ISSUE NO. 2
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024
HANDPICKED MUST-HAVES FOR LACROSSE LOVERS
MIXING IT UP LET’S DIVE INTO THE INCREASED POPULARITY OF MIXED LACROSSE A LOOK AT COMMON LACROSSE INJURIES AND HOW BEST TO AVOID THEM INJURY PREVENTION
WE’RE SHINING A LIGHT ON THE SCOTLAND WOMEN’S UNDER-20 SQUAD
Iwon’t begin by writing how crazy it seems that we are now entering the last two months of the year as that would be too predictable for a November/December welcome message. Instead, I’ll start by thanking everyone who has made the first issue of Creased so popular, surpassing even my wildest expectations of what to expect when launching in September. More than a few people, my family included, expressed their pleasant surprise at how professional the issue was, having anticipated a much shorter “four or five page booklet” rather than a 40-page publication when I had first explained that I was launching a magazine. I quickly reminded them that I don’t do anything by halves, and I put more than 100% effort into anything that I am passionate about. The emails and messages I received from complete
strangers after launching also warmed my heart (sorry to be cliché), and I’ve loved chatting about all the positivity around Creased and the excitement for what’s to come. So, what is to come? A whole lot is on my radar for 2025 and it all starts in this issue. We’ll begin by recapping the international calendar which this year has been astonishingly busy, and we’ll also touch on mixed lacrosse, a young coach who has taken Wales by storm, POP lacrosse, and it wouldn’t be the last issue of the year without a page dedicated to lacrosse Christmas shopping! Once again, thank you for your kind support, and I hope that you enjoy reading this issue as much as I’ve loved creating it (another cliché, sorry).
This summer’s calendar was packed with international lacrosse championships. Let’s take a look at how our teams fared.
We sat down with Wales women’s senior and U20 Head Coach, Kieran PegrumMilner for an exclusive Q&A.
25 The youth version of lacrosse that is taking primary school’s by storm: dive into POP Lacrosse and how it could be the key to our sport’s future.
Looking for gift ideas for the lacrosse lover in your life this Christmas? Look no further!
Student Physio and England senior player, Emily Beazley, gives us the low down on her favourite warm up to prevent injury.
U20 Women
A critical look at the Scotland U20 women’s programme and what the future could hold for its young stars.
Cover Story: The rise of mixed lacrosse: learn about the format and why its popularity has grown.
Please note:
Information in this publication is as accurate as possible at the time of writing. Over time facts may change, so please bear this in mind when reading this issue. Should you be concerned about any information which may appear misleading or inaccurate and is not so due to time passed, please reach out to us at press@creased.uk to express your thoughts.
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England men’s faceoff specialist, Tom Bracegirdle, goes up against the USA’s Timothy Edwards durng their second pool game at the Box Lacrosse World Championship.
SCOTLAND’S BATTLE FOR BRONZE
Scotland powered through their thirdplace match against Wales to come away with a bronze medal at the 2024 Senior European Championship.
This summer has been one of the busiest that the international lacrosse calendar has seen in years, with two European Championships and three World Championships taking place within just weeks of each other. In July, fans were treated to a masterclass from teams in Portugal taking part in the senior women’s Euros, followed by a trip to Poland shortly after where up-andcoming lacrosse stars fought it out in the U20 men’s Euros. With only a few weeks to recover from the Euros action, August took us to Hong Kong with the U20 women for the World Championship; and most recently we’ve been to Utica, New York with the men’s and women’s box teams for their World event.
And, breathe…
Even as I type this seems like a crazy amount of lacrosse activity in such a short space of time, with the UK and Irelend sending out an impressive 15 squads across these four championships. England, of course, have sent a team to each competition, all of which finished in the top five with two bringing home medals. Ireland matched England this year in terms of taking a team to all five championships, and the nation beat England U20 men in the Euros final to take home gold. Wales only managed
to field women’s teams this year, but with both the seniors and U20s improving their European and World standing respectively, they certainly made it count. And finally, Scotland managed to stunt the Wales senior women’s momentum by taking the bronze medal win over the team in Portugal, but unfortunately the U20 women and Box men couldn’t match their winning streak.
