Editor’s Note: We’re excited for our friend from Port-au-Prince, Elisee Geffrard, to use this opportunity to tell us all about Haiti Lacrosse. They’ve come a long way in a short period of time, but they’re looking for your help to get the game growing!
Let’s start by looking back about Haiti Lacrosse got started in the first place.
It was in the summer of 2012 when a Haitian national visited the USA. Surprisingly, the traveler met a new friend who was playing lacrosse for fun. Finding the game interesting, he decided to join in on the action. The friend could only teach some basic rules about the game. However, the newcomer liked what he saw and was further intrigued.
So, when he came back to Haiti from the United States, he set out to track down like-minded athletes to discuss the game and how to introduce in Haiti.
In fact, to get things rolling, he brought with him some sticks and balls in order to start teaching other Haitians how to play. So, each weekend, we tried to practice.
Since then, many others started appreciating watching us play. Some parents who saw us play asked,
“would I be able to send my son to come and play with you?”
Unfortunately, we could not answer assuredly because we did not know the rules and we did not have equipment for new players. But, we were optimistic that we could help them and we really wanted to grow our new club.
Building a Following
As people became more and more interested in this new sport, we found it was necessary to build two teams for playing games.
Our very first lacrosse game took place back in July 2013. It was a simple game, played three against three. The public was surprised to see us playing and began coming to check it out. As the game went on, more and more spectators found interest in what we were doing. Having a growing audience and more fun by the minute, we could barely bring ourselves to stop playing that day.
We knew that passion for lacrosse had entered Haiti and from that day on, we were going to keep playing, and keep growing the game.
Keep it Growing
So, in December 2013, a group of us met to discuss how to advance things. The biggest obstacles were: Where will we find equipment? Who will coach us?
To answer these questions, one of us said, the only way is that we create an association. Once created, we can establish contact with the other federations to help us to develop Haiti Lacrosse.
In fact, in 2014, we created the Haitian Federation of Lacrosse. This was a big move for us, allowing us to join the Haitian Olympic Committee, which is the institution that govern the different sporting disciplines in Haiti.
Tracking Our Lacrosse Development
The first games of lacrosse in Haiti took place in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Since we were limited by the amount of equipment we had, until November of 2015, we were contained to only two teams.
Therefore, players took their own initiative to practice in their neighborhoods with younger children, or with their friends. We encouraged our athletes to practice at any playground or park, in an attempt to introduce lacrosse in as many places we can.
Then November rolled around and with it came a major advancement for Haiti Lacrosse. We were honored to receive a visit from a FIL member who not only brought us equipment, but also trained us on all aspects of the game.
At that time, more than 150 young people and children participated in the FIL-hosted session. Haitians were enjoying playing lacrosse for 15 whole days with an experienced trainer. As potential members showed great interest, since then, we have keeping to practice.
Where Haiti Lacrosse is Now
We currently have 8 teams under the control of Haiti Lacrosse. The clubs are located respectively in Port-au-Prince (2 teams), Leogane (1 team), Gonaives (3 teams), and Gros-Morne (2 teams). Each team has between 10 and 16 players practicing and playing in their respective areas, typically at local playgrounds.
The next step is hosting our first National Championship, hopefully by the end of this year.
But, due to lack of financial means, we haven’t secured an exact date yet. We are working very hard to advance the game of lacrosse in Haiti and to introduce it to the rest of the country over the next five years.
Our goal is to grow membership, from there building a strong and competitive team that will start to compete in international lacrosse events. We hope to be a powerful force in the lacrosse community by the 2022 World Championships.
It’s not going to come easy, and we can’t do it alone.
Perspective – Join Our Mission
We work hard every day making sure that lacrosse continues to develop over the country. Little by little, we will plant the seeds in other areas around Haiti.
We also have plans to try introducing it in some schools that have shown interest as well. In September, we will take another step forward as we get students to start playing lacrosse with their classmates. The youth are the future of the game and our goal is to inspire them to pursue this new sport as early as possible.
As I said in the introduction, our big dreams are to introduce the game to a large population of Haitians. We believe lacrosse can become one of the most popular sports in the country over the next 20 years.
We want you to be a part of the growth and success of lacrosse in Haiti. There are countless ways to help grow the game with us and it starts by just spreading the word. We would love to find athletes with Haitian heritage to come help us learn the game better.
Yet, the biggest void is still resources.
Like I said, we have yet to schedule our first National Championship as the budget is just too limited at the moment. Much of our growth is also stymied by physical resources like equipment, balls, goals, and other supplies. We are also confident that patient and talented coaches will help our skill levels grow leaps and bounds.
Feel free to send me an email, or drop a comment below, if you would like to help us continue building the foundation of Haiti Lacrosse. One thing that’s for sure, if you bring your lacrosse passion to Haiti, will will match it in effort!
Now, let’s get this game growing.
