Jamaicans reap benefits of embracing lacrosse at U20 championship in Hong Kong

There have been goals galore, though at the wrong end, in Jamaica’s first two matches at the World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship in Hong Kong.

A 13-2 loss to the hosts at Mong Kok Stadium on Thursday was followed by a 30-3 loss to England at Sham Shui Po on Friday.

But the head coach of the Caribbean team said lacrosse was growing in her country, especially at school level.

“It’s one of the sports in Jamaica where girls who were not participating in any sports and wanted to do extracurricular activities tried it and ended up liking it,” Taylor Erwin said. “It’s a work in progress, it’s not something that just happened overnight.

“But we’re putting in the resources and the right system for it to continue to grow.

“[The sport] gave the girls everything. Some of the girls in Kingston have got college scholarships and opportunities to play in the United States, so they are getting opportunities to further their education as well as their lacrosse career.”

Lacrosse – whose governing body Jamaica only joined in 2013 – was not much of a focus before in a nation with 94 Olympic medals, of which 93 have come from athletics and the other from cycling. That could change with lacrosse sixes joining the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

But goalie Henry Gabriella, who managed eight saves amid 29 shots from the English, said lacrosse was “everything” to her.

“It’s a community where you can belong and show all your skills and be with a team that becomes a family,” she said.

“Playing for Jamaica and representing my country helped me grow as a player and individual. It taught me so many life skills.”

England’s head coach Vic Alexander is looking for his team to take the next step after three previous third-place finishes and fourth place in their other four world championship appearances.

“It’s nice to get that first game under our belt, really positive team effort,” she said. “We’ve never played Jamaica before and they presented us with a new challenge, as a good, strong, physical team … to get used to the physicality we’re going to expect throughout this tournament.

“We want to match or improve what we’ve done before.”

England await hosts Hong Kong on Saturday, after Jamaica take on Japan. Both games, along with US v Puerto Rico, were moved from Sham Shui Po to Hong Kong Football Club because of heavy rain.