The benefit of such a busy calendar is of course that we get to watch and enjoy top quality lacrosse from our home-grown athletes. That is, when the streaming services (which World Lacrosse charged top-dollar for) worked. If we stop just for a moment to take a look at the younger members of England, Scotland and Wales’ senior women’s squads, we will be able to pick out names of those who are likely to be in contention for a Team GB ticket to the Olympics in 2028. Players such as Jordan Carr (England), Alice Ripper (England), and Izzy Zealley (Wales), all sit at the right age and skill level to have the potential to be part of the final British Lacrosse squad heading to Los Angeles, so it’s been extremely exciting to watch these players build names for themselves in the senior ranks. In fact, Carr and Ripper were both selected to travel with British Lacrosse (BL) this past October to play in the US Lacrosse Experience event, hosted by USA Lacrosse.
BL also took a women’s squad to the Super Sixes event in Canada across the same weekend, giving many players who are part of the programme the opportunity to show off their skills and compete in Sixes at this top level.
The U20 men’s European Championship showcased many players who have their eyes set on Los Angeles as well, predominantly competing for England. George Shonfeld shone (no pun intended) for England, becoming their top goal scorer for the competition at just 18 years old. He and teammate Hugo Peel (18), who received a last minute call up to the England senior squad for their 2023 World Championship becoming one of the youngest players ever to appear at senior level, have since accepted scholarships to US-based college, Harford, and will continue their playing career together in the States.
Although England and Ireland made their way to the U20 men’s final, it is alleged that only six out of the thirteen nations competing were even eligible to take part, leaving the path to the final ever so slightly more straight forward. Eligibility issues plagued both European Championships (again, allegedly), so we look forward to seeing how the European Lacrosse Federation manages this in future tournaments.
Moving onto the World events but sticking with the under’s, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland all participated in the U20 Women’s World Championship in Hong Kong, China. Unsure what to expect going into this competition, we watched in awe as our teams put up immense fights against some of the top junior teams in the world. With initial scores from the likes of England and the USA which left a goal difference in the high-twenties, backlash from fans on social media were hard to ignore, arguing that a “mercy rule” should be introduced, and that teams with such high scores are “unsportsmanlike”. As the competition moved on though these scorelines narrowed, and all teams faced tough matches in the latter days of the tournament. Standout players such as Guildford High School pupil, Freya Moody (England), and Wales’ Phoebe Hurt played key roles in their teams’ success, and with
SENIOR WOMEN - EUROS
U20 WOMEN - WORLDS
BOX WOMEN - WORLDS
BOX
2 0 2 4 2 0 2 4 2 0 2 4 2 0 2 4
this amount of talent at such a young age, the possibilities for where these players could go are endless.
As we discussed in our first issue, history was made this September as World Lacrosse hosted a women’s Box Lacrosse World Championship alongside the men’s competition in Utica, New York. England and Ireland both sent strong women’s squads to the inaugural event, with the men’s adding Scotland to the duo. If we went into the women’s U20 Worlds without expectation, we were even more unsure about what was to come in the women’s Box Worlds; although any lacrosse fan could
predict a Canada or USA win. The England women stormed off the starting block with some impressive games against the likes of Hong Kong, and The Netherlands, and Ireland kept pace with a win over Finland and a one-goal loss against Germany. With a play that will go down in World Lacrosse history (or, at least, in our history), a golden goal from Alex Drewe, assisted by Leah Catton, within just 12-seconds of overtime against The Netherlands secured England’s spot in the quarter finals. In the end, England finished fifth thanks to a one-goal win over Germany, and having lost to England in their previous game, Ireland couldn’t pull it back in their last match and narrowly missed out on
7th place.
In the men’s competition, previous World standings allowed England a spot in pool A, meaning they were guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals no matter their performance in the pool stage; and with competition such as Canada, Haudenasaunee, and the USA, this will have come as a great relief. The competition’s set-up has come under scrutiny by lacrosse fans, so we expect not to see this format continue into the next World Championship. Out of their six games, England only won one which doesn’t seem like a fair representation of the talent within the team, nor fair on other nations who were unable to drop even one game should they wish to rise through the ranks. Scotland and Ireland had a much more competitive tournament with true opportunities to dominate their opponents and put away a decent number of goals. Ireland’s goal-tending stats after the pool round was sky high, boasting a save percentage of more than ten to fifteen percent more than Scotland or
England. Ireland also hit records outfield with veteran player, Sean Gibson (known fondly as “Gibby”), celebrating his one-hundredth cap for the country.
Scotland put on a spectacular performance in this championship but after two tough losses to Australia and Czechia (the latter of which were the only team that England beat), any hopes of advancing in the competition were cruelly dashed and the team finished 17th. After some gruelling matches, England missed out on a bronze medal with a nine-goal loss against Haudenosaunee, and Ireland put in the work against Japan to take seventh.
