Today marks National Lacrosse Day 2020 and to celebrate we are valuing our dedicated lacrosse volunteers from all over the country who have kept their respective clubs and teams going through what has been a strange and stressful year.
Here, we recognise Border City’s Club Chair and occasional junior/senior coach, Dan Clements who has been ensuring the club has been able to reopen since lockdown restrictions eased in July.
The 46 year old attacker, one time midfielder, and occasional pole has been involved in lacrosse on and off since 1987 (that’s 33 years!) and says planning for the return of lacrosse has been at the forefront of his mind since the lockdown was announced.
“The team have kept in touch and, as soon as we were allowed, we started socially distanced training sessions.
“But the most important thing I’ve been working on has been grant applications so that we could try to provide lacrosse to even more people in the Cumbria and South Scotland area upon our return.
“And, of course, we’ve also been planning for this season as best we can”.
When not playing or dealing with lacrosse-related stuff, Dan runs his own architectural business, is heavily involved in his professional institute, and is a retained firefighter for Cumbria Fire and Rescue.
But he feels sport, and lacrosse in particular can be a force for good, especially in such strange times.
“I think team sports in particular are fantastic for mental health, something we are particularly keen on promoting at Border City.
“People play for a variety of reasons, but it is guaranteed contact from friendly faces each week and has still got to be one of the best physical workouts around.
“I think most of our players, myself included, were looking forward to getting back on the pitch at the earliest opportunity; it gives everyone a sense of normality in difficult times.
We’d like to thank Dan for his hard-work and dedication to lacrosse and Border City especially during the coronavirus lockdown and beyond!