To have the opportunity to play and win a gold medal for my country was surreal and a highlight of my lacrosse career.
and a highlight of my lacrosse career. I was first introduced to lacrosse when
Unique Identity of a Blue-Collar Game
Canada has made big strides in producing field players, but its roots will always be indoors
By Brodie Merrill I
t has been an interesting evolution for lacrosse in Canada since we first won the gold medal in 1978. The game has grown and the landscape
of lacrosse has changed dramatically. More players are playing high-level field lacrosse, and the knowledge and understanding of the field game has increased. And although the lacrosse infrastructure has grown dramatically, the unique identity and culture of Canadian lacrosse continues. It doesn’t take very long to spot a Canadian playing in an NCAA game: high pocket, smooth skills, two-handed
A Publication of US Lacrosse
cradle, and unorthodox dodges that rarely involve switching hands. As much as the game is changing
in our country and resembling a more Americanized version of lacrosse, the roots of the Canadian game still exist. If you examine the 1978 team and the 2014 team, you likely will see more similarities than differences. When I reflect on my early days in the
game, I never would have imagined playing for the national team. It wasn’t a goal of mine because it didn’t seem realistic. To have the opportunity to play and win a gold medal for my country was surreal
my parents, both phys-ed teachers, brought home a couple of the wooden sticks from class. I never gave the sport a second thought; once the novelty wore off, the sticks collected dust in the back of our garage while I continued playing other more mainstream sports. In Montreal, like most parts of Canada, organized lacrosse didn’t really exist, and if it did, it was hard to find. This all changed when my family moved to the small town of Orangeville, Ontario, which is about an hour north of Toronto. Lacrosse is a big part of the culture
and community there. Other sports like soccer and baseball were frowned upon amongst my peers. You played hockey in the winter and lacrosse in the summer. That’s how it goes for most Canadian lacrosse players. We joke that most NLL lacrosse players are just failed hockey players. Hockey definitely has an underlying influence on Canadian lacrosse. The combination between physicality and skill translates to lacrosse, and the two sports share a lot of the same unspoken rules or “code.” Being unselfish, sticking up for your teammates, playing an honest, blue-collar game is the Canadian way for both hockey and lacrosse. This resonated throughout my time playing lacrosse in Orangeville. We are lucky in Canada to have
so many great people in the game and so many different competitive experiences, which teach you strong values through the game Continued on page 57
July 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 55
©JACK DEMPSEY
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