Local lacrosse coach at World Cup with Team Luxembourg
Drew Pollock, General Manager of the Bishop’s lacrosse team and Coach of the Alexander Galt lacrosse team, took on a third mandate as of October, 2017 as Defensive Coach for the Luxembourg National lacrosse team.
Pollock is one of three former Gaiters making up the coaching staff for Team Luxembourg, currently competing at the lacrosse World Cup in Netanya, Israel.
“Lacrosse is very new in Europe,” Pollock said, explaining how he, Khris Scott (Head Coach) and Andrew Barber (Offensive Coach) ended up training Luxembourgers to play Canada’s national sport.
Pollock, originally from Port Coquitlam, B.C. started playing lacrosse at four-years-old, and has been coaching the sport for various teams since he was 15.
He came to the Townships in 2002 to study at Bishop’s University and, of course, played on the Gaiters lacrosse team. Pollock’s time at BU (2002-2007) overlapped with Andy Barber (2005-2009) and Khris Scott (2002-2005), who he had crossed paths with previously in B.C.
The three players went their separate ways after graduating. Pollock settled in the Townships, and is currently teaching at Galt in addition to coaching lacrosse for the Gaiters and Pipers.
Barber and Scott continued their involvement with lacrosse; Barber moved to Toronto, and Scott travelled to Germany and coached a number of German club teams while developing contacts in the European lacrosse circuit.
Because lacrosse is much more established in North America, Pollock explained that American and Canadian coaches are often sought out to help develop teams in Europe.
When Scott was named head coach of the Luxembourg team last October, Pollock and Barber, both of whom have plenty of experience coaching as well as playing with and against each other over the years, were a logical choice to round out the coaching staff.
So how does a teacher from Sherbrooke, already coaching two local lacrosse teams, manage to help train a team in Luxembourg?
“I have a very understanding wife,” Pollock explained.
Thanks to technology, a lot of the logistical aspects of the coaching strategy can be dealt with over email and Facetime conversations.
“Twenty years ago you couldn’t do that,” Pollock said.
He made his first trip to Luxembourg for a training camp in mid-may, and returned on June 24 to prepare the Luxembourg team for the World Cup.
Pollock, along with his fellow coaches and the team arrived in Netanya, Israel on July 7. Their first match will be today, July 11 against Hong Kong.
According to Pollock, 46 different nations are represented at this year’s world cup. This is the first and last time so many countries will be included in the draw. The next World Cup, which will take place in B.C. in 2020 will be capped at 30 teams, Pollock said.
“We definitely have a shot,” Pollock said, in the upcoming round robin.
While all teams have a path to gold, what developing teams like Luxembourg are vying for is a ranking within the top 30, Pollock explained.
“There is a vast talent difference,” he said, comparing new teams to the more established top six in the division: 1) Canada
2) United States
3) Iroquois Nationals
4) Australia
5) England
6) Scotland
When asked how his Luxembourg team would fare against his Gaiters, Pollock, without batting an eye, said the Gaiters, hands down.
In fairness, Pollock pointed out the BU Gaiters could give a lot of countries a run for their money, because of how well-established the sport is in Canada and the large pool of talent available.