An intriguing summer of competition to reflect on as we re-enter the domestic season, and questions to be asked regarding the sustainability of so many international events for amateur athletes. 2025 will be a quieter year for the majority of international teams, and perhaps provides an opportunity to carve out a structure for the vital Olympic years to follow.
Meet the lacrosse coach who continues to move from strength to strength in his young career, and learn what could come next for the talented Kieran Pegrum-Milner.
Ifirst met Kieran Pegrum-Milner back in the 2019/2020 lacrosse season (or, at least, what was left of the season after COVID-19 hit). We were both members of the same South London club, and after some persuasion, Kieran agreed to coach the women’s team instead of training with the men’s side. Since then, Kieran has grown tremendously in his coaching career and is fresh off the plane from Hong Kong having led the U20 women’s team to an impressive 7th place finish in the World Championships. At just 27 years of age and not coming from a traditional lacrosse background, Pegrum-Milner has already made a name for himself on the international lacrosse circuit. Naturally, we wanted to find out just how he’s done it, and what’s to come next.
Q: How did you first get into coaching lacrosse?
A: I first got into coaching lacrosse back when I was at university. The university didn’t have a budget for a dedicated coach, and while we had some support from Brucie [David “Brucie” Morris] who would drop in occasionally, we really needed someone more consistent. That’s when I started stepping up to help run sessions, and it turned into something I wanted to pursue. My first part-time coaching roles were at TASIS school, where I worked as an assistant to Matt Bagley for the boys’ varsity team and also took on the Head Coach role for the middle school team. Around the same time, I was Head Coach for St Albans school. These roles were my introduction to the school coaching environment, which I found very rewarding. Later, I got my first full-time position at Caterham school, where I had the chance to work under Jenny Simpson, who was the head of lacrosse, and some fantastic mentors who really helped shape my understanding of lacrosse in the traditional sense, which further enabled me to adapt the
my knowledge of other sports.
Q: What drew you to the sport, either as a player or a coach?
A: Coming from a background in football, hockey, and rugby, I’d played each at a decent level from a young age, so when I got to university, I was ready to explore something new. Lacrosse immediately caught my attention because it felt like a blend of all three sports I knew and loved, offering a fresh challenge. The social side of the sport was also fantastic, adding to its appeal. As a coach, I was drawn to lacrosse because of its fast-paced nature. It’s a game that demands a high level of skill, athleticism, and tactical awareness, pushing coaches and players to make quick decisions and execute strategies dynamically. This balance of athletic and mental challenges is what keeps it exciting to coach and watch develop on the field.
Q: You’ve previously coached Portugal men and are now coaching Wales women – what was the process like in getting these high-profile positions?
A: Coaching Portugal’s men’s team and now Wales’ women’s team have been very different experiences. Portugal is a developing nation in lacrosse, who are growing their player base and this is something we tried then, and I know Jeff
[Childs] the current Head Coach is continuing to do so whilst Ken [Lubert] is building the women’s programme. Wales is a competitive nation that consistently punches above its weight given its size and playing population. My journey to these positions has really been about learning and growing, whether through observing others in person, engaging with resources online, or adapting my coaching philosophy along the way. I enjoy merging my lacrosse knowledge with insights from other sports and trying different approaches to see what works best. Invasion games share a lot of similarities, so it’s less about reinventing the wheel and more about refining what already exists to fit the team’s needs.
Q: This summer you’ve seen success as Head Coach for Wales U20 women at the World Championships where they finished 7th. What is the role of a Head Coach at U20 level and how do you prepare your players for such a big competition?
A: All coaching roles are multifaceted, but with such an excellent support team around—covering strength and conditioning, physio, psychology, a manager, and assistant coaches—my main aim as Head Coach was to establish a clear vision so what team we wanted to be, our playing style, and the behaviours we wanted to embody consistently. We tried our best to ensure that every session and conversation aligned with that vision, regularly checking in to
assess where we were and what steps we needed to take to progress further. I think at all levels but particularly the U20 level it is important that the players could hold each other, as well as the staff, accountable to our shared goals and vision while being positive teammates who enjoyed the process. The ages that we had varied from 16-20 and I think schools can take this away, as it’s seen as challenging etc. Therefore, we decided that creating an environment where players could challenge constructively while still enjoying their experience was key to fostering a strong, resilient, and united team and I believe they showed this throughout the tournament but more importantly I hope they continue to show this in their own lives and any lacrosse going forward.
