Athlete Ready for World Cup Action

When Regina Oliver takes to the lacrosse field later this month in Prague, she won't be thinking about the statement she's making. She'll be focused on helping the United States Women's National Team Elite division demonstrate its title-winning skills.

Oliver is one of maybe four African-American women playing the sport at this level, and the only one on the 24-member team. The Pottstown, Pennsylvania, native, who played at Ohio State University on a lacrosse scholarship, picked up the sport while in middle school. "It's pretty big in eastern Pennsylvania. My middle school basketball coach was the assistant lacrosse coach at Pottstown High," Oliver says. "She suggested I try it to keep myself in shape for basketball."

She demonstrated natural ability. Oliver went on to play in high school, joining the national developmental program a few years before graduating from Ohio in 2005. "This will be my fifth year playing with the national team and my first time playing in a World Cup," she says.

The 2009 FIL Women's World Cup will be played over 10 days, June 17-27. Oliver is excited about the opportunity and thankful for those who've made it possible. "People like Cherie Greer who played on the 2005 World Cup team--she's a true inspiration f or me. It's a predominantly white sport, and it can be hard not seeing anyone who looks like you." Greer is in Pennsylvania's Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Even though several who come through the program go on to other sports or careers, they stick close to lacrosse. Former teammate Jessy Morgan says her nonprofit organization, Coast 2 Coast Lacrosse, works with U.S. Lacrosse, the sport's governing body, to encourage minority girls to pick up a crosse, or stick. The sport was created by Native Americans and adopted by the French. "That it's more expensive is not the deterrent to more minorities in the sport," Morgan says. "It's about exposure."

Many on the national team are fresh from college or are college coaches. Oliver says with team members holding down full-time jobs, living in different cities and coming from different schools, it is important to maintain team chemistry. "The majority of the time we play together is in the fall. February through May is the college season."

They use pictures and e-mail to keep each other inspired to work out when they're apart. "I've never been a 'let me go for a run' person," says Oliver, who lives in Pittsburgh. "I have to have something to motivate me. My teammates play a large role in that and the fact that the cup is in Australia right now!"

The public also serves as a motivator for Oliver. While some in the black community wonder how she got into the sport, many find what she's doing "awesome," she says. "They say, 'It's a breakthrough for us. Keep it up.' It gives me the chills when I'm out there."

 The positive feelings extend to other athletes on the developmental and elite teams. "No one treats me like the black girl on the team. We are 48 women  trying to accomplish something great."