Kitchener, Ontario, is home to more than 550,000 people and the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves, the area’s Ontario Jr. A team.
While coming up in the sport, Buffalo Bandits forward Dhane Smith played for the Braves, which have been in operation for more than 50-consecutive years.
Smith is one of the great success stories out of the program, but he’s not the only talent to come through the Braves. From 1986 to 1990, Carl Becker was the name.
Becker was important to five successful seasons for the Braves, which included bringing two Founders Cup titles back to the Kitchener area in 1987 and 1988. From there, he went on to win the Mann Cup in 1993 with John Tavares and the Brampton Excelsiors, then claimed a Presidents Cup 10 years later in 2003 with the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, bringing glory back to Kitchener one-and-a-half decades after reaching the mountaintop with the Braves.
Becker has been a fixture in the community for some time, but unfortunately hard times have befallen him and his family. A couple months ago, Becker was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and pituitary adenoma. The cancer hospitalized the Kitchener lacrosse legend, and his family and friends created a Go Fund Me to help cover expenses while he undergoes treatment.
The stated original goal was $10,000. Now not even two months after starting the fundraiser, nearly $25,000 have been raised to help the Becker family. Though the original post said Carl Becker might even be angry to know the Go Fund Me existed because he “would not have asked for help,” the latest update from Sept. 28 said he is “very thankful for the wonderful friends he has and vowed to beat this terrible disease.”
It’s a difficult time for the world right now, and for the Becker family, something especially heinous has been added on top. We wish for Carl Becker’s recovery and positivity for the Kitchener lacrosse community.
