He's known to most in lacrosse circles as simply 'Doc,' although there's hardly anything elementary about Don Hedges' long-time involvement and dedication to the game and its players.
The current president of the Western Lacrosse Association's Coquitlam Adanacs, Hedges was among the 2011 inductees into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in the builder category, it was announced Tuesday.
Also joining Hedges is box player Dan Wilson, who played most his nine WLA seasons in the 1970s and '80s with the Adanacs.
Hedges has been involved with the Sr. 'A' Adanacs for 25 years, serving as the team's physician, director and president.
Along the way, he has offered his medical services to various other lacrosse factions such as the winter-pro Vancouver Ravens, Team Canada men's box squads, numerous Jr. 'A' squads and Simon Fraser University men's field squad, and even helped spearhead lacrosse development in Costa Rica.
"It's a great honour, no question, but my first reaction is I don't deserve it as much as some others," the ever-humble Hedges told The Tri-City News. "Why on earth did they pick me when there are so many others more deserving?"
Adanacs GM Les Wingrove, who, with Hedges, steered the team to five Mann Cup national finals and won in 2001, emphatically disagreed.
"Fantastic," was how Wingrove summed up his reaction to Hedges being honoured. "It's been overdue for a while. He's an excellent choice. He's given so much of his time, money and energy... not just to the Adanacs, but he's helped many players in the entire WLA, too. It's nice to see people get honoured who truly deserve to be honoured."
Meanwhile, Wilson was named WLA rookie of the year in 1979 on way to winning three straight first-team all-star selections. He also led the Adanacs to the 1980 World Box Lacrosse Championship crown, netting tournament MVP honours as a result. In 205 WLA regular season and playoff games, Wilson racked up 238 goals and 386 assists for 624 points. He also won a Mann Cup ring toward the end of his career with the New Westminster Salmonbellies in 1985.
