LANGLEY, British Columbia — Joel White clutched the United States flag as he walked through the floor level corridor of Langley Events Centre on Wednesday afternoon. The captain of the U.S. indoor national team, White got the honor of being the flag bearer for the opening ceremonies of the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.
As soon as he stepped out of the tunnel, onto the floor and into the spotlights that littered the arena, the moment became real.
“You get a little bit of a tingling feeling and you start to walk out,” he said. “It hits you like ‘Hey, we’re here’ and then you put the game face on and get ready to play. It was a complete honor. For me to be able to hold that flag and walk across that stage there was pretty cool. It just represents all the guys that came before and the young players that want to be in these shoes."
White, making his second appearance at the world championship, stood alongside Anthony Kelly, the 39-year-old former professional lacrosse star who towered over opponents for the better part of a decade. He last stepped onto the world championship stage in 2007, helping the U.S. win bronze.
Behind them were a slew of names, some new and some old. There were veterans of the box game, piling up years in the NLL. There were plenty that made their debuts within the last calendar year.
The U.S. team that made its entrance into the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship on Wednesday is one that represents a growing trend of Americans in the indoor game. Now, the U.S. national team has a chance to show its progress on the world stage over the next 11 days.
“We’re just trying to prove something here and show that we’ve come a long way since we started this thing,” White said. “People are just expecting us to lose to Canada and the Iroquois and toss up with the other teams. We want to win games here.”
This week also presented an opportunity for the members of the U.S. team to get together for the first time since a May training weekend in Baltimore. Many traveled early this week from locations like New York, Baltimore, Columbus and Denver. Others, like David Mather and Chris O’Dougherty, drove across the border from the Seattle area.
Even as one of the veteran members of Team USA, Brett Manney still gets excited to see his teammates.
“I kind of relate it to when you go and see your families at the holidays,” Manney said. “That’s how it is here. You bro hug and get back together to share some good memories and stories. Not only are you playing with very talented lacrosse players, but very talented lacrosse players that care about each other and their country. If you put those two things together, how can you not be pumped to play with the group of guys that we have here?”
Many headed to Langley in the midst of professional field seasons in the MLL and PLL. Some, like White, John Ranagan and Blaze Riorden, saw their seasons end last weekend but made the trip to Canada for more lacrosse.
But it’s a new discipline now, and the coaching staff made that clear on Day One.
“I just challenge you guys to get your indoor twitch going right now,” said Chris Schiller, U.S. bronze medalist and current defensive coordinator. “Get all the outdoor [stuff] out of your system, right? Get that indoor mindset in you now.”
Their ability to do so will be put the test right away. Up first (Thursday night, 10:30 p.m. Eastern on Lax Sports Network) is a Canadian team that has won each of the previous four gold medals — this time playing on home turf in Langley, B.C. The U.S. national team dove into preparation for their rivals in Wednesday night’s practice at McLeod Athletic Park.
The last time the two nations met, Canada came away with a 19-6 win in the Heritage Cup in October of 2017. Eleven of the 23 players on the current U.S. indoor roster played in the game.
Much has changed for American box lacrosse in the past two years. Now, 21 players on this U.S. team have some sort of NLL experience — and another in Gale Thorpe who was drafted by his father’s New York Riptide in Tuesday’s NLL Entry Draft.
This world championship cycle signified progress for Regy Thorpe and the U.S. indoor national team program. The next 11 days will provide Team USA the platform to showcase just how far it has come.