GREENWOOD VILLAGE — For the past few years, lacrosse has proven to be one of the fastest growing youth sports in the country, but it's global success is quickly becoming more apparent.
This month, and for the first time ever, the world's top lacrosse athletes met in Netanya, Israel, for the 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse World Lacrosse Championships. More than 2,000 athletes representing some 50 countries took to the fields to bond over the sport.
Among them, Cherry Creek High School junior, Josh Snyder, who competed for Team Israel's U-19 squad.
This past February, Synder attended a youth leadership conference in Orlando, where the Israeli national lacrosse team happened to be visiting. He was given an opportunity to participate with the team in an exhibition, and was offered a spot to play for Team Israel's U-19 team after. The FIL allowed Israel to recruit up to 20 players outside of Israel if necessary. The only requirement -- they had to be Jewish.
"It's very special. It's a great opportunity, and I'm very blessed to have it," Snyder said.
Even though playing lacrosse in Israel was something new, Snyder had been to the country once before, when he was 14-years-old.
"It was something new, something different," he said. "It was amazing to see all of the history."
During the tournament, Josh stayed in the Players' Village with all of the other participants from around the world.
"I think lacrosse is a great way to bond and kind of create relationships," Snyder said. "It kind of does bring everyone together. It's competitive but it's also a friendly game where you can learn and bond with all of the other athletes."
Snyder said the Israeli national team had been working to grow the sport in their country. Because of that, they are always looking for donations of equipment. Josh's head coach requested each player bring 50 pounds of donated lacrosse equipment with them to the host country.
"I got 65 pounds of gear," Snyder said. "It's really all help from the community and friends. I went around and asked all of my friends and all of my teammates if they had any extra gear they could donate for a good cause."
Snyder acknowledged what a unique opportunity he had, to see the intersection of his faith and his sport in the Holy Land.
"Religiously, I'm hoping to gain a deeper understanding for my religion, and see how it's evolved through our ancestors and through time," he said. "It'll mean a lot. I think it's very special to be representing the Jewish people as a whole, and kind of representing our country and showing the world that Israel can play lacrosse."
Following the tournament, Snyder is participating in a 10 day internship. He will be working with the host country, Team Israel, to make sure everything goes smoothly for the men's tournament.
Josh's U-19 Team Israel played USA West, Scotland, Australia and England.
