AES & Walk With Us Partner with Edmonton Rush for a visit this weekend
AES & Walk With Us Visit Edmonton
The Edmonton Rush are hoping to bring back the game of lacrosse to First Nations children.
As part of the Walk With Us program, Rush players Jeremy Thompson, Mark Matthews, Jarrett Davis and former NHL player Brandon Nolan gave 20 students at Ormbsy Elementary School lacrosse sticks to introduce or re-introduce the games.
The program is designed to encourage kids to make positive choices in life and to be proud of where they come from.
Jeremy Thompson said it means a lot for him to be able to give back to youth.
"With the Edmonton Rush, it's just been a blessing for me to work with a lot of the First Nations kids from this school here," he said. "I've been very happy to work with them, not only working with them on lacrosse, but also with the culture aspect."
He said if he can make a difference in a kid's life, it will end up huge.
"It's everybody coming together as people, as communities, as nations," Thompson said.
Thompson, who is a member of the Onondaga Nation, told the students what elders had told him -- the Creators created the game and it predates humans. Originally, Thompson said it was played with land animals against winged animals.
Nolan said the west-Edmonton school was the third in line to be a part of the program.
For him, lacrosse is more than just a game, it's life, involving what he eats and how much he sleeps.
Walk With Us was created by Arrow Express sports, a sport management company out of the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena at Six Nations.
catherine.griwkowsky@sunmedia.ca