Just two days before training camp began, Brooke Macdonald was medically cleared to play lacrosse after being out of the game for more than a year. The National Indigenous Scholarship recipient worked her way back from a serious knee injury to try out for the Mustangs women’s lacrosse team in late August.
She brings her passion for the sport, commitment to Indigenous community leadership and aspirations in sports medicine to London, Ont. this fall, as a first-year kinesiology student at Western University.
Returning to the field after reconstructive surgery and 12 months of physiotherapy proved challenging. Macdonald battled muscle pain, shin splints, exhaustion and rainy, sweltering weather throughout the Mustangs tryouts.
“All that just goes away once I get on the field. My head is in the playing zone,” she said.
It’s a familiar headspace after nine years of playing lacrosse competitively, capturing three provincial championships with Six Nations youth teams and competing internationally for two seasons with the Haudenosaunee Nationals. Macdonald’s athleticism also led her to basketball, volleyball, hockey and track, but lacrosse always calls her back. At Western, she found the 36 other aspiring Mustangs vying for one of 20 spots on the playing roster to be highly competitive, yet collegial, no matter how intense the game.
“I love the sisterhood in lacrosse and I love the coaching that pushes us really hard to get better. I’ve grown already through tryouts for Western’s lacrosse team,” she said.
Though Macdonald didn’t end up on the final roster, she plans to keep playing recreationally while training for the next opportunity. She credits her parents with instilling the work ethic that carried her through a demanding tryout camp – five practices a week plus weekend games – and the discipline to maintain a 94 per cent average in high school.
National Indigenous Scholarship recipient finds connection through lacrosse
Macdonald’s academic achievement helped her earn a National Indigenous Scholarship at Western, awarded not just for high grades, but for creative thinking and contributions to Indigenous communities. She put that into practice by organizing lacrosse games to support campaigns such as Every Child Matters. Her community-mindedness traces back to Six Nations of the Grand River, where her grandmother was raised, and where she acquired a love for the game that runs deeper than sport.
National Indigenous Scholarship recipient Brooke Macdonald (second from left) with her mother, Ilana, father, John, and brother, Will, at the Hamilton Tiger-Cat stadium, where the CFL team honoured John as an alumnus. (Submitted)
Lacrosse carries centuries of history rooted in Indigenous traditions. Known as Baggataway or Tewaarathon, among other names, the game was played long before French settlers called it “la crosse”. The Haudenosaunee call it the Medicine Game, a gift from the Creator played to heal communities, honour Elders and settle disputes. Its enduring heritage on Six Nations territory fostered Macdonald’s feeling of belonging.
“Growing up in Brantford, Ont., I felt a little less connected to my family’s community, but playing lacrosse on Six Nations closed that gap. I really bonded with the girls there,” she said.
The experience drew her to coaching younger girls on Six Nations and in the Hamilton Lacrosse Association. Her dad was her inspiration. The retired professional football player is now a teacher and coach at the high school she attended, where he coached her hockey team. He also coached her lacrosse team on Six Nations.
Macdonald’s own commitment to younger players is reflected in the influence of those who’ve helped her along the way.
“My dad’s a great role model, alongside other wonderful coaches and teammates who supported me in life and lacrosse. And my mom is my best friend.”
From injury recovery to a career in rehabilitation therapy
Her family and mentors have anchored not only how Macdonald approaches lacrosse, but how she sees her future. She’s studying kinesiology in Western’s Faculty of Health Sciences, with plans to build a career in rehabilitation therapy and improve access to specialized care in Indigenous communities. She believes her own positive experience with rehabilitation will provide a foundation for the compassionate care she hopes to offer others.
National Indigenous Scholarship recipient Brooke Macdonald. (Colleen MacDonald/Western News)
“My doctors and physiotherapists were just so amazing, I want to contribute in the same way to help people recover, especially in Indigenous communities where specialties like sports medicine aren’t very common,” she said.
Macdonald envisions a future that allows her to remain connected to the sport that has shaped her. She hopes to continue coaching children’s lacrosse, sharing the guidance she received with the next generation.
“I’m very lucky to have had so many people contributing to develop every piece of me. I want to pay it forward through mentorship and future work in sports medicine.”
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