Brett Bucktooth credits his success on the lacrosse turf to no one other than his father. Brett's dad, Freeman Bucktooth, had lacrosse sticks in his four boys hands as soon as they were old enough to pick them up. Freeman would take Brett and his brothers to the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University to watch the Orangemen lacrosse team play and he would instruct them to study players like Gary and Paul Gait. After all, Freeman had played for Syracuse and the Dome was only about seven miles from the Bucktooth residence on the Onandaga Territory.
"It was almost in our back yard," recalled Brett. "My dad would take me and my brothers to the games. The Gait's were our favorite players to watch."
The whole time sitting in the bleachers, Freeman would instruct his son's to watch and learn. Freeman was an accomplished player and coach himself and he always knew what his boys should be paying attention to.
"He always picks up the little things and he would tell us what we should be watching," said Brett. "He's a very smart guy, especially when it comes to lacrosse and I'm always willing to listen."
Taking the lessons learned from their father, the Bucktooth boys would race home from the games to try the things that they had just seen the Syracuse players do.
"We would go home and try the backhand shots, the fancy moves and all kinds of new shots we would see. If we were not playing, we were practicing," said Brett.
The boys could never get enough lacrosse and would even play in their basement.
"It helped us develop quick-sticks and fancy moves in tight areas. It was always fun too," Brett recalled. These skills he learned would become key elements of Brett's game as his career progressed in hopes of one day playing in the NLL.
As the boys grew older, Brett followed in his dad's footsteps up the road to the Carrier Dome, where he would join the Orangemen. There his career took off. He was a two-time All-American and helped Syracuse to an NCAA Championship in 2004, which was on the heels of winning a Minto Cup with St. Catharines in the Ontario Lacrosse Association in the summer of 2003.
"Those (championships) are two of my proudest lacrosse accomplishments," said Bucktooth. "They helped my confidence grow."
With championships and honors under his belt, Brett was noticed by many NLL scouts heading into last season's draft. But it was Darris Kilgour, Head Coach and GM of the Buffalo Bandits, who seemed to have the most interest.
"I had spoken with Darris and was kind of thinking I may get drafted (by the Bandits)," said Bucktooth.
With that in mind the new college grad made the trek to Madison Square Garden, site of the 2006 Entry Draft. It wasn't long into the draft that Bucktooth heard his name called as he was taken with the third overall selection by the Bandits.
"I was very excited to join the Bandits," said Bucktooth. But he knew finding his place on the defending Eastern Divisional Champions roster would be no easy task.
"The toughest part for me was finding a role on a championship caliber team. I didn't want to step on anyones toes and I just tried to fit in where I could to help the team win," said Brett.
At training camp he continued to follow the advise of his father and studied his new Bandits teammates to see what he could learn.
"My dad helped me keep an open mind when it comes to lacrosse," he explained. "You're never too old to learn more about the game and you never know when you can pick up something new."
Brett's hard work and attention to detail paid off and he made the Buffalo rosters.
The transition went smoothly and he played 11 games for Buffalo in his rookie season and scored 26 points. At every home game Brett's family would cheer him on from the bleachers. His dad would sit there and watch, still offering advice to Brett whenever he sees something that might help.
But nowadays, Brett's father passes most of his knowledge on to Brett's own son, 2-year old 'Brett Jr", as they would sit in the Buffalo crowd watching Brett Sr. play.
Like Brett Sr. watched the Gait's, Brett Jr. needs to look no further than watching his own dad play.
"Having family and supporters, you can't ask for anything more than that," said Bucktooth.
The Bandits narrowly missed a shot at the 2007 NLL Championship Game this season, but Brett is looking forward to another shot in 2008.
This summer Brett spends his time as a full-time father and squeezing in lacrosse where he can and he even tries to squeeze in coaching youth lacrosse.
"As my son gets older I'll be cutting back on playing and start focusing more on coaching," said Brett.
"I owe my whole career to my dad," Brett said. "It has come full circle."
