UVA LAX Coach Visits 5th Grade

In 5th grade, we studied the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and in the process we were reading an NPR article about the 2023 Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse team in the World Cup. There was a picture of the head coach, Lars Tiffany, and 5th grader James W realized that he knew Coach Lars because he worked with his dad at UVA. So I reached out to James' dad, who put me in touch with Coach Lars. Coach Lars came in to talk about the Haudenosaunee and lacrosse, the history of the sport, his upbringing in New York next to the Onadaga nation, the traditional lacrosse stick that he brought (his father had it made for him) and his family's relationship with the Onadaga nation. It was so cool!! Coach Lars also led the Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse team in 2018 as well. His traditional lacrosse stick, which has been used in world games but is not allowed in college play, is made of white oak aged for nine months before being shaped and having the strings added.