About the author – Marty Ward has been head coach at Florida Southern College for four seasons.  A graduate of Corcoran High School in Syracuse, N.Y., Ward was a two-time team captain for Limestone and a three-time all-conference selection.  He was the starting goalie for the Iroquois Nationals program that finished fourth at the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship and he was rated second in the nation in saves. 

World Lacrosse Championships-Denver, Colorado July 10-19 2014 Sunday July 6th – After a long four hour trip to Denver from Vail this weekend, we arrived at our team hotel and started to get settled in. During the morning seven players on the team hiked to an altitude of 11,500 and had a workout which felt good on the legs… The team is in good spirits and we are all very excited for the start of the Tournament on Friday. We practiced at Denver East HS tonight with a good attitude and a very excited energy amongst the team. Before practice we met with Onondaga nation faith keeper to give a thanksgiving blessing to the field and the team with a tobacco ceremony, this is a part of our culture before we play as a nation.

Before we broke into our 4v3 and 5v4 sets to end practice Chief Oren Lyons of the Onondaga Nation and our Tadadaho Sid Hill addressed the team and spoke with us about what it means to be a part of this team, it is about more than just lacrosse, it is about representing our people to the rest of the world, not only in the Iroquois Confederacy but Native Peoples all over Turtle Island (North America). This is a very special moment for the team and a powerful message to the men. After a solid practice we went back to the hotel around 930pm to grab dinner and get some rest after a long day, tomorrow we have media day and a double session of practice so it’s time to get some rest. ‘Oneh (Goodbye)

Monday July 7th – an 8am start comes early after a long travel day but I woke up with energy knowing that this is the final stretch before the tournament. At breakfast we were handed our itineraries and had a brief team meeting about what we are here for and what we need to do to the rest of the week before the tournament begins. Practice started at 1030am with a 94 degree temperature…the turf was 105 at the end of practice. We worked very hard during practice and things are starting to come together more and more each session. After some down time at the hotel we had to get ready for our media day at Denver East HS. The team was greeted by native people from the surrounding area and a couple representatives from the Ute nation, Navajo nation, and the Cheyenne nation. Each member of the team was given an Eagle Feather as a gift from the Ute people that symbolized protection and strength for our journey through the tournament…this was a great experience and was followed by a Navajo group of singers that sung a warrior song for us which was moving…the crowd was allowed to come onto the field and shake hands with the players during the song. After the ceremony and interviews we had a clinic with the local community followed by a light practice. This was a great experience and is just the tip of the iceberg when playing for the Iroquois Nationals. Throughout the tournament I will be interviewing some players on the team so be on the lookout for that! Oh yeah I almost forgot….I guess President Obama is checking into our hotel this week as well…pretty neat.