In May this year, Sophie Gillibrand, who has over 15 years experience playing lacrosse, was appointed co-captain of Camden Capybaras: Tokyo Drift.
This doesn't sound so spectacular until you learn that Camden Capybaras: Tokyo Drift are a men’s lacrosse team and Sophie is believed to be the first woman in the history of world lacrosse to captain a men’s side.
Indeed, many women over the years have played for men’s lacrosse teams but none have actually captained a side.
Currently, Sophie is the only woman to play for Camden Capybaras and, despite the clear differences between men’s and women’s lacrosse, she says it’s no different than playing with a team of women.
“Men’s and women’s lacrosse are effectively two different sports, and each are incredible in their own way.
“I absolutely love my men’s team, the boys are great fun, and most of the time it doesn’t feel like I’m the odd one out: a woman playing men’s lacrosse - it’s just me and my team-mates, we work together, support each other and have fun doing what we love”.
Sophie, a goal-keeper by trade, remembers her coach at school shooting at her with his men’s stick but had her first proper taste of men’s lacrosse while studying at university.
“I played for Bath Lacrosse women’s team at weekends, but most of the women’s training was for beginners, and I wanted something a little more challenging.
“Nik Roberts [England Lacrosse Regional Education & Skills Officer] was our coach, and I was good friends with the men’s 1st team captain at the time, and they both suggested I train with the men - so that’s what I did!
Sophie could have been forgiven for feeling a little daunted being the only woman turning up to a men’s training session but she thinks it was the men who were apprehensive!
“At first most of the guys were a bit unsure, but my dear friend, the captain, decided to warm me up by cranking an 80mph outside shot straight to the middle of my helmet, and the guys all looked at each other, looked at me, realised I wasn’t crying, went “Ok boys - game on!” and accepted me as one of their own”!
And on the subject of sexism since she began playing men’s lacrosse, Sophie feels she’s been lucky not to have experienced much but that doesn’t mean it’s not there in different, more subtle ways.
“Generally, the men I’ve played with/against have vocally been very supportive.
“As a player, I don’t think I’ve come across any guys who have eased off their shots because they’re shooting against a woman - conversely, I think they’re more likely to assume I can be intimidated by a powerful shot, and may shoot harder - but they do react a bit differently when I play outside the crease, and will either play unnecessarily high pressure or leave me completely un-marked - and you do wonder if that’s how they’d play normally, or if they assume I’m an easy target or not a threat because I’m a woman.
“Broadly though, the men I play against seem to view me the same way they view the rest of my team, which is something I really appreciate - as a woman as well as an athlete”.
However, sexism, Sophie says, tends to rear its ugly head more online and within any space where she may want to give an opinion about lacrosse.
“While no-one has ever directly said anything sexist to me in person, online is a different matter; there have certainly been times when my opinions, views or feedback have been blatantly disregarded without explanation, or a man has interrupted me to say the exact same thing I had just been saying.
“There are times when, because I am newer to the men’s game, people assume I don’t know what I’m talking about or that I must automatically be wrong; and while I’m still learning the men’s game, I do have 15 years of women’s lacrosse experience to draw on, and there are some occasions where I know more about lacrosse than the men I am talking to.
“These situations are quite difficult to navigate - the question in my head is always “is this specific to the men’s game or do I know more than them”?
“Men are really supportive when you’re asking them for help; but when you’re trying to teach them something, it can be an up-hill struggle where they question and doubt everything you say, to the point where I will start to doubt myself; and then the absurd reality of being a woman playing on a men’s team and captaining that team hits home, and imposter syndrome and self-doubt kick in; which is demoralising and exhausting.
“This self-doubt has been the hardest thing about playing men’s lacrosse, but ultimately, my love for the game outweighs my fear, so even when everything gets difficult and scary and overwhelming - as it regularly does - I’ll push through and keep going, because giving up lacrosse or my captaincy is not an option”.
Playing men’s lacrosse and eventually captaining a men’s side has been a long time coming for Sophie but it’s clear that this hasn’t been without its challenges. None more so than fighting for the opportunity to play in the men’s leagues in the first place.
“Women had been unofficially playing in men’s leagues for many years before I started playing, but a rule was introduced prohibiting this the season before I started training with Bath.
“I managed to get that rule changed to allow women to play in men’s leagues in March 2019, and then at the beginning of the 2019/2020 season a rule allowing “potentially vulnerable” individuals (women, boys under the age of 16, disabled people, trans people etc.) was officially added to the England Lacrosse bye-laws.
“Before I was allowed to play in the league and when I moved back home to London after university, I tried to find another men’s club who would let me train with them.
“There was a club just starting at that time which a few of my friends were supporting on social media, and they seemed really friendly and were advertising “open” training sessions.
“So I sent them a message saying something along the lines of “please can I come to training, I’ve played men’s before, if any of the guys are worried they’ll hurt me, tell them it’s cute that they think they can” - and they said no problem, we’d love to have you along!
“And that is how I joined Camden Capybaras.
“I trained with them for one season while I sought permission from SEMLA to play in the league, then played for 2Camden 2Capybara last year, and now I’m co-captain of Camden Capybaras: Tokyo Drift”.
These struggles mean that Sophie savours every moment playing the men’s game but acknowledges that it’s more than a little stressful actually captaining a team.
“This is my first time captaining any team, and everything is amplified - our wins and losses are not just my own to be proud of or work on; now I am proud of everyone or want to work on things with everyone, which is an incredible feeling - it’s very empowering, if nerve-wracking at times!
“I feel far more responsibility for the team, and I end up putting a lot of pressure on myself to make sure everyone is supported so they can do their best.
“Now, if we lose, the question is not just “what could I have done better as a goal-keeper”, but also “what can I do better as a captain, to help my team-mates do better?”
Ultimately, Sophie believes that men’s and women’s lacrosse are two different games that are not necessarily defined by gender and it should be up to the individual which version of the game they play.
“Men are able to play women’s lacrosse in the form of mixed lacrosse. However, there is no mixed league for men’s lacrosse, and women shouldn’t be denied the chance to play this amazing sport.
“I also very passionately believe that if a woman is able to compete alongside men, she should be allowed to!
“There are definitely lots of things the men’s game can learn from the women’s, as indeed the women’s has already learned a lot from the men’s.
“While there are clear differences between the two games, there is a lot of overlap, and the experience, lacrosse IQ and new perspective that women’s players could bring to the men’s game could really help the development of individual players as well as the sport as a whole.
“It is also the case that men often approach the women’s game with an attitude of “we do it this way in men’s so it must be better”, and don’t normally seek to understand how and why the women’s game is played the way it is before they try to change things - and speaking personally, I have been careful to learn as much as possible about the men’s game before stepping into a coaching role, so that I’m not just trying to turn men’s players into more physical women’s players, but appreciating the differences between the two games”.