Children in Puerto Rico are picking up lacrosse sticks for the first time. They’ve been doing so for the last 18 months — providing another outlet for them to express and enjoy themselves. 

It’s a sport that’s entirely new for the Caribbean island and U.S. territory, but one that has been welcomed since 2016.

“Two words: Natural attraction,” said Nathan Lowmaster, who helped found Puerto Rico Lacrosse in 2016. “I don’t know if it’s because Puerto Ricans an inherently athletic, but they’ve got it. It was a natural attraction and they get it.”

Meanwhile, some 6,000 miles away, Puerto Rico’s national lacrosse team is on its way to being the surprise of the FIL World Championship. Puerto Rico swept through pool play with wins over Wales and Bermuda, and followed it with victories over Germany, New Zealand and Japan to advance to the quarterfinals, where it will match up with the Iroquois Nationals at 11 a.m.

As a first-time competitor that has FIL associate member status, the Puerto Ricans were initially unable to compete for a medal in the 2018 FIL World Championship. However, the FIL Board voted early this morning in Israel to allow Puerto Rico to be eligible for a medal — an unprecedented move for a debutant, but one earned by Puerto Rico's play this year.

Score sick goal
Do a backflip
Stick the landing
Help @PuertoRicoLax get its historic first World Lacrosse Championships win
Incoming @LoyolaMLAX transfer Corey Millhouse with the celly of @2018WorldLax thus far. More coverage at https://t.co/oJkK8CQ2nw & the LSN app pic.twitter.com/FvAcvKvAI2

— Lax Sports Network (@LaxSportsNet) July 14, 2018

It's not as much of a surprise given a Puerto Rico roster that features former college and professional players. However, each member traces his roots back to the island and is extremely prideful of his lineage. Yes, this team is in Israel to win as many games as possible. But there’s a greater goal for Puerto Rico Lacrosse’s founders, Lowmaster and Miguel Lozada, Liberty MCLA teammates who conceptualized the organization in 2016.

“We knew going into these world games that we wouldn’t be able to participate for a medal," Lowmaster said. "We certainly appreciate the opportunity to advance in the tournament as we win games. Our primary focus has never been on winning a medal. Our organization seeks to field both Men’s and Women’s National Teams from now until eternity for one purpose: to give our youth lacrosse players on the island of Puerto Rico something tangible to look forward to."

While the national team is performing up to expectations in Israel, Puerto Rico Lacrosse and its supporters are also looking at the bigger picture. Lowmaster, Lozada and others— both on the island and in the United States — are hoping to grow the game of lacrosse in an area that hadn’t seen it prior to 2016.

Puerto Rico Lacrosse team they are bring new hope and happiness to the Puerto Rico people pic.twitter.com/hl0Xw214uI

— George Rivera (@AuthorizedAlarm) July 18, 2018

That process is just beginning, but the hope is that increased exposure in the world championship will help raise awareness for the Puerto Rico Lacrosse cause. The ultimate goal is to have a stick in the hands of children all over the island.

“When it comes to Puerto Rico Lacrosse, we’re never satisfied,” Lozada said. “We have our vision and we know where we want to go. It’s very exciting for our national team that we were able to get 22 guys to go to Israel to participate. For us, we really care about the kids of Puerto Rico.”

And the players on this Puerto Rican national team share that sentiment. On a team that features Duke’s JT Giles-Harris, former Boston Cannon Ricky Pages, former Rutgers star Scott Bieda, Maryland’s Thomas O’Connell and others, each player is invested in giving back to the island.

From the moment this team got together their was instant chemistry. To hear the word “love” thrown around when you only been with each other a couple weeks is something truly special. Game 2:45 EST against Japan. #PuertoRico #DMGB https://t.co/q5Fgt4UYa5

— Scott Bieda (@CoachScottBieda) July 17, 2018

“After the world games, we’re putting together a bunch guys, and we’re trying to help out outside the major cities that don’t have power as a community outreach,” Pages, whose grandfather was born in Puerto Rico told USLaxmagazine.com before the tournament. “Hopefully the communities can see they do have a national lacrosse team, and we can help the schools with food, power and things like that.”

An attitude like that will help fulfill the two pillars that Lowmaster and Lozada established when they began building Puerto Rico Lacrosse in 2016. Former teammates with the Flames in 2013-14, the duo reunited in 2015.