Q: You also headed to Portugal with the Wales senior women as Head Coach where they finished in an impressive 4th place. Is your role different when coaching seniors versus U20, and if so, how?
A: Yes, coaching the senior team in Portugal was unique, particularly due to when I came into the role but also moving up to senior international with players I knew but hadn’t coached. I saw my responsibility as overseeing what was happening within the team - tactically and group dynamics whilst trying to ensure that we maintained consistent standards and accountability. This role will change now we are in the build up to Japan. While there are typical differences when coaching seniors, like their greater experience at this level and understanding of the game, what made this tournament especially interesting was due to the constant evolution of the rules, Even our most seasoned players hadn’t yet competed in a European championships under these new rules. Equally it was the first qualification tournament leading into the World Cup. This dynamic created an environment where even
When thinking about multi-gendered sports, one’s mind might jump to racket sports where partners of the opposite sex can compete in doubles matches such as in tennis, badminton, or squash. Other doubles sports might include ballroom dancing or figure skating where pairs are tasked with working in sync to produce high quality visual performances. And then of course there’s sports which do not separate athletes by gender, the most common of which being equestrian events such as dressage (my discipline until an accident at 15 halted - pardon the pun - my future in the sport), show jumping, horse racing and cross country. It is less likely to come across mixed-gender team sports unless at amateur level, however that does not negate their existence.
I’ll never forget the first time I witnessed a quidditch match at Loughborough University. I was taking the long and uncommon (for me) walk to the library when something to my left caught my eye. There was a group of men and women running around a grassy area with sticks being held horizontally between their legs
to mimic a broomstick, their other hand throwing a larger football-looking ball to one another with the aim of launching it through one of the three hoops at either end of their field. And how can I forget the gold skin-tight suit worn by one player who seemed to be playing their own game of tag as they acted out the part of the golden snitch. To say I was mesmerised would be an understatement, but whilst some stopped to take photos and snigger at these players enjoying their afternoon quidditch match, I admired their fearlessness at embracing an unusual sport plucked from the pages of a magical novel at a university renowned for its sporting excellence.
This also marked the first time I had seen a mixed-gender sport being played outside of PE at school and against other teams; that is, until I joined Loughborough lacrosse club. As a lacrosse beginner I was open to trying anything and everything that the sport had to offer, so when I was asked to come along to a “mixed” session, I decided to give it a go. In the end I only ended up going to a few sessions as I decided that playing with boys just wasn’t for
me, but the other reason why it didn’t appeal to me was because I was more often than not unable to get out of bed when the games occurred. The matches against other universities were at the weekends, usually after a heavy night out and played in a state where physical activity could only end in disaster. Mixed became known as the fun and social version of lacrosse which allowed the men’s and women’s teams of all abilities to socialise and get to know one another outside of the Fusion dance floor. The rules weren’t too difficult to follow: only women’s sticks could be used, there was no checking allowed (for those unfamiliar, a check is performed by tactically hitting a players stick with your own in an effort to dislodge the ball), and one could only hold the ball for just a few seconds before a pass needed to be made. Whilst not so dissimilar to women’s lacrosse, men’s players faced a more difficult transition,
This created an opportunity for men’s players to pick whether they wanted to play the higher-contact men’s discipline, or take part in the more skillful mixed game, or enjoy both.
needing to learn how to use a different stick (men’s and women’s lacrosse sticks are quite different), and being unable to use their physicality to their advantage in a game. This is possibly why it became a more popular choice for female players rather than men’s, and also why it continues to remain less common for men’s rules players to take part.
A few years after graduating I was approached by a men’s member of the lacrosse club I was a member of to ask if I’d be interested in playing for his new “elite” mixed lacrosse team, the Home Nations Lions. The idea sounded great: a high-level mixed lacrosse team which invited men’s and women’s players from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to train and compete against other elite level teams with the aim of raising the profile of the mixed game. Upon hearing the names of those who were involved and realising they played
women’s lacrosse for their country, I jumped at the chance to be included in a team with them. The one thing I wondered, though, was where these elite level men’s mixed players would come from.
