Hope abounds ahead of World Lacrosse debut

DESPITE BEING the youngest player in the Jamaican squad set to compete at the World Lacrosse Women’s Under-20 Championship, Hope Wilson is ready to set the stage alight.

The girls will open their campaign against Hong Kong tomorrow at 6 a.m. with Hope confident she can make an immediate impact for the team.

The 15-year-old attacker said she is ready to be the best version of herself for her teammates and her country.

“I expect to push myself to be the best that I can be because I know sometimes I hold back,” she said.

“I think we’re going to do great. I really have trust in these girls and I think we all have really good chemistry, so I trust that where we land is where we’re meant to be.”

Despite her age, Hope has already represented Jamaica at the senior level having been a member of the Jamaican senior women’s team which competed at the 2024 Heritage Cup earlier in May.

She said the opportunity to represent Jamaica is an amazing experience and has had a major impact on her lacrosse career.

“When I was selected, I was actually in school and it was really cool. I was really nervous and really excited to know that I would be able to play and be a part of the team,” she said.

“I’ve been playing lacrosse my whole life. I played back in my town and it’s really great to see all this happen and change. I’m so excited to play at this level because I got to see the men play and it was such an amazing experience.”

Hope attends the Gill St Bernard’s High School in New Jersey, where she lives with her family. Her father, Mark Wilson, is also the head coach of the men’s national lacrosse team.

Wilson described Hope’s national team selection as being the “best part” of his journey with Jamaica Lacrosse and will be her biggest supporter throughout the tournament.

“It is really amazing because I had the opportunity to be a part of this now since 2018 with coaching the senior men’s but seeing it through this lens as a dad and seeing Hope have this experience is really the best part of it so far.”

He continued, “She has worked really hard to get to this point and she’s beyond excited to represent Jamaica, the country of her grandfather’s heritage.”