Schools Lacrosse: Mearns Castle lacrosse boys flex their muscles

Published on Tuesday 24 January 2012 04:04

MENTION lacrosse, and most Scots imagine a girls’ sport played in the Private Schools.

But Mearns Castle High School is bucking the trend and five pupils – Iain Dunlop, Matthew Hill, Connor Howe, Josh Gray and Jonathan Shaw – have been named in the Scotland squad for the men’s Under-19 World Championships in Finland in July.

Another three in the group – Ben Matthews, Kevin Archer and Stephen Cochrane – are former pupils.

The squad is 27 strong and many are at university, while a substantial number are Scots based in Canada, the USA and England.

The other two still at school in Scotland are Rory Halsey (High School of Glasgow) and Corrie Bruce (Robert Gordon’s College).

Mearns Castle’s connection to lacrosse came around two years ago after Stefan Wyroslawski, who teaches religion, moral and philosophical studies, took up a post at the Glasgow school. From Bathgate, Wyroslawski started playing lacrosse at Glagow University and he was determined to spread the word.

Shaw, a sixth-year pupil, is the youngest member of the Scottish squad and he only started playing the game a year ago. He had been a keen footballer with Clarkston Amateurs and is a single figure handicap golfer at Cathcart Castle.

“But I had to give up football because of time commitments and I always liked the look of lacrosse,” explained the 17-year-old. “I play in midfield and it is a tough position, but you get a huge adrenaline rush from playing lacrosse. It is a skillful game and it is easy to get hurt, so you have to keep your wits about you.”

Wyroslawski, whose father, Dez, played basketball and rugby at Scottish level, explained: “Men’s lacrosse is totally different from the women’s game. For men, it is a contact sport and you can hit players with the stick and use body checks. I describe it as ice hockey on grass and you have to be fast, strong and brave.”

Scotland played in the world under-19s for a first time in Canada four years ago.

As part of the preparations for this year’s event in Turku, the under-19 team will take part in the British National Championships in April. The team finished eighth out of 12 on the debut in Canada four years ago – the USA has won all six titles to date – and the aim is to improve in Turku this summer.

David Grinter is the under-19 coach, and he said: “We’d love to finish in the top half in Finland, but it will be a tall order considering that the USA, Canada, England, Iroquois Nationals [the Native American team], Australia and Japan are much further ahead in the sport.

“But if we can go there and make the lacrosse world sit up and take notice of Scotland then it’s job done. For the players it’s about getting big tournament experience before, hopefully, pushing for a place in the senior national side at the World Championships in Denver in 2014.”

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