My queries were answered soon after arriving at my first training session with Lions. The men’s players were top notch, some better than the women’s players in attendance and a lot who were far more talented than me. I was intrigued as to how they had become so good at mixed since it was only ever seen as a social game at my university and wasn’t played at all at club level. Soon I realised that many of these men’s players came from Cambridge and Oxford universities and that they had only ever played mixed lacrosse at these institutions. You see, whilst men’s and women’s lacrosse are played in the BUCS leagues at Oxbridge, mixed is offered alongside these as its own competitive discipline and not simply as an additional social element to the club. The rules had changed since my time at uni, now adopting the women’s rules and ditching the aforementioned restrictions. This created an opportunity for men’s players to pick whether they wanted to play the higher-contact men’s discipline, or take part in the more skillful mixed game, or enjoy both. Other men’s players who attended Lions training also played in men’s teams and were interested in taking mixed just as seriously, thus a collection of more than 50 lacrosse enthusiasts began to grow the mixed lacrosse game in the UK.
and London City Panthers who now play in England Lacrosse’s (EL) mixed league which takes place between October and March. This league is relatively new having been developed by EL to satisfy the increased demand presented by mixed lacrosse players. However whilst mixed now has its own competitive league, the national team finals of which are played on the same day and at the same venue as the men’s, women’s and junior finals, mixed lacrosse players still face challenges when it comes to inclusion in other areas.
Many tournaments across the country do not cater for mixed lacrosse, including the popular annual event organised by Blues lacrosse club, Bluesfest, and Spencer lacrosse’s Compton Cup who this year could not offer a mixed tournament due to lack of team entries. Mixedonly players who identify as male are also facing difficulties when it comes to finding teams to train with. With the small number of mixed clubs scattered around the country, some players are requesting to train with women’s rules teams and are facing challenges by clubs who turn them away based on gender. As this is at the club’s discretion with one London-based club, Centaurs, happily including all genders in their training sessions, little is still understood about where mixed players fit into this modern lacrosse community.
Some of these players are also credited with starting successful grass-roots mixed lacrosse teams such as Rainbow Rexes, Oxford City,
Even with its continued growth, there’s still a ways to go for mixed lacrosse and we hope to see it grow in popularity across other nations outside of the UK and Ireland so that one day, perhaps, we could see a Mixed Lacrosse Championship to add to the vast list of international tournaments in our calendars.
BRISTOL BOMBERS LACROSSE CLUB
CAMBRIDGE CITY MIXED LACROSSE CLUB
LONDON CITY PANTHERS
NUNEATON LACROSSE CLUB
OXFORD CITY LACROSSE CLUB
Ireland U20 women celebrated their best ranking at a World Championships this summer, finishing 10th in Hong Kong.
Inside the junior lacrosse format that could bring a fresh group of players to our sport.
If you were to ask the majority of women’s national team members in the UK when they first picked up a lacrosse stick, you’d be hard pressed to find any who were over the age of 14 or were educated at non-fee paying schools. Granted, there are a few talented players in the Wales, Scotland and Ireland national squads who developed a love for the game slightly later in life, but for a field team that is currently third in the world, it’s only fitting that the England women’s national team’s talent has been honed since their early years. As ever with men’s and women’s lacrosse, the former have quite a different story. There are in fact a number of men’s field lacrosse players on UK national teams who began playing lacrosse in early adulthood, many of whom started at university. The likes of Wales and GB international, Tomos Rosser, who has stated that he intends on training for the 2028 Olympic Games, was a
popular beginner at Loughborough University when I began playing the sport; and within just a few years, Rosser was selected to play for his native Wales.
But why is it more common to see later-in-life male lacrosse players selected for national teams as opposed to women? To find the answer we must look back at the sport’s origin here in the UK. First arriving in Scotland in 1890, lacrosse was played at independent girls’ schools, slowly spreading to England but staying in the same prestigious allfemale environment. Whilst all-boys’ schools of the same standing focused their time on traditionally male dominated sports such rugby and cricket, opportunities for boys to join the sport were limited to a small number of universities and clubs who began to offer lacrosse to a male audience.
The same remained true until the 1980’s with next to no schools offering lacrosse in any form to male students. That is, until POP Lacrosse was brought to the UK market. In 1986, Scotland international player, Janet O’Neill, became Director of Development at the All England Women’s Lacrosse Association (later, by recommendation of Sport England, joining with the men’s English Lacrosse Union to form today’s England Lacrosse Association). Within her role, Janet introduced POP lacrosse to an East London school market, where plastic, inexpensive sticks and a lightweight ball were the only equipment needed for a game. With no dedicated goal initially, it was recommended that school’s use chairs, buckets, or even simply lines drawn on a wall as a target for kids to score, making this version of lacrosse accessible for any school with enough space to host a 5-a-side match.
