Thompson Brothers

If you don't follow lacrosse then you may not have ever heard of the Thompson brothers who play at Albany. You may not know that lacrosse is the longest played sport in America. You may not know that Native Americans played it in preparation for battle. Lyle and Miles Thompson are Onondaga Indians from upstate New York who grew up with a lacrosse stick by their sides. In native american tradition all buys grow up playing lacrosse, they recieve their first stick at birth, these sticks are completely hand-made by tribe members and are usually hard wood.

The Thompson brothers did not learn to play lacrosse like other kids around the country do. Their father Jerome Thompson Sr. played lacrosse on the reservation lacrosse team and decided to teach his children the game of their ancestors. They learned how to shoot very differently compared to other children do they used, "wooden sticks and a wooden box, about two-feet wide, with a round hole in the middle barely bigger than the ball itself. That was their net,"(Schonbrun). With this different technique of learning they became powerhouse attackers who could shoot extremely accurately. Below is a video that shows their amazing athletic ability. 

Syracuse University has historically been the college of choice for many native americans, Jerome Thompson the oldest son of the Thompson family did attend college at Syracuse. So the choice to play at Albany by Myles and Lyle, along with their cousin Ty was un expected. Their reasoning was that they wanted to be closer to home and that they wanted to be different like a black swan. With this family more native americans are opening the door to more colleges as options. They are the Beatles of the lacrosse world.