1. NLax – A VISION FOR DUTCH LACROSSE TOP SPORT
Background and History
This document presents a vision for the development of top sport in lacrosse for the Netherlands. Top
sport is dependent on the parallel development of the underlying grassroots sport. Where the
development of grass roots sport impacts the development of top sport it will be discussed here.
Lacrosse is one of the oldest team sports in the world still played
today. It originated with Native Americans and may have
developed as early as AD 1100. By the seventeenth century it
was well established although the game has undergone many
modifications since that time.
In 1856 the first Lacrosse club was founded in Montreal, Canada.
In 1890 the first women’s game was played. Lacrosse was
played as an Olympic sport for the 1904 and 1908 games. It was
then dropped as an official sport in 1912. Lacrosse returned as a
demonstration sport in the 1928 games (in Amsterdam) as well
as the 1932 and 1948 games.
With lacrosse no longer having an official Olympic sport status, the pinnacle of international lacrosse
competition consists of the quadrennial World Championships. Currently, there are world
championships for lacrosse at the senior men, senior women, under 19 men and under 19 women
levels.
Lacrosse has begun to flourish at an international level with
the sport establishing itself in many new and far-reaching
countries, particularly in Europe and the Far East.
The international expansion of the game saw the 2006 Men's
World Championship contested by 21 countries (xxx,
Canada), the 2009 Women's World Cup (Prague, Czech
Republic) contested by 16 nations and the 2010 World Cup
(Manchester, UK) contested by 30 countries. The 2014
Men’s World Cup in Denver, USA will have some 40 nations
competing clearly demonstrating the rapid growth of the
sport. The 2013 Women’s World Cup in Oshawa, Canada
will have 19 nations competing.
Not only the number of countries is rapidly expanding but
also the number of players. In both the USA as in the Netherlands, for example, it is the fastest
growing team sport.
The next largest international field lacrosse competition is the European
Lacrosse Championships. Held for both men and women, the European
Lacrosse Federation (ELF) has been running the European Championships
since 1995. The European Lacrosse Championships were held in Lahti,
Finland in 2008 and the most recent ELF Championships were successfully
hosted in Amsterdam in 2012 demonstrating that the NLB has been able to
build its organizational capabilities.

2. Dutch Involvement
The game was introduced into the Netherlands around 2000. The
Netherlands' first international tournament was in 2004 when the men's
team competed at the European Lacrosse Championships in Prague,
Czech Republic. The women's first campaign was in 2008 when the team
participated at the European Lacrosse Championships in Lahti, Finland.
There are around 25 active clubs in the Netherlands. The national team
programs are supported by a burgeoning domestic club league. The Dutch
National Lacrosse League consists of 12 men's teams, while the Women’s
Dutch National Lacrosse Leagues consists of 6 teams.
The Dutch Lacrosse Association (Nederlandse Lacrosse Bond) is the official governing body of
lacrosse in the Netherlands. The Dutch Lacrosse Association sponsors both a men's and women's
national team. The NLB is a full member of both the International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) and the
European Lacrosse Federation (ELF) and since 2012 is also a member of the NOC-NSF.
Leveraging Dutch Sport Strong Points
We are analyzing how best to leverage existing Dutch sport strong points. For example, there are
important similarities between lacrosse and field hockey. In fact, the very name la crosse ("the stick”)
may have originated from the French term for field hockey, le jeu de la crosse. Both games are team
player based with 11 players (field hockey) compared to 10 players (men’s lacrosse) or 12 players
(women’s lacrosse) who need to get the ball in the opposing team’s goal. Both games require athletic
capability, a certain amount of “hustle” and technical mastery of using a stick to manipulate the ball.
For the women’s game both games have about the same level of body contact. The men’s lacrosse
has more body contact compared to men’s hockey. Players in men’s lacrosse wear more protective
gear including helmets, shoulder and elbow guards which gives it a superficial resemblance to
American football. Both games require approximately the same attitude and aptitude. It is these
similarities that give the games a high crossover capability from one to the other.
There are also significant differences, which provide each game its unique niche.
Whilst lacrosse midfield play has strong similarities with field hockey, the placing
of the goals within the field (similar to that in ice hockey) creates different attack
dynamics that more closely resemble that of ice hockey whilst the defense
dynamics bear similarities to basketball.
Another important aspect is that lacrosse places fewer requirements on the
playing surface due to the fact that the ball is played through the air. All that is
required is a safe running surface. Hockey fields, football fields, rugby fields all
can be used as lacrosse playing areas. Goals are small and easily transportable.
This means that lacrosse can often make use of currently available infrastructure. Indoor
lacrosse and beach lacrosse are both established sports meaning that the sport can (if
desired) be played year round.
For players who have played both games, lacrosse (culture) is often described as somewhat
“edgier” or “rawer”. Lacrosse also brings its own very strong culture and identity that along
with its long history gives the sport a lot of “depth” and Laxers possess their own subculture.