So, what’s the next step to give nonindependent school children the chance to play lacrosse, and indeed to get more boys playing from a younger age? The natural progression would be to equip state schools with affordable field lacrosse sticks, bought in large packs to be kept by the schools and used by all students. Low-cost pop-up goals could be supplied as well as packs of lacrosse balls which can be reused (for as long as they last before getting lost in nearby shrubbery). Funding for such equipment could be made possible by organisations including The Lacrosse Foundation (as featured in our first issue), and teachers could be educated on the rules of the game by existing coaches and volunteers who are keen to bring the sport to a wider player pool.
Today, many primary schools offer POP lacrosse as part of their Physical Education (PE) curriculum and even compete in tournaments against other schools. The low investment required means that children from a variety of backgrounds have the opportunity to experience this mini-version of lacrosse, and both boys and girls are exposed to the sport equally.
POP lacrosse could be the answer to broadening the UK player pool and scouting new talent from an early age outside of the traditional pathway, but it will take National Governing Bodies (NGBs), clubs, and schools to align on their shared goals for the future of lacrosse here in the UK and Ireland to be a success.
Do you have a story about how POP lacrosse has inspired a love for the game for budding young players? We’d love to hear your stories! Get in touch via email at press@creased.uk.
ALL EYES ARE ON ENGLAND SENIOR MEN AHEAD OF 2025 EUROS
After disappointment in San Diego last summer, the senior England men’s squad are hoping to redeem themselves in their European Championship campaign next year.
England lacrosse field international and student physio, Emily Beazley, provides insight into the ways that you can prevent common injuries this season.
Detroit Mercy and University of Nottingham (UoN) alumni, Emily Beazley, is a pro at bouncing back from major injuries and returning even stronger. The England field lacrosse international underwent an incredible hip operation just a few years ago which took her from being an active lacrosse scholar to being unable to walk unaided for months. After some tremendous physiotherapy and rehabilitation, Emily returned to the field and even earned a spot on the England U23 squad ahead of moving to the UK permanently to complete a Masters degree and play lacrosse at UoN. It wasn’t more than a few months into the season when Emily
suffered another blow, this time rolling her ankle so severely that she was unable to play lacrosse for the majority of her only season at Nottingham. Rather ironically, the defender - who has also competed in Olympic Sixes lacrosse events - was studying applied sports and exercise medicine with a view of becoming a qualified physiotherapist, no doubt learning a thing or two from her time as a patient. We’re pleased to see Emily back in action for Team England senior women and Blues Lacrosse Club, and are delighted that she has agreed to share her knowledge on how you can prevent injuries this season. After all, prevention is always better than cure.
As a student physio, Emily Beazley has taken on research for the prevalence of injuries within lacrosse, and part of her study has revealed that there is a vast difference in injury reporting between men and women. Emily explains how injury surveillance highlights that men are more likely to report injuries such as sprains, strains, concussions, and contusions, whereas women primarily report lower extremity sprains, strains, and internal knee damage. The anterior cruciate ligament (commonly known as ACL), and the medial collateral ligament (thankfully also commonly known by its shorter descriptor, MCL) are two of the more frequently reported lower-limb injuries, accompanied by meniscus and ankle injuries.
I can almost guarantee that anyone reading this knows someone - or is someone - who is currently undergoing treatment for a lacrosse related injury, so understanding what we can do to help avoid these issues from occurring is paramount. But in order to prevent injury, it’s important to know which muscles when strengthened can decrease the risk of sustaining damage. did you
The muscles which should be a focus of your warm up, Emily says, are the quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius and soleus, (all of the leg), plus the lateral ankle ligaments and the abdominals.
Keeping these muscles in good nick could be the difference between a season-ending knee twist and a few days of RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation); so let’s take a look at what Emily does to warm up her body before a lacrosse session.
Split into five parts, Emily’s warm up is aimed at getting your body prepared for everything from lacrosse training to the big game. Beginning with 5-minutes of cardio will get your heart-rate up and help to prepare your respiratory system, loosening your muscles and improving blood flow throughout the body. Use a smart-watch or phone to time your cardio session which could include jogging, sprinting, jumping jacks (star jumps), or anything which gets your heart pumping.
