Dame, graduating in 2001, and was an up-and-coming college coach at another Jesuit institution, Scranton. He helped build libraries and worked in schools on service trips to third-world countries like El Salvador, Guatemala and Ecuador. But it wasn’t until Dugan visited Uganda, the East African country Winston Churchill once called “the pearl of Africa,” that he decided to make this his life’s work. He remembers Nikibira Fort, an 8-year-old whose father had AIDS and whose mother was HIV-positive, nearly falling over in laughter the first time she played with a lacrosse stick in Uganda’s rural Kkindu village.
Dugan founded Fields of Growth in May 2009 and built a lacrosse compound in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. He established a volunteer corps that brought American stars like Rob Pannell, Tom Schreiber, Chad Wiedmaier, Ryan Flanagan and John Christmas overseas not only to teach lacrosse, but also to help construct a school in Kkindu. Nearly 100 volunteers have completed Fields of Growth missions — which include farming, landscaping, brick making, digging and village outreach.
After lunch, Dugan addresses the team. He recently had returned from an FIL general assembly meeting.
“I want you guys to know how excited they are to have 38 countries here representing six continents in the world. Only one country was able to take it from five to six continents. That is you, Uganda, representing the continent of Africa,” Dugan says. Dugan’s speech turns toward
Uganda’s first opponent, Ireland, a team with many U.S.-born players. “It is going to test your
brotherhood. It is going to test your spirit and mental toughness,” he says. “And it’s also going to test your pride. You are talented athletes. You are proud men. You are proud Ugandans. As friends of yours, as brothers and sisters of yours, we want to see effort and a team spirit that won’t break.”
34 LACROSSE MAGAZINE September 2014>>
“We’ve been sleeping in the hallways, taking our mattresses out and putting them in front of all the doors,” Dugan says. “They let us know, ‘We want to go back and be ambassadors for lacrosse.’”
*** 5.43
POINTS PER GAME SCORED BY CHINA’S TYLER BUCHAN (WHEELING JESUIT), TOPS AMONG ALL PLAYERS.
Uganda has become the darling of Denver, the envy of every selfie- seeking fan and player. The team will receive a raucous ovation just walking in the stands at the U.S.- Iroquois game.
Getting here was not easy. Dixon had to raise enough money (about $150,000) to show the Ugandan and U.S. governments Fields of Growth could cover the cost to bring the players home. Defection is a real concern, especially after the 2012 Olympics in London. More than a dozen African athletes went missing there.
“We’ve been sleeping in the hallways, taking our mattresses out and putting them in front of all the doors,” Dugan says. “They let us know, “We want to go back and be ambassadors for lacrosse.’” It took some political maneuvering by U.S. Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, a former player at Maryland, and an 11th-hour visit to the U.S. embassy in Kampala by coach Andrew Boston to convince the government to issue visas. Boston, the former Delaware player who worked in northern Uganda for two years with the Peace Corps, traveled 12 hours
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©SCOTT MCCALL (ALL)
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68