University to host Wales Lacrosse Training Camp

The World Cup, taking place in Oshawa, Canada 10-20 July will see 19 of the best lacrosse teams from around the world come together for 10 days of tough competition. For the last year Wales have been exceedingly busy in their preparation, making three trips to the United States, each time playing dozens of games over a seven day period.

As part of their training programme the team are travelling to the Sports Park on Streatham Campus over the Easter weekend to make use of the University’s array of astro pitches.

Coach Raj Rout is greatly looking forward to visiting the site, he commented: “We discovered the facilities at the University of Exeter through Sophy Coombes Roberts, who is a first year undergraduate there. She has played in the U19 world championships and in the summer just before starting at Exeter represented senior Wales at the European championships. The University of Exeter have been really supportive of Sophy and particularly given the weather of late, their all weather fields are an ideal venue for our Easter training camp.”

Wales will face a tough draw in the competition finding themselves against the United States, Canada, Australia and England in the group stages, but Raj is confident of his side, he continued: “I believe we have a well prepared squad of players, who are going to peak at the right time. The intensity of training has been steadily increasing, with the players meeting for a couple of weekends per month, and on top of that still playing regional lacrosse and fitting in their gym and track sessions.”

Sophy is part of the prestigious Sports Scholarship Scheme, receiving dedicated funding and support to help her train and compete on the international stage. She commented “Training for a World Cup in my first year at University was never going to be simple, but the support I received from the University of Exeter has been hugely appreciated. Being on a scholarship has made travelling and funding my lacrosse so much easier.

Additionally, it has allowed me access to top-class training facilities and the High Performance set-up which has not only helped me to develop as an athlete but to ensure I am able to complete my international training to the highest standard. Finally, all of the sports staff within the Exeter High Performance Programme set-up have been so supportive of my lacrosse and always endeavour to help in any way possible, which has been amazing this year.”