The four Thompson Brothers stand with Iroquois National host Tracy Shenandoah (center) at the Lacrosse championships in Syracuse New York in 2015. Photo Vincent Schilling
News Release
Iroquois Nationals
The Iroquois Nationals have proudly announced the roster of players and coaches for the 2018 Iroquois Nationals Men’s Team competing in the 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship from July 11 to 21, 2018 in Netanya, Israel.
With 48 teams playing 175 games, the 2018 championship will be the largest ever. The FIL is comprised of 60 member-nations and hosts the FIL Men’s Lacrosse World Championship every four years.
Competing in the top Blue Division against five other countries, the Iroquois Nationals will face off against the United States, Canada, England, Scotland and Australia. The 2018 Iroquois Nationals Men’s World Team includes stand-out athletes with collegiate and professional experience including all four Thompson Brothers. The team roster displays confederacy strength showcasing athletes from each of the six Haudenosaunee Nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora.
Head Coach Mark Burnam said the Iroquois Nationals are hard at work this week honing their skills in preparation for their first game against Team USA on Thursday, July 12 at 8:30 pm. “We have some of the finest athletes in the world competing on our team and we bring a lot of heart to the game with our traditions and competitive style. We’re proud of the team we’ve put together for the 2108 World Championship and we plan to play hard for our people.”
ATTACK – Austin Staats, Lyle Thompson, Ty Thompson, Tehoka Nanticoke, Randy Staats, Miles Thompson, Kyle Jackson
MIDFIELD – Brendan Bomberry, Hiana Thompson, Ron John, Jeremy Thompson, Frankie Brown, Mike Lazore, Oran Horn, Chase Scanlan
DEFENSE – Tyson Bomberry, Johnson Jimerson, Liam Anderson, Jerry Staats, Jake Fox, Taylor Smoke
GOAL – Warren Hill, Tyler Armstrong
Head Coach Mark Burnam (Haudenosaunee Mohawk Nation) has more than 30 years of coaching experience and played international and professional lacrosse for 16 years. Now a coach at IMG Academy, he played in the National Lacrosse League for 11 years, winning a World Championship with the Buffalo Bandits. Burnam also competed in five consecutive FIL World Championships as a standout player on Iroquois Nationals and was Assistant Coach of the Bronze medal-winning U19 Iroquois Nationals that competed in Turku, Finland in 2012.
Assistant Coach Brett Bucktooth (Haudenosaunee Oneida Nation) joins the coaching staff after a decade playing professional lacrosse and as a longtime standout on the Iroquois Nationals. A graduate of Syracuse University, Brett played in the MLL for the Boston Cannons and Rochester Rattlers. He also was an All-Star in the NLL for the Buffalo Bandits and New England Black Wolves.
Scott Marr, Offensive Coordinator for the 2018 Iroquois Nationals World Team, currently serves as Head Coach at the University of Albany. Marr, now in his 19th year, is a six-time America East Coach of the Year and has coached the Great Danes to nine America East Tournament titles, 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and six NCAA Tournament victories. Marr formerly coached team members Lyle Thompson, Miles Thompson, Ty Thompson and currently coaches Ron John at the University at Albany.
Defensive Coordinator for the Nationals is Lars Tiffany, Head Coach at the University of Virginia. Tiffany was head coach at Brown where he turned the program into one of the tops in the nation. Under Tiffany, Brown won four Ivy League titles and made three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Tiffany was the coach at Stony Brook for two years and an assistant at Penn State, Dartmouth, Washington & Lee and LeMoyne.
The team, management, board and coaching staff of the Iroquois Nationals are all members of the Haudenosaunee (except Marr and Tiffany.) Ansley Jemison is Executive Director, Scott Burnam is General Manager and Mark Martin is Assistant General Manager. As the originators of the game of lacrosse, the Iroquois Nationals take great pride in representing their nations at the world games.
Follow the Iroquois Nationals on Facebook, on Twitter @iroqnats2018 and Instagram @iroquoisnationals2018.
