Valentine James Roche was a Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee who was considered the father of lacrosse in North Burnaby. After the Second World War, the British born editor of the Burnaby Advertiser newspaper found sponsors, coaches and managers for the sport. But his contributions weren’t limited to lacrosse.

Roche was also a life member of the B.C. Junior and Juvenile Soccer Association, which he helped found. For more than 30 years, he either coached or managed teams. In addition, Roche was instrumental in forming and administering the Silver, Bronze and Emerald Glove junior boxing tournaments.

Roche made such an impact, renowned Vancouver Sun columnist Dick Beddoes, even though he was in Seattle to interview legendary baseball manager Leo Durocher at the time, wrote a column about Roche after his death in 1958 calling Roche “a major leaguer in minor athletics.”