Above – Marty and some of the guys headed out for an early morning hike in the mountains 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 Vail Weekend Day July 4th and 5th July 4th – After a tough travel day on the third we finally made it to Vail, which I might say is one of the most beautiful places in America. We stayed at the Arrowhead Village in the Beaver Creek resort, all of the players had condos that slept six guys with a mixture of rookies and veterans in each condo. The resort was beautiful and a perfect place for us to come together as a group to develop team chemistry. The next morning myself and a couple other players on the team woke up and thought it would be a good idea to go for a little hike up summit of the ski resort. Altitude and lack of sleep made the hike seem that much more difficult, we only hiked for 40 minutes that day but it was worth it.

After we came back to the condo we had team breakfast and then Christmas in July came for the team. We received our players gear for the World Championships and the only thing missing is the Tiger Woods golf bag…I have played on lacrosse teams for a while and this would make any gear guy’s head spin. Ill post some pictures don’t worry. After the gear jamboree we had our first practice in Vail, which was comprised of stick work and running, stick work and running, and you guessed it…stick work and running. After an afternoon of relaxing we went at it again for a second session which was a great one…plus some more running! After a great team dinner at the condos made by the coaching staff (chicken parm) the guys went to and early bed to prepare for practice in the morning. July 5th – Woke up to no alarm which was amazing after the two first days in Colorado…grabbed a quick bite and went to practice. This session we put in some more offense and defense, and you guessed it more running…each day I have been getting more acclimated and the team has been doing all the right things off the field to be in great shape for the tournament. After another great afternoon we had a light evening session followed by another team dinner at the Condos…I think that not eating in restaurants all weekend has made the weekend feel more like a family gathering which has helped build the chemistry necessary to win in the World Games…you have to know the guys on your right and left side have your back all the time and that is how you win the tight games.

We had a nice visit at dinner by some players from the New Zealand team as well, they are preparing a special HAKA for us at the world games so I am looking forward to it…one of the coaches is a Limestone Alum so it was nice to chat about good ole Gaffney, SC for a while as well. After the team dinner we gathered as a group to watch the UFC fights and just relax for the rest of the night…the team is coming together nicely this weekend already and I am impressed by what I see on the field! I’ll be checking back in the next week as we head to Denver on Sunday in our final prep week for the WLC 2014!