Cranston's McDonough finds deeper appreciation of heritage, lacrosse at NY camp

Shane McDonough of Cranston is a lacrosse player. At 13 years old, he is a student at Providence Country Day School. He is also a member of the Schaghticoke tribe on his mother’s side.

Recently, McDonough’s heritage and sports pursuits intersected as he traveled to the Onondaga Nation in central New York to participate in the Thompson Brothers/Nike N7 Lacrosse Camp for Native American youth.

This three-day camp is hosted by the Thompson brothers, superstars in the lacrosse world. The four brothers – Jeremy, Hiana, Miles, and Lyle – are members of the Onondaga Nation. Jeremy recently won his second consecutive National Lacrosse League championship with the Saskatchewan Rush, while Hiana, Miles, and Lyle all play for the Georgia Swarm. Miles and Lyle also play for the Florida Launch of Major League Lacrosse.

Miles and Lyle shared the Tewaaraton Award as the best NCAA lacrosse players in the country in 2014. They were the first Native players to win the award, which is named using the Mohawk word for lacrosse. Lyle followed it up by winning the award the next year. Both played at and graduated from the University of Albany.

“The Thompsons are great. I liked talking with all of them. Hiana plays lefty like me so it was great to see him and talk to him. He is the man,” McDonough said.

The camp began with a dinner and a viewing of “Medicine Game 2,” a documentary that follows Miles and Lyle while at Albany.

“Not just meeting and being coached by the Thompsons and getting workout tips from Bill O’Brien, but learning about the game and my culture was important. The opportunity to make friends with other Native players was great. I feel like my skills improved and my appreciation for the gift of lacrosse is even greater. This was the best experience of my life,” McDonough said.

Questions-and-answer sessions took place with all four of the Thompson brothers. Afterwards, Freeman Bucktooth and his son Brett spoke to the parents and players.

Freeman Bucktooth, a legendary coach with the Iroquois Nationals and Onondaga Redhawks, spoke about the players focusing on going outside to practice rather than playing video games. Brett, a standout player with the New England Black Wolves in the NLL, shared his journey from high school to prep school to Syracuse University to play lacrosse. He talked about the need to concentrate on preparing one’s mind and body to succeed, and the need for good grades and training to get and stay on the field.

The on-field portion started the next morning, and the Thompson brothers shared their knowledge with the players selflessly all day. It was a busy day with skill sessions interspersed with discussions including Mike Thompson of Thompson and Sons Lacrosse discussing the process of building a traditional wooden lacrosse stick.

McDonough was particularly influenced by the talk on the second day from Oren Lyons, 86, a Faith Keeper with the Turtle Clan of the Seneca Tribe. He played college lacrosse as a goalie for Syracuse alongside football Hall of Famer Jim Brown. According to McDonough, Lyons talked about lacrosse in the Native tradition as a medicine game and a way of healing people.

“I love lacrosse because it helps me get closer to my heritage. It’s the sport of my ancestors, Native Americans created it,” McDonough said. “Oren Lyons told me, all the animals of the land and the sky got together and played lacrosse. It’s a medicine game – that means a game to help you be at peace, be at your best. You play for yourself, but you can play for others, too – to make your ancestors and the Creator proud.”