Hitting the Road: Young lacrosse players can't wait to travel stateside

Some excited lacrosse players on P.E.I. are ready to hit the road as part of the first team to represent the Island in a U.S. tournament.

On the weekend of July 16-1725 players, aged 15 to 16, from the team calling themselves theP.E.I. Mobwill travel to Pennsylvania to join more than 140 other squads.

Head coach Dave Walsh said it's all about more training opportunities.

"Last year we attended the nationals event in Halifax and that was a great experience for the boys," said Walsh.

"We decided that this year we'd see if we could get them a little more exposure to other teams at the U.S. level."

Growing opportunities

The sport has been growing a lot on P.E.I. recently. with registrants doubling this year from last. But the outdoor version is not as popular in Canada as it is in the states. That's where tournaments like this can give the players a great opportunity, said Walsh.

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"I think it's going to give them a lot of exposure to the way the Americans have been playing the game for quite some time. It will also give the Americans an opportunity to see how we play it up here," he said.

"It's going to be a great experience for the boys just tonot only play on the field but socialize with some of the players down there, learn some of the technique. We'll certainly talk with some of the other players and coaches and see what they have to teach us."

Walsh is looking at focusing on one skill in particular.

"We want to see more about the strategic side of the game:how do other teams perform their strategy, and we want to build on that." he said.

"You learn a lot from that, just from watching the other teams and seeing how they play."

Players can't wait to hit the field

And the boys are more than excited to go. The outdoor league at home is small, and the sport is fairly new to most players. Goalie and captainDavid Burke can't wait to get in the net.

"This is a big opportunity for us to go down somewhere where it's really popular and see how good they play, instead of like we have a two-team league here.It's a really big step up" he said.

He thinks the tournament will up his personal game too.

"Just harder shots for me."

Hope for the future

Coach Walsh saidthere are several P.E.I. players who have been recruited to the states, something that could happen at this tournament too. That excites attack and Captain Noah McNeill.

"It's just going to give me more of an opportunity because there's a lot more scouts down there and there's a lot more exposure for playing at the varsity level or university." he said

Bringing the first team from P.E.I. to the U.S. has assistant coach Colin McGuirk thinking about more players for next year.

"I think it will really interest kids like at a younger age and stuff like that, see the opportunities that they can have." he said.

The team is guaranteedfive games at the tournament, seven if they make it to the finals, which everyone on and off the field is convinced they will.

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