German U-19 Lacrosse National team coming to FHS July 19 vs. Ads boys
Farragut High School boys lacrosse head coach Taylor Clark got a pleasant surprise late last week.
He got a phone call that will soon bring international lacrosse to East Tennessee. The call came from Germany and netted the Admirals a game with the Under-19 German National Team, a top team on the world stage.
The game will be played beginning at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, July 19, at the FHS lacrosse field behind the school. The contract to play was finalized Friday afternoon.
“I got a phone call from them saying they were looking for a game,” Clark said. “I don’t know how they did in the World Championships, but they’re pretty good. Playing a game like this can only make us better.
“We have 13 (rising) seniors and 12 (rising) juniors,” he added. “This is the beginning of our 2019 season. This is great for us. But it’s also great for the game in our community. It’s great for lacrosse in Knox (County).
”The German team, which is composed of its nation’s top talent, has players who are juniors and seniors in high school and freshmen in college.
“This is a good team,” Clark said of Germany. “It has the top 24 players in the country. They also have some American kids playing on the team. Those kids have dual citizenship.”
Clark said no admission to the game would be charged because he wants to expose potential fans to the game. “This is a great opportunity for the people of East Tennessee to see a great game,” he said. “The game will be free because we want people to come out and watch.
“Lacrosse is the fastest growing youth sport in the country. We have youth programs, and we are one of the schools that have two middle school (boys and girls)and two high school teams.”
Upon Farragut getting the opportunity to host Germany, Clark said he went to FHS athletic director Donald Dodgen.
“I went to coach Dodgen and he was all for it,” he said.
Germany will play the Admirals as part of an East Coast Tour.
“They called us looking for the game because they thought we were a top public school team,” Clark said. “They’re going to play in Atlanta and then, they’re going to get on a bus and go up the East Coast.
“They’re going to play in Boston and Baltimore. This is part of their training regimen.”
