TopJLax

For the home nations at the 2010 World Championships this Summer represents the biggest opportunity for players who have learnt to play in the UK to play the game they love in front of (fingers crossed) large crowds and their families, whilst competing at the highest level they will have faced. On the Wales roster will be players that many of you have played against week in week out at the Northern or Southern Premiership level. For this competition the level of intensity in the set-up has been increased and as a result the bar has been raised in terms of what they can achieve. TopJLax caught up with Coach Perrin to preview their tournament.

After the 2008 European Championships, where Wales finished ranked 7th out of 21 Countries, and with a new head Coach (Coach Perrin) installed just 2 months before the competition, Wales knew they had something to work with towards the Worlds. In September 2009 the hard work began, open tryouts for the team were held and the players responded in their numbers, over 120 people attended. With this amount of interest a pool of players for a Senior Training Squad and a Development Squad were selected.

Since that selection the squad have put in hundreds of hours of training, with Coach Mike Black (Anna Maria College) and Mike McTernan (Drexel) bringing plenty of valuable coaching experience to the table. The team finished 13th in the Worlds in 2006, at which time the current head coach was on the Finland sideline, taking them to a 9th placed finish (having only lost to Canada). TopJLax has been told by the man himself that a Top10 finish is the main aim this summer.

Unlike a lot of teams that will feature at the Worlds Wales will not have any pro's or NCAA D1 guys on the lineup, but the team will still be confident that they will be able to run with the lower ranked Blue Division teams. What they have worked towards is a well drilled, hard working group of "team players" who will be one of the tightest units at the tournament.

No one player has ever won a tournament by themselves, and first and foremost each Wales player will rely on each other to progress well. However amongst the ranks are a number of players that have lit up the UK game. Wilmslow player Tom Brooks (and former JuCo Hudson Valley star who was one of Inside Lacrosse's JuCo Top Picks for '09) will lead the attack line-up, he's got lightning change of pace and can finish well and also distribute. There's experience in the midfield line (Steve Mcdermott - Hitchin) and youth (Rhod Stanford - Cardiff) and TopJLax have already spoken with LSM Jason Jones in a previous interview (who is a product of the University system in the UK having previously played at Liverpool Uni).

Looking to the future, and beyond even this Summer's tournament, Wales are entering the Development team into the Festival that surrounds the main event.. This will provide a learning ground for players of the future to develop their game and push for spots in the Senior Squad. The aim is to create a structure from which Wales players can be nurtured into the Senior Squad.

In the build up to the championships Wales made it to the Final of the BNC's 2010 - after coming back from a few set backs. There was THAT game in the group stages where they were turned over in a 1 goal thriller by a youthful and explosive South Uni's team that suprised many. Discussing the game Coach Perrin noted that it was better that the upset happened at the BNC's rather than the Worlds and that the team had learnt a lot from the game. Many in the Wales camp believed they could have won the tournament, although it was noted that the team played a large squad and used the opportunity for a final look at a few of the fringe players.

The squad is now finalised, and the team are beginning their final preparations for the games. You can find out more at http://freeteams.net/waleslax/#