Hello my name is Jake Parkinson. I am 18 years old. When I first stepped foot on the floor of a lacrosse arena when I was 7, I instantly became hooked.

In my first year of house-league lacrosse in 2007, I was offered to play on the house-league all-star team where we played teams from around the province. My team ended up making it to the finals but we fell short losing in overtime. It was heartbreaking for me but my coach reminded me that each one of us can take this experience and build on it. That was one of my turning points in lacrosse. I promised myself from there on out that I would always push myself to be the best I can be no matter the circumstances. I always had the dream to play in the professional league or to represent my country in the sport I love.

I started training immediately and haven’t stopped since. In 2008 I made the Burlington Chiefs Rep Team. I spent 6 years with the Chiefs, and in that time we won multiple tournaments and fell short twice in the Ontario Provincial Championship. But after the 6 years I got the opportunity to advance up and further my skills as a lacrosse player.

I was offered to play for the number 1 team in Burlington, and I ended up playing with them for 2 years. For my last year of minor lacrosse, I moved to Hamilton where I played for the Hamilton Bengals 1st Team. We won 2 tournament in my last year and once again fell short in the Ontario Qualifiers.

After I looked back on my minor lacrosse career I decided I wanted to give back to the lacrosse community. I began to help teach young kids the basics of lacrosse and be a role model for them, just like the role models I had when I first started.

I then began my junior lacrosse career. I made the Brantford Warriors Jr C team in 2017, and also played the first 11 games with the Hamilton Bengals Jr B team. It was a very busy year for me. It all payed off in the end when my Jr C team won the Meredith Cup. It was the first time in my lacrosse career where I was able to be apart of a championship team. And last year was my 2nd year of Junior lacrosse and I made the Hamilton Bengals Jr B team, with which I won the Rookie of the Year award.

So now the start of lacrosse season for 2019 is coming around the corner and I was asked if I was interested in playing for Team Canada. Obviously this was a huge deal for me because I have been dreaming of this my whole life. I ended up getting a call at the beginning of March saying I was offered a spot on the Canadian team going to Prague, Czech Republic in April.

I never thought my dream to represent my country and get to proudly wear my country’s colours would become a reality. However, I am currently saving money for my post-secondary education, so trying to pay for this entire journey will be very difficult. All donations will go towards travel costs, equipment, as well as tournament fees. Thank you very much for time and attention!