SIX NATIONS – Strung reverently around her room on Six Nations hangs this long-time athletes medals of accomplishments.
From lacrosse provincial medals, to medals for volleyball and gymnastics, Jadyn Bomberry has nearly done it all.
But, it was lacrosse that was the sport that she connected with the most, as she quickly gained notoriety with her skill and earned a defence position on one of the most coveted teams in the U.S., the Syracuse Orange.
Bomberry’s ability to play the four positions — besides goaltender — quickly caught the eyes of several scouts, and she remembered receiving more than 40 emails after a large tournament in the U.S.
“At one tournament — it was for world’s still — and as soon as I came off I’d go to the defence and be like ‘do you need anybody to go in?’ If they said no then I’d go to the midfield, and if they said no then I’d go to the attack; just to get on the field again like right away,” she said with a laugh.
Bomberry made the decision to play for the third overall ranked team in the UCAA, the Syracuse Orange to achieve just one of her childhood goals. Using the Haudenosaunee Promise to take care of the whopping $42,000 a year at Syracuse University; Bomberry found that there were still expenses to cover on top of it. However, even with the Haudenosaunee Promise Bomberry remarks that it isn’t just a walk in the park to choose her path, and she has also dealt with an ankle injury.
“It is very hectic. During fall-ball season I was so tired,” said Bomberry, explaining that her entire week was full to the brim with activities, work outs, and classes. “It’s definitely not easy.”
Some days her routine will start as early as 8 a.m., and finish at 8 p.m. or later. To top it off, she must maintain her academics, physio for her ankle and stick to a strict diet and lifestyle.
But Bomberry would never want to discourage anybody, and her advice is both realistic and crucial for those looking to play high-skilled field lacrosse.
“Put the work in,” she said. “My cousin [wants to play lacrosse somewhere], and I just tell her that she has to put in the marks. That’s what really gets you into a school; like yeah, you can get recruited into all of these Division 1s, but if you don’t have the grades then you’re not going to be able to go.”
Although having an academic impasse by coming from full-Cayuga immersion, Bomberry took her own advice and pushed herself to succeed in academic classes to achieve the grades she needed.
“Going from I.L. Thomas to McKinnon and going into those academic classes was hard. My vocabulary for English was not where everyone else’s was, so after getting tutors and always going for extra help, I feel like that’s what [helped the most],” she said. “Don’t be scared to ask for help.”
Bomberry admitted that early on she didn’t want help, but she now knows she would have done better if she sought it out. But being backed by her mother who knew she wanted to play Division 1, Bomberry said that having a great support system really helped her hone in on her goals.
“If girls really want to succeed I’d say going for fall-ball in the states is a really good thing to do, and go to the bigger tournaments,” she said, explaining that there will definitely be scouts at larger tournaments. “My mom’s like my backbone for lacrosse and where I am now. If it wasn’t for her, like yeah I played the sport and like yeah I was good, but she was the one that took me everywhere and the one that actually supported me throughout everything. It’s like without that, I don’t think I’d be where I am now.”
With field lacrosse being one of the fastest growing – now one of the most well funded in the U.S. – those hoping to to follow the path of field lacrosse can have someone to look up to and look to for guidance within the Six Nations community.