Kahnawake makes its mark at Regionals
The Nations Elite Club Team, with coaches Al Jones and Curtis Diabo and local players Darris Jones, Ioteseronties Marcus Diabo, and Rowehrenhatie Jacobs, only allowed four goals during the round-robin portion of their Regional Championships but ultimately needed overtime to clinch an invitation to the National Championships in Columbus, Ohio, in September.
Two teams with ties to the community have qualified for the United States Box Lacrosse National championships this September, winning their respective divisions at the Six Nations Regional Championships held in Allegany and Salamanca, New York, over the weekend.
In Salamanca, a team from Kahnawake, the U11 Future Elite, won their age group by besting the Wolfpack 7-2 in the championship game.
“I’m definitely proud. The kids put in a lot of work. They were very dedicated
to the schedule that we had used for training. The commitment level was really high,” said Justus Polson-Lahache, an assistant coach for the Future Elite team.
“Just being rewarded for their hard work was something special to see.”
It was extra special as the Wolfpack was undefeated prior to that point and had given the Future Elite their two losses during round-robin play by scores of 7-6 and 7-4.
Polson-Lahache said that the win showed that the players could fight through adversity and through the pressure of going up against a team that had previously beaten you twice.
“They were all very high spirited, and they were all confident that they were going to win. I think that translated onto the floor when we actually went out to play them and we had control of the entire game,” said Polson-Lahache.
Future Elite played their game, controlling pace and playing aggressively, forcing the Wolfpack to just throw the ball down the rink on possessions that went nowhere.
Part of that comes from the coaching of Miles Thompson, the ex-National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Division 1 NCAA lacrosse player, who is head coach of the team and has seen it all.
“You can’t beat the way he sees the game. He’s played at such a high level, his experience is unmatched. He’s teaching it to our kids, and they’re learning from the best,” said the team’s manager, Orahkwase McGregor.
Future Elite defeated the other team, the Tusky Tomahawks, 12-0 and 12-2.
McGregor also pointed to the balanced approach on attack as being a big factor to their success in the tournament, with all players contributing on the scoresheet.
“It was really nice to see them finally passing the ball, making plays, setting picks. It was a really good show,” said McGregor.
Polson-Lahache said their success is a testament to their growth this year, doing better and better in each tournament they took part in building up to this win.
He said they will be looking at how they can get to the tournament in September without charging parents to compensate for the huge expense of travelling to Ohio – participation in the Future Elite program is free to make sure anyone can take part, he said.
Down the road from one example of developing lacrosse players was another; the U18 Nations Elite team went undefeated in Allegany, going 3-0 in the round robin portion and winning in overtime 6-5 over the Hellbenders.
Al Jones was head coach of the team, with Curtis Diabo acting as an assistant. Three players from Kahnawake joined them, with Al’s son Darris, Curtis’s son Ioteseronties Marcus, and Rowehrenhatie Jacobs on the team made up of players from all over the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
“Our offence really moved around the ball well. We have really high-end players,” said Jones, who also noted their experience level in tournament play like this and in their regular leagues at the junior level.
“Anytime you get guys from that level of lacrosse, it just makes your team that much stronger. They all knew what to do. It wasn’t hard for them to find the open holes,” said Jones.
The same goes for the defensive side of the ball, playing a defensive system that is easy to adjust to no matter if you have played with the others on the floor or not. Combined with great play from goaltender Caias John, they scored 28 goals in the round-robin portion and only allowed four in three games – beating the Hellbenders 5-3, the Free Agent Team 11-0, and the Jr. Buffalo Bandits 12-1.
Jones praised his assistant coach Curtis for his help on the defensive side of the game.
“He has a lot of coaching experience under his belt, and then it just trickles down to the team. To see the coaches being confident makes the players have more confidence,” said Jones.
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It was a little more dicey in the finals, with a back-and-forth game that finished in overtime against the Hellbenders, the team that gave them the most trouble during the round robin.
Jones noted his players’ confidence once again shining through, never panicking and staying in the game throughout.
“When you start panicking and start stretching the floor out, letting guys in, it makes it tough for the goalie. Our team just stayed composed, even with the overtime, and we came out on top. That comes down so much to experience, it just helps with the strategy we ran,” said Jones.
The Nations Elite team will be participating in the National Championships in September, playing against teams from other regions who did well in their regionals, but in the months between now and the tournament, it will be tough to get much more time together since players come from all over.
Instead, they will rely on their league play to stay sharp, along with participating in more tournaments together.
“Just to get them accustomed with each other and really get prepared for this – it’s a very big tournament with four other champions, so it’s not going to be an easy feat. We know we have to get prepared,” said Jones.