Lozada's parents were Puerto Rico natives, and he grew up playing wall ball in the streets of Queens, N.Y. Lowmaster’s wife hails from the island and they met there in 2009. Lozada and Lowmaster decided formed Puerto Rico Lacrosse with two common interests in mind. The two met tirelessly for the better part of a year to plan and organize a strategy for the development of the sport in Puerto Rico.

The first step was to introduce the game to the island, organically. In May of 2016, Lowmaster and Lozada traveled to the capital San Juan to showcase lacrosse at Las Justas, an intercollegiate sports festival.

Luckily for them, hoards of local school children were there for a field trip. 

“We set up a lacrosse net and we were lucky enough that that day there were about five different groups of kids that were going there for a field trip,” Lozada said. “It was just me and Nate and 20 lacrosse sticks and we just had to pick up the game with a bunch of these kids. We held our first introduction to lacrosse in Puerto Rico.”

Months later, Puerto Rico Lacrosse had a team of volunteers, a social media presence that helped gain a following in the lacrosse community and a goal to find players of Puerto Rican descent to make up a team for the 2018 FIL World Championship.

Lozada and Lowmaster started searching for players to fill a potential Puerto Rico roster, keeping their expectations low. Lowmaster hoped he could find players that could gain an affinity for Puerto Rican culture, as he did.

“I fell in love with the Puerto Rican culture,” he said. “They’re some of the most passionate and prideful people. That’s something that attracted me.”

Lozada grew up playing lacrosse in America thinking he was the only player with Puerto Rican descent — he was wrong. The founders of Puerto Rico Lacrosse, with help from Director of Communications Jose Esquilin, started hearing back from dozens of players across the country. They were as prideful as Lowmaster had hoped.

Not only were players interested in playing for Puerto Rico, some sent equipment to be shipped to the island to help foster the growth of the game.

“We started seeing players coming out of the woodworks saying ‘Hey, I played in the MLL’ or ‘I played at Ohio State,’” Lozada said. “We had guys from all over the country asking about how can they join our initiatives and how can they join our team. It just took a matter of two guys getting a website going and connecting everybody.”

In Jan. 2017, Puerto Rico Lacrosse held a national team assessment, along with a youth clinic and a scrimmage with Keiser University. It also enlisted Eliot Hernandez, who hails on the island, to kickstart the Island Development Committee and run a summer youth program.

While the roots of a Puerto Rican lacrosse movement were being established, the national team prepared for its trip to Israel for its world championship debut. Many of the players had become closer to their heritage as a result of the process — a product of the organization that Lowmaster and Lozada had not totally anticipated.

“We marched in the Puerto Rican Day parade, and we were able to bring our family members. It was great to see how happy they were,” Pages said. “It’s a proud moment to represent your family like that and see your mom or dad’s face and the joy it brings them.”

@puertoricolacrosse National Team walking at the #puertoricandayparade

These young men are headed to Israel @worldlaxchampionship2018 pic.twitter.com/jdZbCxRosz

— Puerto Rico Lacrosse (@PuertoRicoLax) June 10, 2018

Players that did not make the final roster are also continuing to contribute to the cause.

“We have our national team, and then we have Team Puerto Rico,” Lowmaster said. “That’s basically everyone that has shown up for our assessments or national team tryouts. They are part of our family and Team Puerto Rico.”

Team Puerto Rico is certainly welcoming the run of success that its national team has had over the past five days, but the mission will take much longer. If the national team can help grow the game on the island, then it has served its purpose. It has already taken steps to establish a women's national team, a summer internship program and multiple co-ed youth lacrosse teams.

The main mission is to#growthegame in Puerto Rico! We currently have 2 players teaching Lax ! To the youth @espn @LaxAllStars @2018WorldLax pic.twitter.com/2RulvfqjSe

— Puerto Rico Lacrosse (@PuertoRicoLax) July 14, 2018

“The goal of having a national team was to introduce Puerto Rican players in the United States to the island, so the kids could see what a real lacrosse game was and they could have someone to relate to,” Lozada said.

“We’re just hoping the be the ones that bring [lacrosse] there,” Lowmaster said. “We just want our game of opportunity to be introduced to the island. We want it to be sustainable by Puerto Ricans that live in Puerto Rico.”