Peri West knows a thing or two about starting a lacrosse program. She’s done it twice as a college coach, in fact, launching new programs at Hendrix College (Ark.) in 2013 and Mount Ida College (Mass.) in 2010.
But nothing compared to the challenge West took on last year.
West was scrolling through her email early in 2016 when she came across the IWLCA’s weekly newsletter, which advertised for a head coach of the Colombia women’s lacrosse program. Her father had visited Colombia for business, and she knew a little Spanish, so she answered back.
After just a week, West interviewed for and accepted the position as head coach of a Colombia lacrosse team that had only played in one international event — the 2015 U19 world championship. The team invited her to travel to Bogota, Colombia’s largest city, for her first training session in March 2016.
“I was just as nervous as they were,” West said. “It was a totally different experience for me. You have to speak as much Spanish as you can. It was really challenging, but it was so exciting being part of the grass roots of the program.”
Just over a year later, West is steering Colombia toward the FIL Women’s World Cup in Guilford, England, where seven new nations will be among the record 25 competing. Opening ceremonies are Wednesday. Colombia is the first South American team to compete in the World Cup.
“I love that it has really brought me back to a humbling love of the game,” West said.
Columbia Lacrosse is concentrated in three cities — Bogota, Medellin and Pereira. Mo Dunnigan, the U.S. liaison and coach at Concordia University in Minnesota, also has contributed to the sport’s growth in the South American country known for its rainforests, mountains and coffee plantations.
Dunnigan, who has relatives in Colombia, found out about Colombia Lacrosse on Twitter in 2014. She visited Bogota equipped with supplies and ran clinics for the first group of lacrosse players.
“It was an experience with so much heart and passion. When I compare my experiences in the States, it’s unmatched,” Dunnigan said. “For them to get a lacrosse stick, it takes so much. Someone needs to fly down there or pay a heck of a lot of money for shipping to get it down there. They have to just work harder, in my opinion, to elevate to the level that they have.”
Dunnigan was an assistant coach for Colombia’s U19 team as that competed in Edinburgh, Scotland, the country’s first international women’s event. After the final game against Finland, players from both teams salsa danced.
“I was like ‘This is so culturally inappropriate,’” Dunnigan said. “We would never do this in the States.’ They pulled them over and we had a huge dance circle. It was incredible for our girls to understand that it’s far bigger than the results of the game.”
When West arrived in Bogota to begin preparations for the World Cup, she found there were no fields with lacrosse lines.
“Soccer is everything over there,” West said. “You aren’t going to get lines on the field, so the girls come out at 6 in the morning before practice and they lay down chalk for the lines. It’s pretty incredible.”
After the first training session, West was able to get more practical. She could she skills improving with every practice. She also noticed groups of curious onlookers standing on the fence watching a sport unknown to them.
Once she returned to America, West’s players took what they learned and refined their skills in small groups in Bogota, Medellin and Pereira. She’d contact them via WhatsApp and Skype to check in on their progress.
Dunnigan, who played club at St. Cloud State (Minn.), will suit up for Colombia in the World Cup.
“It’s a really exciting change of pace for me because I’ve had my whistle and been a coach for the last 10 years or so,” Dunnigan said. “Truly, the bigger picture is to be a pioneer for lacrosse in Latin America.”