Recently, the Luxembourg Federation of Lacrosse and the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) successfully organised a Lacrosse Camp for beginners as well as experienced players here in Luxembourg.

The camp hosted over 75 female and male players over three days from 19 to 21 October at their fields in Cessange. The FIL only accepted Luxembourg Lacrosse as associate member in 2017, not even a year after a handful of people got together with founder Pit Bingen to formally establish Luxembourg Lacrosse a.s.b.l. in November 2016. Since then, Lacrosse has gained popularity in Luxembourg, highlighted by the participation of a men’s team at the World Championships in Netanya, Israel in July 2018.

The Lacrosse Camp was run with strong support from both FIL, who brought five coaches over, and sponsors Arch Level Lacrosse, who donated prizes, and Captain Lax who helped with equipment for the event. The FIL coaches included highly experienced and former Team USA head coach Jack Emmer who won the World Championship in 2002 as well as highly experienced coaches Jack Kaley, Rick Mercurio, Jane Pirie and Joanne Lignelli. The coaches were led by Mercurio, Development Chair with the FIL, commented on the camp: “We were delighted to see large numbers of players and how they enjoyed the camp. Having seen the local level of commitment and organisation, we are hopeful for the future of the game in Luxembourg”. Luxembourg Lacrosse Development Officer Henning Schmidt commented on the camp, confirming that he was happy with the outcome. He elaborated: “The main thing is to take this forward into the league now, new players, new knowledge, new connections to teachers, the whole package”.

The first national team campaign to the World Cup did not yield a win for the team and the Luxembourgish club team equally missed a win in the Belgian Lacrosse League by one goal, Schmidt clarified his view on wins: “Winning is nice, but improvement is essential. The wins will come, but only if we gain them from a broad base. This camp showed our players how much there is to learn about this great game and how much fun improvement is. I am confident we can reap the benefits of this in practice and, eventually, in the form of a win or two.”

The next match for the Luxembourg men’s team, the Blacksmiths, in the Belgian Lacrosse league is against Opueye Foxes on 18 November who came back from a three goal deficit for a one goal win at the Blacksmiths’ league debut. Schmidt, who also volunteers as head coach, commented on the game: “We are so excited about this game. Three more weeks to get ready, develop our players some more and then give the Foxes more of what we showed in that first 3-0 quarter. This camp is a great step in the right direction.”

The women’s team of Luxembourg, the Black Lynx, also profited a lot from the camp. They continuously look for new players willing to learn the game of Lacrosse and grow the game. The Black Lynx also play in the Belgian League and will send players to a game on the following Sunday, 18 November, in Namur. Schmidt commented: “The girls are an integral and essential part of our club and we work hard towards establishing a competitive side. This game will show our players what we are or are not ready for and how we can improve – very exciting opportunity.”

But it is not only the Belgian league Luxembourg Lacrosse wants to be ready for. The next men’s European Championship is 21 months away in Wroclaw, Poland. President Bingen commented: “Playing for Luxembourg is a huge privilege and competing in Israel showed us what we need to do. Our formal campaign will begin next spring, after a long and busy 2018 full of growth and successes”. The team is presently inviting all interested players and coaches to register their interest with the Federation via email to management@lacrosse.lu or via their webpage at www.lacrosse.lu.

For latest updates on games, events and chances to train, see https://www.facebook.com/LuxembourgLacrosse/