Grow the Game®

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How does the Czech Republic Grow The Game?

As the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship 2015 moves even closer, we ask each nation exactly how they Grow The Game on home soil. These interviews reveal how each of the WILC nations work to not only grow the strengths of their national team, but how they are working to grow lacrosse throughout their country.

Now its time to look at lacrosse in the Czech Republic. We asked Pavel Semerák to share his experiences with growing the game, and to lay out the steps lacrosse in the Czech Republic needs to take to really make an impact.

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LAS: How would you describe the lacrosse scene and the growth of the game in the Czech Republic?

Semerák: As mentioned in our WILC 2015 preview, lacrosse in our country was started by Czechs only, without any help from abroad. This unique introduction to the sport makes lacrosse very special to the Czechs, as we bring our own style of play. Since we did not have any books, videos, or even coaches who “really knew” lacrosse, we had to invent our own strategies, signals, power-plays, box rinks, and so much more!

The Czech Republic has strong support for hockey and a rich history in the sport, so naturally we felt that indoor lacrosse would feel more familiar to us than the field version, thus we started playing box, or indoor, lacrosse.

In comparison with sports like hockey, football (soccer), or tennis, lacrosse is still a very small sport in the Czech Republic. But after the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship 2011 that were held in Prague, the TV broadcast of the event helped put us on the map among other serious sports in our country.

2014 AHM Ales Hrebesky Memorial box lacrosse Photo Credit Mika Ondrej
Photo Credit: Mika Ondrej

The Ales Hrebesky Memorial is also one of the world’s largest senior box lacrosse tournaments in the world, which is hosted in Radotin, just outside of Prague, annually. Teams from around world have flocked to the town for 22 years for the event and it’s provide to become a huge staple for the growth of the game in the Czech Republic.

On top of the Ales Hrebesky Memorial, there’s also the Winter Lax Cup Prague, the Tuten Cup Pilsen, and the Prague Cup.

What are some steps that those of us outside of the Czech Republic can take to better understand the culture?

Like I said, we “invented” our own style of lacrosse more than 50 years ago. We transformed to international lacrosse standards 20 years later, but the original spirit of people who started it is still there.

Czech-kids

Lacrosse players are part of a small but tight-knit community. Generally sports are a big phenomenon here in the Czech Republic. Everybody follows Jaromir Jagr, or Petr Čech, so we hope that someday every Czech people would follow Petr Poupe, Radek Skála, or other Czech lacrosse players.

What steps are being taken to grow the game locally in the Czech Republic? Quick follow-up, what are some of the long-term goals for future growth?

The only chance to truly improve and grow the game in our country is to focus on kids. It’s tough to compete with mainstream sports in the Czech Republic, but with devoted members of our community spending a huge amount of time teaching kids to play lacrosse, we believe we will succeed by making an impact with younger generations!

On the senior level, our plan is to establish some type of European professional lacrosse league that will connect all of the best box lacrosse clubs Europe. We believe that indoor lacrosse has big TV potential not only in the Czech Republic, but across Europe.

Are there any opportunities for volunteers to get involved with the growth of the game in the Czech Republic? If so, where can one find more information?

grow the game in the Czech Republic lacrosse

The best way for volunteers from outside of the Czech Republic to get involved is to contact the governing body directly and we will try to find the best fit for every volunteer.

What steps is the Czech Republic taking to elevate the national talent pool?

As mentioned above, we have to be focused on kids and youngsters. That is why we are spending a lot of effort and money on youth development along with sending our junior team to North America with seniors to be part of the World Lacrosse Challenge and WILC 2015.

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Learn more about the Czechs by checking out all of the other great LaxAllStars.com content from The Czech Republic!

If your interested in growing the game in the Czech Republic, visit the Czech Lacrosse Union website for more information.