FREDERICA, Del.- Eighty youth girls' lacrosse teams watching over forty of the best lacrosse players in the nation take the field at DE Turf, showing the young players what hard work could potentially lead to one day: Wearing the red, white, and blue and representing the United States.
Head Coach at Yale and USA Lacrosse coach Andy Shay says there was pomp and circumstance driving up to the complex.
"It’s really awesome to be at this venue," Shay said. "There’s a million lacrosse fans here. It’s exciting just to you know we got off the bus and both teams were mobbed with kids and I thought that was really cool."
The national teams are testing a new version of lacrosse that would be used at the Olympic level. Six players on each team are on the field at one time with the dimensions at seventy meters by thirty-six meters. Ten on ten lacrosse like college level is playing on a 100 meter by fifty-five meter field. Baltimore native and University of Florida alum Haley Hicklen says the six on six game incorporates a mix of skills that the players learn growing up.
"It’s a new discipline. It’s very different," Hicklen said. "It comes with different aspects of the indoor game, the outdoor game so things we’ve been working on our whole life. People bring different things to the table so it’s really fun to be a part of."
The sixes discipline is what would be used in Olympic competition and there is momentum for the sport to be played in the summer games beginning in 2028. But, an application needs to be submitted first. That withstanding, players like goalie Jack Kelly and coaches of the USA team would love to be part of the Olympics.
"It’s one of the oldest sports in North America. It’s one of the largest sports there is," Kelly said. "So, it's a beautiful game and I think everybody in that locker room would love to see it in the Olympic games and that’s something we’ve heard about for a long time and have always hoped would be there."
After the two days at DE Turf, the two teams continue training before another camp in Lake Placid, New York in August.