Q&A with Cassie Brown
Major: outdoor education.
Summer plans: Running a couple of Northland’s summer camps and leading backpacking and kayaking trips for a Girl Scout camp in Michigan.
After that: Teaching Ojibwe language in Bayfield.
Q. How did you get interested in lacrosse?
A. I became interested in lacrosse at a young age but from a cultural perspective. My dad taught me that lacrosse was a gift given to us from the Creator, to be played for his enjoyment and as a medicine game for healing the people. After that I played for our Ojibwe tribal youth team in Michigan.
Q. In three sentences or less, could you explain the basics of the game?
A. Women’s lacrosse is a non-contact game played by twelve players: a goalkeeper, five attackers, and six defenders. The object of the game is to shoot the ball into the opponent’s goal by catching and passing the ball to your teammates as you run up the field, cradling the ball in your stick.
Q. Fun to play?
A. I think lacrosse is fun to play! It’s like a combination of a few different sports which makes it more fun. I think it also appeals to me more because it is a sport that was played by my ancestors and I feel connected to them when I play or teach others to play.
Q. Appealing to watch?
A. It’s an exciting, fast paced, explosive game and I always learn something new every time I watch a game.
Q. Do you have favorite teams?
A. I don’t really have any favorite teams. For a while I watched University of Albany play because the Thompson Trio played there. Lyle Thompson still plays there but Miles plays for Minnesota Swarm now and Ty now plays for the New England Black Wolves.
Q. Are you sorry you won’t get to play here?
A. Even though I won’t get to play lacrosse for Northland I still plan on coming to the games. A lot of my soccer teammates have expressed interest in playing lacrosse so I have started teaching them the basics so it would be cool to see them play if they decide to go out for the team.