Lacrosse is taking 17-year-old New West resident Lauren Black to places from Oshawa, Ontario to Denver, Colorado.
The 17-year-old longtime New Westminster Salmonbellie was one of only three B.C. women invited to try out for Canada’s senior women’s lacrosse team in Ontario. The 40 women who tried out at the Aug. 13 to 15 camp are hoping to represent Team Canada at the 2022 Women’s Field Lacrosse World Championships that are taking place in Maryland in June 2022.
On Aug. 30, the 2021 graduate of New Westminster Secondary School departed for Denver, where she received a scholarship for the Division 1 nationally ranked team at the University of Denver.
The granddaughter of B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame lacrosse player Peter Black (and former MP and MLA Dawn Black), Lauren has racked up a number of accomplishments since she started playing lacrosse at the age of four.
A few of these accomplishments include being the captain of the 2019 Team B.C. box lacrosse team that won a gold medal at the national champions. That year, she was also a member of the Team B.C. U-19 field lacrosse team that won a silver medal and was named MVP in the gold-medal game.
In 2019, she was also captain of the New West midget girls’ lacrosse team, which was the provincial gold-medal champion.
In 2018, she was the captain of the Team B.C. box lacrosse team in the National Championships. The team was a silver medalist, and Lauren made the national all-star team and was the leading goal scorer in her division.
Lauren was also the captain of the Team B.C. field lacrosse team, which was a silver medalist in Field Lacrosse Nationals, and she earned a game MVP.
And that’s just a few of her lacrosse accomplishments. The Record had a chance to connect with Lauren before she headed to Denver.
What do you like about lacrosse?
Everything. The speed, skill and physicality of it but also all the friendships and people you meet along the way. The lacrosse community is like no other, and it makes playing that much more fun because it’s always with people who you genuinely love being around.
Box or field – what do you prefer?
If it came down to it, field. Box will forever hold a special place in my heart, but there’s no limit with the field game.
You have a long list of lacrosse accomplishments, is there anything you’re particularly proud of?
There are a few accomplishments I’d say I’m quite proud of – signing to my dream school of the University of Denver to play lacrosse at, as well as being selected to try out for Team Canada are probably the top two. Representing B.C. and New Westminster, while winning a gold medal at nationals with my best friends and teammates, was also amazing.
You were one of only three BC women invited to try out for the Team Canada’s senior women’s lacrosse team in Ontario – and you’re only 17. What was that experience like? When will you know if you are on the team?
The camp experience was incredible; I have never seen, let alone played at, such a high level of lacrosse before, so getting that opportunity was so surreal. I learned so much in those three days simply just by watching and being able to play alongside such talented women; it was a real honour. (I don’t know when we’ll hear about the selected team.)
Tell us about your future lacrosse/educational endeavours in Denver, Colorado.
I will be majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry this upcoming fall. As for the lacrosse side of things, we’ll be playing at the highest level. Denver is a great team with great people and amazing coaching staff, and I’m beyond excited to get this opportunity to play at the highest level of collegiate lacrosse.
Do you have any goals/aspirations related to your lacrosse career?
Team Canada will always be a goal of mine; whether it be in the next world games or the Olympic Games. I hope to get the chance to represent my country one day – that is my biggest goal. On the university side of things, winning championships is another huge goal, a conference championship and even a national championship
Is there anything else you’d like the community to know?
One thing I think the community should know is that sports can take you so much farther than you think! So stick with it if you love it. Sign up for lacrosse too, it’s super fun and there are so many people who work so hard to help give us those opportunities.
Follow Theresa McManus on Twitter @TheresaMcManus
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