A real test of resilience, patience and character
Daphne Li is determined to make it into the 2022 HK lacrosse squad for the worlds after being cut from 2017 team in her ‘most unhappy moment’
In January 2017, Hong Kong lacrosse player Daphne Li received an email containing news that would break her heart. At the same time, it served as a starting point for a new journey that would test her resilience, patience and character.
The email was from her coach. She had just been cut from the Hong Kong squad who were to compete in the 2017 Lacrosse World Cup.
The 28-year-old had been with the squad for 18 months since returning from her studies in the United Kingdom and had her heart set on playing in Surrey, England, where Hong Kong would eventually finish 18th out of 25 teams.
Li is now targeting the 2022 world championship in Towson, Maryland, USA, having taken a sabbatical from her job in PR agency Yello Marketing to focus on improving her game.
“When I got cut from the team, that was the most unhappy moment in my lacrosse career,” said Li, who learned the game while at boarding school in England. “I was training with them for a year-and-a-half, I realised that I actually really enjoyed playing lacrosse and being part of a team and being so close to all the players.
“And knowing that my journey ended right there for that year, I was really quite upset and surprised because I didn’t know I was not among the elite. It was like the end of the world at that moment and I was crying, crying crying.”
The tears did not last long, though. While a handful of others who also failed to make the team quit the sport, Li was determined to make the squad for Towson.
Her coach allowed her to continue training with the senior team to help her, she started to train on her own and took a break from her job.
The Covid-19 pandemic, however, forced the tournament to be postponed from this year to next year and she is thankful that her company allowed her to extend her sabbatical by one year.
“It was a good learning opportunity for me to know that you should not give up,” Li said. “Many players at the time just gave up because you spend a lot of time playing and training and maybe you feel it’s not worth the commitment and they can be doing other things.
“But for me, it actually became more of a motivating factor because I know I have so much more to offer. So in these past few years I have not stopped playing and am actually putting in more work to become a better player.
“I needed a few more years to brush up my skills and raise my game IQ up to the standards of the other senior players but now I’m like one of the middle-aged range players, I have more experience so I think I have a much better chance of making the team this time.”
Li, who also swam at university, continued to play lacrosse during her tertiary studies at the University of Exeter, where she earned a degree in sports and exercise science and a masters in international management with marketing.
After moving back to Hong Kong, Li saw on social media platforms that the city had an active lacrosse scene with the creation of the Hong Kong Lacrosse Association. She joined the programme and gradually worked her way up to the women’s senior squad.
“I found out that the association had more funding and was able to hire coaches from abroad to run the programme and that the sport was quite well established,” she said.
“The sport has really come on and is more structured today and it’s great to see that lacrosse has more exposure to grass roots in Hong Kong and more people are playing at primary school and secondary school level.
“Hopefully, we can develop our talent pool so that these youngsters can become the next generation of Hong Kong lacrosse players.” Although active in sports such as hockey, swimming and lacrosse during her school days, Li said she never expected to be playing at elite level. Her family has supported her sporting career while her employer has allowed her extended leave.
“Throughout my life, I never thought that I could be an athlete,” said Li, who expects to be back at work next year. “Back then [in Hong Kong], there was a smaller pool of players.
“I know that an athlete’s lifespan is not super long so I want to be able to fully be the best of what I can be when trying to play in international tournaments.”
The Hong Kong squad’s training regimen involves three team field sessions a week, each one for two hours.
Apart from on-field training, the players must attend two gym sessions a week where they work on strength and conditioning.
There are five compulsory sessions but Li is among those who puts in extra time on the field working on her speed or practising wall ball, which helps sharpen skills, dodging and shooting.
“When it came to my sabbatical year, it has really given me enough time to work on extra stuff that I need to catch up with the rest of the team.
“It’s all worth it. I hope it can happen and I feel confident. I definitely can see the improvement over the past year in league games and I feel that what I would practise I put to good use.”
I know I have so much more to offer … I have not stopped playing
DAPHNE LI