Up next, Emily prepares her muscles and joints for lacrosse activity through dynamic stretching. This type of movement is aimed at improving performance and reducing the risk of injury, and as the name suggests, is an active stretch usually performed by starting at one point and ending at another. Some of Emily’s preferred dynamic stretches include:
WALKING LUNGES - aimed at stretching the hip flexors WORLD’S GREATEST STRETCH - a dynamic move done in a deep lunge position with one palm flat on the floor and the other twisting open toward the sky OPEN THE GATE - targeting hip rotators and groin LATERAL LUNGE - aimed at your adductor muscles KNEE-TO-CHEST - stretching the hamstrings and hip extensors
Calisthenics, the professional term for body weight strengthening exercises, comes next for Emily. Aimed at lubricating the joints and getting your blood moving, this section of the warm up works your whole body. Begin with a jog forward and then backward focusing on controlling your hamstring, glute, and quad muscles. Next, side shuffle with arm swings and finally move onto the popular carioca (sometimes known as “grape vine”) move to really get your heart rate up and your upper body rotating.
OPEN THE GATE
Once your body is warm and your heart is pumping, Emily’s warm-up suggests conducting moves focused on power. These usually involve propulsion, and some favourites of Emily’s are a forward jump landing with both feet, a single leg hop followed by a double leg hop focusing on height, and finally a single leg (SL) bound. Combined, these are all movements that you are likely to make when playing lacrosse, so getting your body used to performing them will prevent injuries enormously.
Finally, it’s time to pick up our stick! If you have access to a wall this can be done solo, or if you’re with teammates you can buddy up for a 5-minute passing session. Download Emily’s full warm up routine which also includes a wall-ball guide to help keep your stick skills as sharp as Team England’s.
Established in 1992, Lacrosse Scotland (known as the Scottish Lacrosse Association (SLA) until 2005) is the national governing body of lacrosse in Scotland. The organisation is run by its board, and possibly two of the most vital roles for Scotland are held at present by current international players: Development Director, Zoe Dickson, and Performance Director, Nye Gordon. Whilst Scotland senior women have seen improved success since the 2022 World Championship where they finished a respectable 10th, their U20 counterparts are trailing slightly having come 17th in this summer’s World Championship in Hong Kong; their least successful World placement since 2003. Having first-hand experience of moving through the Lacrosse Scotland programmes, Dickson and Gorden are perfectly positioned in their new roles to form and implement a robust plan for the development of junior players to ensure the momentum seen at senior level is continued.
Part of this process will involve taking a critical look at their junior team’s performance at this summer’s championship. Scotland competed in pool C which saw the likes of Australia, New Zealand, Italy and Mexico line up to play for access to the business end of the competition. Although not winning any of these games,
Scotland put on a consistent performance averaging 9 goals per game and coming agonisingly close to a win over Italy in their one-goal match-up. Being this consistent at the attacking end against a range of opponents is admirable, and testament to a strong offensive unit within the young squad. Carys Bucknall led from the front with a total of 22 shots on goal for the tournament, 17 of which made it over the line. Bucknall’s 5 assists set her teammates up for success as well, including Rowan Scobie who finished on 13 goals and 4 assists. Casting and eye over the championship outside of goals scored would identify a weakness at the defensive end, with Scotland goalkeepers dealing with 98 shots on goal throughout their six games, managing to save just 24; however, upon breaking free from the shackles of the pool round, Scotland rebounded and brought two big wins over Jamaica and Korea home to Edinburgh.
The results seen here are night and day, beating their opponents outside of the pool stage by the same amount that they fell victim to within their group. Why such a stark difference in performance and what, if anything, does this say about the work needed at U20 level to continue the success that the senior women have seen over the past few years?
The Lacrosse Scotland programme is arguably the least developed of the Home Nations, likely due to less funding being available to them than England and Wales. It has long been a point of discussion, often in jest with some underlying truth, that Wales and Scotland are formed of players who were unsuccessful at making it into the England national squad; instead finding eligibility via their family tree or university education to compete at international level. The reason why England is often the first choice when it comes to international representation can be attributed to the Association’s “Aspire Programme” which takes young players from schools and clubs in England and develops them into lacrosse players who can move up through the pathway and into the highly successful national squads. Success stories such as England senior women’s 2022 World Championship captain, Claire Faram, and recent recruit to the University of North Carolina in the USA, Alice Ripper, are no doubt poster-players for the pathway and what it can do for aspiring athletes, but the reality is that more players get rejected from England national squads than are accepted. The difference in England’s Aspire Programme to
the Lacrosse Scotland junior pathway is vast, but it does not take away from the raw talent that Scottish players have who are crying out for development. Zoe Dickson, Lacrosse Scotland’s recently appointed Development Director, is a talented player for the senior squad in her own right, and knows just what it takes to build a programme strong enough to push its players past their limits. But with funding limited, Dickson’s job is harder than others in her position and will demand more than simply a willingness to deliver in order to make a real change. Draw takers and big contributors to Scotland’s 75 goals this summer, Anna Hutchinson and Robyn MacDonald are two players who stand out as being potential changemakers for Lacrosse Scotland. Every nation has them, from Liv Wimpenny for England and Taylor Cummings for the USA, players at the centre of the action (literally and figuratively) can make or break a team’s success. With proper guidance, support, and a united goal from the governing body, there’s no telling where these players could go and the difference they could make to Scotland’s performance at senior level in the 2026 World Championships.