3. We Have a Dream
We have a dream. We are setting out on a long and difficult journey. We
intend to become a world-class lacrosse country and we are giving
ourselves 15 years to do it.
Every journey begins with a single step and one of those steps is our
journey to the 2013 Women's Lacrosse World Cup being held in Oshawa,
Canada from July 10-20.
We believe that the investments that have been made in the social, cultural, playing skill development
and infrastructural capabilities for field hockey that has brought the Netherlands to world-class level
can be highly leveraged towards lacrosse. If those capabilities are adopted and adapted by the Dutch
lacrosse sport community then we have reason to believe that over time the Netherlands can and will
become a world-class lacrosse country.
To get where we want to go will require vision, strategy, sacrifice, leadership,
discipline and strength of purpose. It will also require enthusiasm, joie de
vivre and an unbridled passion for and love of the game, all of which we have
and in abundance. At times we may stumble and fall but the only recourse
will be to pick ourselves up and continue on this epic journey.
In a certain sense, lacrosse may compete with field hockey but, just as in the
business world, competition will create a stronger (sport) marketplace. The
sports can share facilities and capabilities making both more efficient and
effective.
And in the words of any lacrosse coach worth his or her salt: Eat, Sleep and Play Lacrosse!
Strategic Dutch Sport Goals
From a geo-political sport perspective lacrosse can considerably
strengthen the Anglo-Saxon sport connection (US, Canada, UK,
Australia, New Zealand are all strong lacrosse countries) thereby
enriching the sport portfolio across which the Netherlands
operates which dovetails with the Netherlands’ traditional role of
acting as a political, cultural and sociological bridge between the
Anglo-Saxon world and continental Europe.
The Netherlands sport has profited from two decades of
professionalization of infrastructure (including top sport
subsidies), sport development capability improvements and a
stronger social and cultural appreciation of and bias to sport. Yet,
according to the Department of Sport Development, Utrecht
University, the Netherlands position as a sport nation based on population size and GNP warrants only
th
a 24 place. Nevertheless, the Netherlands has achieved a top 10 position and has the ambition to
stay in the top 10.
However, that professionalization will only go so far as other (far larger) countries play catch-up as
economic improvement occurs allowing more money to be put into sports. The Netherlands must
therefor look to new ways of maintaining its position in the top 10. This is where lacrosse can play a
strategic role as being one of the new sports that can be targeted and developed leveraging existing
proven Dutch sport capabilities.

4. NLax Vision
The NLB is formulating a vision for bringing the Netherlands into the lacrosse
world top. To answer the question of how realistic this is we look to Australia for
some interesting insights. Australia men’s lacrosse is currently ranked in the top 3
worldwide.
It is worth noting that Australia has a similar (if slightly larger) population size and
an almost identical GDP to that of the Netherlands. What is significant however is
that Australia men’s field hockey is also ranked in the top 3 worldwide. We believe
that Australia is actually making use of the leveraging effect described above.
Since the Netherlands women’s field hockey is currently consistently rated at #1 in the world we have
reason to believe that, should the Netherlands use the same leveraging as we believe Australia does,
then, over time, the Netherlands Women’s Lacrosse can rank in the top 3.
The following strategic priorities have been identified
• Strengthen access and opportunity for all
o Develop, prioritize and establish strategies to increase top sport player participation
o Develop cost-effective solutions for entry into the game especially for the youth
o Empower and mobilize parents
• Strengthen lacrosse’s organizational structure and infrastructure
• Strengthen and ensure long-term financial viability
o Increase contributions from donors and
grants
o Increase non-member sources of support
including sponsorship and crowd-funding
• Elevate the visibility of the organization and sport
o Develop and implement branding strategies for lacrosse events and programs
o Formalize public relations and communication strategies to increase awareness of
Dutch Lacrosse (top sport) and the sport of lacrosse
• Leverage knowledge and capabilities on long term and strategic sport development from the
Dutch field hockey community and the NOC-NSF.

5. The NLax vision development program is broken down into four phases of
approximately 3-4 years each:
1. Create strong programs throughout the Netherlands for all age groups.
2. By 2018 Consistently rank within the top 3 European lacrosse countries.
3. By 2023 consistently rank within the top 6 lacrosse countries globally
4. By 2028 be prepared for introduction of lacrosse in the possible 2028
‘Dutch’ Olympic Games and consistently rank within the top 3 lacrosse
countries globally.
Player Pyramid
Top sport requires a player pyramid through which players build their skills and move to the
next level whereby the National Teams represent the top of the pyramid.
Worldwide there are over 1000000 lacrosse players of which 30-40000 lacrosse players reside
in Europe. In the Netherlands there are around 850 players with growth estimated to be
upwards of 25% per year.
To increase the number of people playing the game by it will be necessary to:
• Provide a range of playing opportunities
and programs that are attractive to a wide
range of people.
• Continue to extend the robust and wide
ranging community club network working
to develop new players.
• Develop a robust and extensive
recreational playing network.
• Develop the ability to resource the growth
of the game through effective deployment
of volunteers supported by staff.

6. NLax Development Programs
In order to facilitate the growth of lacrosse top sport in The Netherlands a multi-faceted
development program will be embarked upon with as key outcomes:
• More volunteers, coaches and officials involved to a higher professional standard
• Formalized and effective communication strategy
• Raised profile and general awareness of the game
• Improved world level performance by producing
championship winning teams
• Increased and diverse sources of funding
• Greater access to appropriate facilities
• An effective and well run organization
Specifically we intend to create or are in the process of creating a:
• Referee development program that also provide access to knowledge of the game.
We may opt to adopt an existing referee development program such as the US
program that has been in place since the 1980’s.
• Organizational development program for the bond bond/competition
league and strong integration into the NOC-NSF and national sport
processes.
• National Team Program. The Women’s Dutch National Team
development program has been initiated this year. It is the intention to
roll out similar programs to the men’s lacrosse and the under-19
teams.
• Player development programs. The National Team programs will
cascade down into general player development programs. Players for
the national teams will be instrumental in passing on knowledge and
skills into the local teams.
• Coach development program. We may opt to adopt an existing Lacrosse Coaching
Development program such as:
http://nccp.lacrosse.ca/pdfs/Coaching%20Development%20Program.
• Parental Program. To be developed.

7. NLax Phase 1
TBD: A Phase 1 breakdown into as many steps as there
are years in this phase with a description of what will be
done and achieved in the first year.