It all started when his son picked up a stick.
Ernie Truant’s son Al joined a friend who, when hockey season ended, played lacrosse.
From that simple choice, it added a new interest for the whole family, where the dad would take on various volunteer duties and end up as commissioner of numerous leagues.
Through 42 years of involvement, the senior Truant’s dedication has remained steady – even after a stroke briefly sidelined him.
Now, the Burnaby native is among nine people – with his honour coming in the builders’ category – who are the class of 2016 as Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductees.
“It was a real surprise – I know my name was put in by a friend of mine, but I didn’t think it would go much further,” said Truant, 75. “It’s an honour, for sure.”
The current Western Lacrosse Association commissioner, Truant’s roots in the sport began by following his son.
“One day he came home with this stick and I asked him what he was doing. (Al) said his friends play this game and that he liked it, so what was I to do?”
What he did was pick up the mantle and started volunteering, including coaching and managing duties in Burnaby minor, overseeing teams at the Richmond box in Edmonds and McLean box on Rumble.
“I tried to do what I could,” he said. “I liked coaching kids. Now you see kids you coached and they have their own families.”
He even coached fellow 2016 inductee and Burnaby boxla legend Dan Stroup (whom the NOW will profile, along with fellow inductee Russ Heard, in an upcoming story).
Truant went on to coach the New Westminster junior A Salmonbellies during a period of resurgence. He would win coach of the year honours three times behind New West’s bench, and recalls those days with great fondness.
“A highlight certainly was with that team,” he recalled. “I was very fortunate when John van Os and Murray Lehman asked me to coach them in 1991. They hadn’t been in the playoffs for a few years and we kind of got on a good roll.”
Early in the 1994 season, however, the San Vito, Italy-born coach was watching another game when former firefighter and Burnaby native Sohen Gill asked him if he felt okay.
“I said I was okay, but he said I was white as a sheet. I’d blown one (heart) valve in half and my lungs were filling with blood.”
The heart attack Truant suffered required an emergency tracheotomy. While he recovered, Stan Stewardson took over the coaching reins as the Salmonbellies went on to win its first Minto Cup in 34 years.
Truant attended the final two games and saw New West eke out its last junior A national title in a series that went seven games.
When he returned to the game a year later, he eventually took on the heavy lifting as a commissioner for leagues at the senior and junior levels.
By his side all the while has been his wife of 53 years Anna.
“You don’t do these things alone. It’s a family commitment and (Anna) has always been a great supporter of mine,” he said.
A retired carpenter and house builder, Truant said being inducted into the Hall of Fame is a special honour. While he made a strong recovery from the 1994 heart attack, the effects of the tracheotomy has implied a gruff, tough demeanor despite his natural warm, engaging personality.
But Truant is someone who prefers a short-yet-sweet means to get his message across.
“I never yelled as a coach, not even when my voice was there,” he said. “The kids always knew what we wanted, and they did it.”
He plans to keep his acceptance speech as brief as possible, reflecting on all those he’d like to thank in person.
“I can tell you now I’m not making a big speech,” he said with a chuckle.
Also being honoured among the class of 2016 are, as players, Russ Heard, Dan Stroup, and Ontarians Cam Devine, Tom Phair Jr. and Don Stinson, veterans Zenon Lipinski and Jim McNeill, and fellow builder Ziggy Musial.
The formal induction banquet and ceremony will be held Nov. 12 at the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in New Westminster.
