug Jamieson. He played one year with the Six Nations Arrows but then was away at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. He stayed there in the summers on internship programs and now has a successful career with Revenue Canada, in Ottawa. His passion for lacrosse did not wane as he played Jr. “B” lacrosse for Akwesasne and then for the Capital Region Axemen in Sr. “B”. His talent did not go unnoticed as his teammate Callum Crawford saw his ability and Ty became a member of the wolf pack in New England. I always knew that Ty had the talent, ability, and toughness to excel at the highest level in lacrosse. Now, anyone who plays against him or with him knows it as well.”
“I was a very proud minor coach when I watched these young men including Ty Logan, Dougie Jamieson, Tyson Bomberry, Brendan Bomberry, Kasen Tarbell, Brayden Hill, and Tehoka Nanticoke represent our Iroquois National Team at the World Indoor Box Lacrosse Championships back in September 2019. I name them only because I had the privilege of coaching them in minor lacrosse and got to see them mature into excellent lacrosse players and maybe leaning more to the defensive side of the floor. To see Ty excelling in his defensive role professionally for the Black Wolves as well as in his personal life away from the lacrosse arena is what every coach wants his players to have…. a life fulfilled!” added Tim.
“I owe a lot to Jason Tasse, Capital Region Axemen Head Coach, for helping me mature as an athlete,” said Ty. “Joining the Capital Region Axemen, Tasse was a proud of my style of play from watching me in Jr lacrosse and playing field lacrosse for Carleton University. The immediate impact Jason had was that he put me into a leadership role on the team in my first season by letting me pass on my systematic knowledge of lacrosse onto my teammates. This helped to not only develop my confidence in my play but also my confidence as a leader. Most importantly, Tasse always believed that I could play in the NLL even when I didn’t have the same amount of confidence in myself. I played the game because I loved the game, it was never my goal to get recruited to an NLL team, but it was his reassurance that helped to make that happen.”
Jason Tasse, Head Coach Ottawa Axemen, said: “Ty Logan is a rare, special kind of talent. He is the type of player championship teams are built around. I coach Ty in the summer where he plays for my team the Ottawa Axemen. We play in a tough, competitive men’s indoor league filled with NLL professional players, Ontario box players and Native Americans from the Akwesasne and Kahnawake Territories.”
“I recall the first time a met Ty years back,” said Jason. “He was a playing field lacrosse at Carleton University and we invited him to training camp knowing that he was going to stay in Ottawa for the summer as opposed to heading back home to Six Nations.”
“Ty appeared at camp and there was a presence about him that stood out immediately. He had this explosive power and unbelievable stick skill level you rarely see in transition defenders. I recall watching him over the first few practices and being so impressed with how quickly he could move. His size, power, agility and foot speed made him a valuable defensive weapon instantly. If he wasn’t striping players of the ball in 1:1’s, he was picking off passes and creating transition advantages regularly,” added Jason.
“Over the years, Ty’s progression was incredible not just as a player but also as a leader on our team,” said Jason. “In addition to being a dangerous defensive player given all his physical talents, he was also a very strategic thinker with exceptional sport IQ. As the coach, Ty was and is always willing to help identify mid game adjustments and share them. Unlike many players that get emotionally overcharged, Ty had the gift of being very professional in how he communicated with his teammates and bench staff to build strong respect-based relationships quickly and effectively. The best part of how Ty communicates with all those around him, is he does it with a smile and can always make light of any given situation which has a calming and focusing effect on the team culture.”
“No other player can I say I have gravitated to faster than Ty as a leader on the team, he is talented, professional and fun to be around. He is one of the pillars of our team that is a pleasure to build around. Not a practice or game has passed that Ty was not an impact. He is a key part of our teams continued success and we are lucky to have him with us,” added Jason.
“I also coach an indoor U16 team here in Ottawa and I often ask Ty to come out and work with the kids,” said Jason. “He never hesitates and the kids really appreciate his communication style and technical knowledge. Ty helped our U16 team win a Provincial title with his volunteerism and commitment to the game.”
“I am not surprised Ty is playing professional lacrosse, he demonstrated in our earliest days together that he was the total package. I am very proud of him and his accomplishments so far. He is just getting started,” added Jason.
“Glenn Clark, New England Black Wolves Head Coach, has only been my coach for a short period of time,” said Ty. “I have learned a lot from him and continue to do so. First off I have to thank him and all of the New England Blackwolves coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to play the game I love at the highest level. The thing I have learned the most from ‘Clarky’, would be the accountability aspect of playing lacrosse. He knows we are skilled and know how to play the game but most importantly as athletes, he demands us to be accountable for the work and effort we put into playing the game both on and off the floor.
“Ty has exceeded expectations coming out of camp,” said Glenn Clark. “He went from being a question mark on our depth chart to an integral part of our D.”
“He has a calm and professional demeanour. He is so coachable, takes constructive criticism and applies it immediately,” added Glenn.
“This is my rookie season so for sure I want to continue to play in the NLL for years to come,” said Ty. “I think the biggest change I want to make in the future is to move into a coaching role during the summer season, whether that be minor lacrosse or at the junior level. Stemming from my coaches, all have played a key part in making me the athlete I am today but moreover they have been positive role models to me. They took the time to invest in me, which is what I want to do moving forward as an athlete/ coach. I want to share my knowledge of the game with others.”
Photo Credit: New England Black Wolves
