Meet Costa Rica's 2017 LtN Scholar, Valentina!

With the start of 2017 underway, LtN Costa Rica has gained a new scholar, Valentina! Valentina is in 6th grade and travels to school outside of Potrero with her scholarship. We sat down with her to hear about her plans for the year and what she likes about LtN . . . 

How old are you?

12 years old.

Do you have any siblings?

Yes I have two sisters.

How long have you been playing lacrosse?

I’ve been playing lacrosse since the Lacrosse the Nations programs started in Potrero! So I believe it’s been about four years now.

Do you like defense or offense more?

I love defense. I think it’s more fun for me because I get to run after the other players and try to steal the ball from them. It’s a little bit harder than offense, but that makes it more fun!

How did you spend your vacation?

My vacation was good, I spent most of it with my family here in Potrero and also spent some time in San Jose. We went to the beach a lot and just hung out together.

How is your day-to-day schedule going to change now that you are an LtN scholar?

My schedule is going to change a lot now that I am an LtN Scholar and going to start studying at the Colegio. I leave for school around 7am and usually don’t return home until 5pm, so my day will be a lot busier. Because of this, it will be harder for me to participate in lacrosse practices throughout the week, but I will now be responsible for helping Carolina coach on the weekends in Potrero and Brasilito. It will be different to be in the new role as a coach, but I am very excited to work with the younger players and help them.

What are you most excited for this year?

I’m really excited to start school at the Colegio, I’m going to meet a lot of new people there and be able to make more friends. And of course I’m excited for lacrosse.

What is your favorite subject in school?

My favorite subject is probably Español. I like English too, but I find it very hard.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a chef! I have a very big family, and I always have a lot of fun cooking for them and helping in the kitchen.

Meet Nicaragua's 2017 LtN Scholar, Luis!

With the start of a new year, we have another great addition to the LtN Scholar group here in Nicaragua! Luis, 17 years old, has joined our local coaching staff for Club Esperanza. Along with helping instruct our weekly practices, Luis will be attending Miguel Ramirez Goyena High School to earn his diploma. We sat down with Luis this past week to share his lacrosse experience, his expectations for this upcoming year, and to hear a little bit more about our newest LtN Scholar!

Do you have any siblings?

I have two sisters. Keyling is 5 years old and Rosa is 19. And I have my brother, Juan Carlos, who is 15 (and plays lacrosse at Club Esperanza as well).

How long have you been playing lacrosse?

7 years

What is your favorite memory from playing lacrosse?

This would have to be the second LtN Cup, when my team won the Cup for the Club.

How will your day-to-day schedule change now that you are an LtN scholar?

Everything is going to be different. My classmates now will see me like a coach not like a teammate – as a leader. I am going to start going to school, I am going to be a lot busier studying, prepping my uniform for school every day and teaching lacrosse. My routine is going to be totally different, but that is good for my future. I am going to school from 7:00 am – 12:00 pm, then I get back home and will study the LtN curriculum [for our team discussions] before practice.

What do you plan on studying?

Accounting - I like math a lot!

What are you most looking forward to this upcoming year?

To complete my scholar year, achieve my goals of being a good coach, and to teach to others what I have learned. I want to invite more kids and young people to come to lacrosse and increase attendance in our programs.

What do you like to do in you free time?

I like to hang out with my cousins, who I am very close with, and play video games with them.

Luis is an unbelievable role model for our young players. We are so excited to have him as a part of our team and cannot wait to see all that he accomplishes this year both on the field and in the classroom!

Players Lead Clinic in San Juan Del Sur

After the success of this year’s LtN Cup, our players were given an opportunity to continue their work on the field before the close of 2016. Earlier this year, a small school in San Juan del Sur had reached out to LtN regarding the possibility of hosting a clinic for their students. On December 2nd LtN Cup finalists Team Carazo and Team Chinandega traveled to the beach with our coaching staff to help us grow the game.

The day started with a two and a half hour bus ride out to the coast. We arrived in San Juan in the morning, first touring the facilities of San Juan Day School and meeting the kids that would be attending the clinic in the afternoon. From there, we continued on to the beach for a day of relaxation and celebration for the Cup finalists. Being able to treat our city kids to a day at the beach was a great experience. I was overjoyed to see the players from both Chiqui and the Club enjoy such a beautiful day together - from chicken fights in the waves to digging holes in the sand. Of course, we had to end our trip with a little beach lax before grabbing a traditional Nicaraguan lunch at San Juan Cerveceria in town.

After lunch, we arrived back at San Juan Day School to start up our clinic. This was the first time any of these students had ever picked up a lacrosse stick. Our LtN players were definitely timid at first, not used to being in coaching position. After getting warmed up however, they were helping out the San Juan beginners left and right and really stepping up into leadership roles. It was amazing to see Kevin, one of our most experienced players, breaking down passing and throwing basics; or Gina, our newest player, jump right into the exhibition game afterward to show the new kids what a fast game of lacrosse could look like. After the clinic, we got to share some of our LtN curriculum with the group of young new players - discussing what they enjoyed about the sport and the day’s activities over ice cream.

It was incredible to see our LtN student athletes have the opportunity to spread what they have learned and worked on over the past few years in our Managua programs. With their help, we were able to bring lacrosse to an entirely new community. We hope this relationship between LtN and San Juan Day School will continue. The rapid growth of our Managua programs is unbelievably exciting, and can allow us to have more clinics such as this one. Our LtN coaches, scholars, and players are building up a community that can grow the game to a level never before seen in Nicaragua.