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Down Memory Lane - Doug Zack
Down Memory Lane Articles - by Stan Shillington


Doug "Old Folks" Zack, on June 5, 1999, played in his 200th senior lacrosse game.

"But that's not even half the number of games in which I've participated", Coquitlam's personable netminder corrects.

And he's absolutely right. Rummaging through old score sheets reveals that he also stripped as backup goalie in another 220 games, which makes the actual number of games Zack has under his belt at 420.

Update:
Doug hung up his pads after the 2002 season at the age of 42, having played a total of 247 games and stripping as the backup netminder for another 253 for an even 500 games.

Age and his good-natured personality wear well on Zack's broad shoulders. It makes him the ideal TEAM player, a steadying influence on his younger teammates whether on the game's battlefield or behind the scenes.

Born in Edmonton, Doug moved with his family to British Columbia at the age of 12 and, before long, he and his two brothers joined the Coquitlam Minor Lacrosse system. His siblings dropped out at the Intermediate age level but Doug graduated to the Junior Adanacs in 1979. In the next three years, he twice captured the Monty Leahy Trophy as the league's top goalie and was named to the All-Star Team on two occasions.

After graduating from the Junior level in 1981, Doug was drafted fifteenth overall by the New Westminster Salmonbellies. Six seasons later, he was traded for a first-round draft pick to the fledgling Richmond Outlaws, later renamed the Burnaby Lakers.

But, by 1991, lacrosse had lost its appeal for Doug. Time was needed to sort out some personal problems; therefore, it was time to hang up his stick and equipment.

"I just wasn't having fun anymore", Doug later told a reporter. "I was tired of playing every summer. It takes a lot out of you."

That was before he got calls from Salmonbellies' coach and close friend in 1994, urging him to join their club as a backup to goalie .

"They wanted someone with experience," Zack recalled. "My first thought when they asked me to come back was that I couldn't see this happening. I mulled it over for a week before making up my mind".

Doug rediscovered his love for the game, staying with the 'Bellies for four seasons. Then, in 1998, he returned to his lacrosse roots and joined the Coquitlam Adanacs.