MaASLAX INTERVIEW SERIES: LINUS FÖHR

Interested what being a Lacrosse coach, board member, or player is like? Never seen Lacrosse in real life before? Maaslax would like to introduce you to a number of its coaches, board members, and players. Interesting insights into the team and and the sport are a promise, but check it out yourself!

This interview will be starring Linus Föhr, the head of treasury of Maastricht Lacrosse.

What is your board position at Maastricht Lacrosse?

Right now, I’m the treasurer at Maastricht Lacrosse and thus responsible for all financial issues that arise during the year, i.e. budgetary planning.

Is this your first board position in an association? In your opinion, how does a board position at Maastricht lacrosse differ from similar positions at other associations?

Before my current board position with the Lamas, I was already in last year’s board. In one year however, a lot of things have changed within the board. We found a proper working method now and really seem to accomplish the goals that we set for ourselves in the beginning of the year. This is mainly thanks to the good organizational structure that has been established.

How would you describe your personal responsibilities towards the team?

I would see my biggest personal responsibilities towards the team in making possible events where the team can gain playing time. Due to my previous experience with the Aachen Lacrosse team, I tried to build a bridge between both clubs, allowing us to play friendly matches against each other. I find it is of vital importance especially for new players to not only experience the drills in an isolated practice situation, but also in real games so that the players know how to apply the learned drills.

As the oldest lacrosse organization in the Netherlands, Maastricht Lacrosse is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. How would you describe the experience of being “Lama”?

Being a Lama is being part of a big community. This is especially so due to our famous alumni team, the Goldmembers. No matter to what tournament you’re heading, you will most certainly find at least a handful of previous lama players and you immediately get to know new people who also share the Lama spirit.

What do you like best about Maastricht Lacrosse?

What I like best about Maastricht Lacrosse is the sense of community that we have build up in the previous months. Whether in social events, such as the Walking Dinners or in tournaments such as the Newcomers Tournament in Nijmegen, we now experience that both the girls and the boys team consider themselves as one big team. It is just this close bond between both teams that I highly appreciate in Maastricht.

In your opinion, what are the biggest improvements within the team since the implementation of the new board?

Most of our players have not had any experience with lacrosse prior to becoming a Lama, but by now we were able to form a functioning team and attend tournaments or other activities that were not possible in until just recently. Therefore, all players improve through more playing time thereby allowing the team to be capable of much bigger hurdles and compete on a different level.

What could be improved within the organization of the team?

A major issue within the team is unfortunately the communication. By now probably every player is aware of the fact that communication is key for lacrosse, however this is still something we have to work on. Whether it is regarding response rates or during practices, this is, from my perspective the most urgent issue at the moment.

Can you think of a team moment to remember?

I could not really pinpoint it to one single event, because there were so many great nights that I already had with the team. Whether in the Shamrock or Walking Dinners, all of these events were just amazing. However, if I would have to fix one event that would probably be the Berlin Open in the previous summer. Despite our major defeat in the tournament, we were able to compete with high-level lacrosse teams and I think it was a huge benefit to everyone who joined. Unfortunately, a terrible accident shortly prior to the tournament lead to the fact that many players did not feel capable of enjoying an entire weekend of lacrosse. This period was especially striking for me, because it showed me that the entire team then stuck together and we supported each other in these hard times.