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At 16 years old, Lexington’s Marina Burke became the youngest member of the Spanish Lacrosse Team earlier this year. An incoming senior at Lafayette High School, she plays on Henry Clay High School’s team during the school year, because her school doesn’t have a lacrosse team. | Photo by Mark Zerof
Lexington native set to compete on Spain’s international lacrosse team
While lacrosse is often referred to as “the fastest sport on two feet” due to the fast-paced nature of the game, the sport’s development in many parts of the world - including Lexington - has been relatively slow and steady, particularly for women.
But this month, with just two years of experience with the sport under her belt, Lexington high school student Marina Burke will compete in the 2015 Women’s Lacrosse European Championship as a member of the Spanish Lacrosse team. At 16 years old, Burke – who grew up in both Spain and Lexington – is the youngest player to make the Spanish team. Of the more than 60 players who tried out, only 18 made the final cut, with most of the women in their mid-20s.
Taking place August 6-15 in the city of Nymburk, Czech Republic, the tournament consists of teams from 17 countries and will be the largest international women’s lacrosse competition held on European soil.
Burke was introduced to the sport when her younger brother Lucas started playing several years ago, and it wasn’t long before she decided to try it out herself. But regardless of whether she was in Lexington or Spain, she was still a player without a team at first.
But thanks in large part to the efforts of the Lexington Youth Lacrosse Association, several city teams have been born in recent years. Burke currently plays midfield for Henry Clay High School despite being a junior at Lafayette. She described Henry Clay’s lacrosse club, which just finished up its second year, as a bit of a melting pot of players from several schools that don’t have teams.
Born in Santander, a port city in the Cantabria region of northern Spain, Burke still frequently visits there with her family. While bored one afternoon during a recent visit, she decided to email various Spanish lacrosse teams to see if she could join. While the hunt was fruitless at first, it was during this process that she heard about the tryouts for the national team. Because they took place three weeks after she was supposed to be back in Lexington, her parents were hesitant at first but eventually agreed to let her stay.
Burke traveled to Madrid in September for a weekend tryout, and several months later saw a roster list published online with her name on it.
“I was so excited,” Burke said. “I was really hoping I was going to make it.”
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Burke’s signature jersey No. 17 wasn’t available for the Spanish team, so she’ll wear No. 1. The team will compete in the 2015 Women’s Lacrosse European Championship in the Czech Republic Aug. 6-15. | Photo by Mark Zerof
Her father, Dudley Burke, wasn’t too surprised by her success.
“I really thought she’d make the team after she came back from tryouts,” he said. “She was very modest, but you could sort of read between the lines. We knew she did well.”
“I was very proud of her,” he added, adding that his daughter’s coordination came a little later in life for her. “She had suffered through some other sports [growing up]. When she played lacrosse, it was really nice to see that all of a sudden something clicked. She can take a game over whenever she wants to.”
Because her No. 17 jersey was already taken, Marina will wear No. 1 during the tournament. “Because you have to be odd to be No. 1,” she explained, quoting Dr. Seuss.
To raise money for her trip to the Czech Republic, Burke and her family made “España Lacrosse” T-shirts designed by Hillbilly Graphics, which they are selling for $20 each. More than 100 shirts had been sold as of the beginning of last month; a Facebook page called “Go Marina, Go” was created to showcase photos of friends and family wearing the shirts in various settings.
As far as what Burke wants to get out of the tournament, meeting new people rises to the top. Because the lacrosse community she has experienced has been rather small and intimate, she said that players of the sport tend to bond easily.
“Lacrosse people unite,” she said. “It’s the best way to make friends”
Improving as a lacrosse player and getting more experience are also high on her list of priorities. Burke, who wants to play lacrosse in college one day, hopes to find teammates who can inspire her to achieve her goals.
Despite it being the Spanish team’s first year participating in international tournaments, Burke is confident they can put up a strong fight against teams with more experienced players.
“I’m excited for it, and I think the most important thing a team needs to have is some fire,” she said. “So if we can do that and we can get ourselves working together, I think we have a big chance.” cc
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Photo by Mark Zurof