ALBANY – Former University at Albany lacrosse great Lyle Thompson said he still has the wooden stick he used growing up on his Onondaga Nation reservation.
The stick cracked when he was 12 years old, reaching for a pass thrown for his father at a cookout. He cried in front of his family.
“It still means a lot to me because, one, to reflect back, I know the route it’s given me, the opportunities it’s given me,” Thompson said. “I personified the stick. I considered it my best friend. I would sleep with it. I would take it everywhere with me, laundromat, grocery store, wherever it was, it was by my side and I didn’t just see it as a stick. I see it as a being and I had a deep connection with that thing.”
Despite lacrosse’s profound Native American origins, Thompson said the sport still very much caters to the wealthy, who can afford to attend the top camps and buy the best equipment.
“The people who play are very privileged,” Lyle Thompson said. “It’s hard to access with the expenses of sticks and equipment.”
With that in mind, the four Thompson brothers, Lyle, Miles, Hiana and Jeremy, founded the 4 The Future Foundation with the stated mission of “creating programs for indigenous and underserved communities where lacrosse meets culture.”
They offer free clinics that often include equipment for young people in underserved areas. They take requests for appearances at https://www.4thefuturefoundation.org/speaking-engagements
Lyle, Hiana and Jeremy Thompson conducted a clinic last Saturday at UAlbany’s John Fallon Field. Then they met again at MVP Arena that night when Lyle, who wears No. 4, and Jeremy’s Georgia Swarm beat Hiana’s Albany FireWolves in a National Lacrosse League match.
“I grew up with this game and it’s given me so much, so my biggest passion now it just giving back,” Hiana Thompson said. “I’ve been…
Read the full article here