The Turkish National team has made three years of progress in just one year’s time. It has done in days what it takes most athletes months or years to achieve. The team came together in July this year and grabbed the #22 spot in the world, despite 2014 being its first appearance at the World Games. It came in #2 among the newcomers, second only to Israel. Members of the Turkish National team will return home with inspirational experiences that will push them to train harder, not just for the next round of World Games, but also in their efforts to attract new lacrosse players to their organization.
My first experience with Turkey Lacrosse were the tryouts in Istanbul during July of 2013, followed by the Mediterranean Friendship Games versus the Israeli National Team in Israel. At the time, the players had a lot of energy and raw talent, but it was misdirected. The young lacrosse players had not yet grasped how offense or defense in lacrosse worked, and frustration was rampant. In our first match versus Israel, we ended up borrowing players from the Israeli National team in order to make the match more fair, and we only had one Turkish member of our team actually score a goal that game.
This. Year. Was. Different.
One short year later, Turkey went into an early lead against the Israeli National Team. The players were fired up. They were listening to their coaches. They were playing with a greatly increased lacrosse IQ, the result of a hard year’s work of studying and intense weeks of practice leading up to July in Denver. Most importantly, they were scoring goals and shutting down Israel’s offense. Turkey’s goalies, Jake Adonis and Kyle Mariboe, deserve a special shout out here for being absolute mad men in the cage. For the first 75% of the game, Turkey outscored Israel. The fourth quarter came, and fortune began to shift to Israel’s favor. With a few minutes left in the game, Israel put itself in the lead for the first time that day. It went up one goal with less than two minutes left, and Turkey was on its heels. With twenty-five seconds left, Turkey took advantage of the EMO situation and tied up the score. Then, with six seconds left, Israel managed to sneak in the winning goal with a quick look to the crease. Turkey lost the game, 12-11, but they left the field with a well-deserved sense of accomplishment. They managed to hold their own against (and almost beat) a team that went on to be ranked #7 in the world; a team that, a year prior, they had no chance of beating.
I have high hopes for Turkey Lacrosse. The young athletes are dedicated and determined. They have the experience of the World Games; the experience of a lifetime (hopefully one of many lifetime experiences at the World Games – let’s not forget 2018 and 2022!) that helped to unite this team more than ever. Most significantly, they now have the respect of the world as they triumphantly return home.
Well done, Turkiye. You deserve to be proud.
About the author: Dean Pohlman is the VP of Turkey Lacrosse. He played in the MCLA for the University of Wisconsin from 2009 – 2012. He lives in Austin, Texas, where he is the founder and CEO of Man Flow Yoga, a yoga-inspired fitness company that focuses on bringing the physical benefits of yoga to men and athletes. He left the tournament early after sustaining an MCL injury in a practice match prior to the official start of the World Games. He scored 5 goals in Turkey’s match versus Israel. To contact Dean or Turkey Lacrosse, please send an email to [email protected].
