Emma and Sidney Green, sisters from Île-des-Chênes, helped Team Manitoba win the bronze medal at the U.S. Box Lacrosse Winter Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona in early February.
 

The two sisters joined the provincial team just one year ago and played in the Canada Games in August 2022.

While box lacrosse is developing in popularity in Manitoba, the American tournament draws the top club teams in both the U.S. and Canada. In 2022, the event sold out at 50 teams, making it the second largest box lacrosse event in the U.S.

In 2023, the event sold out at 70 teams.

“One personal highlight from the Phoenix trip was winning the bronze medal with my Canada Games team,” says Emma, who is also the captain team. “I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates. These girls have come so far and improved so much from August until now and just winning that medal with them was a huge accomplishment for all of us.”

The team was working on integrating three new players for the Arizona tournament and Emma says that she saw their skills improve.

“Just seeing them pick up the stick and take on the challenge brought back memories of when I started in July 2021, and they did absolutely amazing,” Emma says. “I was so proud of them all and look forward to the future of female box lacrosse in Manitoba.”

Sidney, who is aggressive on the field and sees herself as a strong defensive player, says that the experience taught her a lot. She scored three goals in the first game and showcased quite a few assists, but it was her defensive play and penalties that gave her the most satisfaction.

“My personal highlights would be all my amazing nine penalties over the five games I played. I received all of them for defending our goalie and teammates,” says Sidney. “My one challenge from this tournament was playing against the two best teams in the U.S., who have played together a lot longer than us. It was hard to get past them at times. But I loved the challenge. It made it a lot of fun and I learned a lot from getting to go and experience it. I can’t wait until the next one.”

Team Manitoba competed against strong teams from California and Toronto, and enjoyed defeating their rivals from Team Saskatchewan.

What’s Next?

The Greens will next be traveling with Team Manitoba to the North American Indigenous Games in Halifax in July and preparing for the upcoming Canada Summer Games.

These will be some of the last opportunities Emma has to compete. She says that she’s looking forward to transitioning from captain to coaching as she ages out of eligibility.

Girls box lacrosse is a relatively new venture for the Manitoba Lacrosse Association and the developing progarm is looking for more team members, coaches, and volunteers to get involved.

Emma is excited to continue to help grow the sport she loves.

“It’s been super exciting to see the sport grow in the past year,” says Emma. “The friends I have made on this journey are the friends I am going to have for a long time. I consider them all my LAX family… I am most looking forward to coaching the next Canada Summer Games team, as well as coaching the future girls for nationals. I also hope to continue to get chances to play box lacrosse, whether it’s with a Junior women’s team or even just for recreational fun.”

Sidney is excited to remain on the team and give it her all. “I’m most looking forward to having a blast like I did in Niagara and Arizona and also getting to meet other lax girls from different provinces and countries.”

The community within the sport is a big benefit for a highly competitive athlete, Sidney adds, which helps to make the experience so fulfilling.

“I have kept in contact with some from different provinces and always look forward to playing against them at these tournaments,” says Sidney. “It’s also being able to play with all these amazing talented girls from Manitoba, who I call family now, and having my sister on my team was just an added bonus which I love. We have some really awesome teammates! They are all rough and tough girls and work hard every time they step out on the turf.”

Aside from Team Manitoba, Sidney will be participating in a box lacrosse league in Winnipeg that’s looking for more players. She invites everyone who may be interested to come out and give the sport a try.

“It’s a mixed league, but we’re trying to get more girls involved so we can create a female league,” she says. “We need girls to register at Manitoba Lacrosse Association online and come give it a chance. It’s such an exhilarating, fun experience. It’s been great from when we started until now, so I know it can only get better.”