Created in 2009, Boxmania takes place annually in north France’s Lille, inviting teams from across the world to compete. Depending on where you’re travelling from in the UK, the journey can be relatively straight-forward making this event an excellent one to attend if you’re new into Box lacrosse and would like to test your skills against a variety of players.
An annual event which serves as the highlight for many school calendars, the School Challenge Cup will return once again this November with reigning champions, Guildford High School, hoping to reclaim their title. The competition sees the top eight schools across England compete at under-19 level and will no doubt see plenty of university coaches in attendance with hopes of recruiting for the 2025/26 season.
Members of the last ever England team to beat the USA are reuniting 50 years after their epic World Championship game to host a Q&A about the historic event. A contribution of £12.50 to attend the session will go towards the fundraising pot for the current senior England men’s squad who will be competing at the European Championship next summer.
8+15 December
SBL Winter League Oxford Academy, OX4 6JZ
This time of year really is all about Box as we enjoy another instalment of the Southern Box Lacrosse (SBL) Winter League. Men’s and women’s teams are drafted by appointed coaches from a player pool which spans across the UK, and teams congregate at The Oxford Academy to compete for the SBL Winter League title. With finals held in January we will have to wait until after the New Year to see if the men’s team, Knights, and women’s, Blaze, can bring home the title once again.
As the UK’s closest comparison to the men’s PLL and Unleashed Women’s Lacrosse, The Fly is the most elite Sixes lacrosse league this close to home. Its organisers, England Lacrosse, have announced the return of the competition for a fifth year which will see hundreds of hopefuls apply to play for just four men’s and four women’s teams next summer. Spectators are welcome to the event which will once again have venues in the north of England and the south, although the exact locations have yet to be announced. You can witness the Sixes lacrosse action live at The Fly on 17th and 18th May in the south, and 31st May and 1st June 2025 in the north.
At the end of October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a pledge from The Treasury to give £9m extra a year to Paralympic and Olympic athletes in the run up to Los Angeles in 2028. This is a 9% increase which has been welcomed by UK Sport, and the lacrosse community will undoubtedly be anticipating how - if at all - this budget will support British Lacrosse in their LA28 campaign.
Creased Magazine is on the hunt for lacrosse enthusiasts from across the UK who have an interest in shaping our publication and broadening its reach. The ideal individuals will be part of the lacrosse community in any aspect, and have an interest in publishing, editorial, and a creative flair. You will have a chance to see what goes on behind the scenes when creating our issues, and contribute as much or as little as you’d like to various areas of the publication. To find out more and register your interest, head to our website!
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A lot of people dream of completing their schooling in the United States, possibly due to growing up with movies and TV shows glamorising the idea. For some athletes, this is a real possibility, so we’ll be looking at what it takes for UK-based lacrosse players to get recruited by US collages and how you can put yourself in a position to be considered.
With the new University Aspire Programme - organised and run by England Lacrosse - taking shape, it’s timely to take a peek into the careers of a number of lacrosse players whose journey began at university. Where are they now and how did they get there? Are they still playing or have they taken a different path? What’s kept their love for the game alive?
Get Involved!
There’s plenty of ways to get involved in lacrosse outside of actually playing. We’ll be sitting down with officials who took a back seat as players to focus on wearing the black and white stripes on the field. Follow their pathway to domestic and international success, and become inspired to explore lacrosse opportunities you may not have considered before.
We’re always interested in hearing what you’d like to see in Creased Magazine. Whether you have an idea that you’d like to work with us on or would be open to writing guest editorial for the publication, we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us via email at press@creased.uk to share your ideas and explore opportunities with Creased.