Great Neck South High School alumni Hayden Edelson has represented Israel in international lacrosse games before.
But after being selected for Israel Lacrosse’s U-19 national team for this summer’s Federation of International Lacrosse World Championships, Edelson said, things are different this time.
“I’ve never really gotten to wear Israel’s colors on a full international stage because it has never been a real comprehensive tournament like this one,” he said. “I think what I’m most excited for is being able to see how Israel really fares up to the rest of the world when it comes to lacrosse development and the level of play the rest of the world has.”
Edelson, who was born and raised in Great Neck, played varsity lacrosse at Great Neck South High School for three years, serving as team captain during his senior year.
He said he was first noticed by Israel lacrosse scouts in 2013, when he was playing in the Maccabi Games in Memphis, Tenn.
He received an email shortly after the tournament ended from Israel Lacrosse, he said, asking if he was interested in going to Israel for a developmental trip.
Edelson said he and some other American lacrosse players were flown out to Poland and then Israel to play in exhibition games against the Poland and Latvia men’s lacrosse teams.
As well as playing lacrosse, he said, players were required to coach younger Israeli lacrosse players to help grow the sport.
Israel Lacrosse, which was founded in 2011, is a non-profit organization “dedicated to establishing the sport of lacrosse in Israel as a gateway to providing meaningful charitable work in Israel’s under-served regions,” according to a press release.
Edelson said aside from getting to play lacrosse, he enjoyed the charity work and teaching young athletes the sport.
“Lacrosse has done so much for me. It has taught me leadership and teamwork, it has given me self-confidence, it has honed my analytical skills,” he said. “I consider it my responsibility to pay it forward, so I continue to play and try to give back in any way I can to a country and a people I love as my own.”
After his first trip with Israel Lacrosse at the beginning of 2014, Edelson said, he was invited for a second time in December 2014 to represent Israel in lacrosse games and continue coaching children the sport.
His continued involvement with the program led him to play this past summer in the Israeli Premier Lacrosse League’s inaugural season.
Edelson said while Israel Lacrosse held tryouts for the FIL World Championships U-19 team, he did not need to tryout .
“Because they were so familiar with me and my playing, they didn’t make me tryout,” he said.
Israel U-19 Lacrosse team coach Michael Horowitz said he was excited about Edelson’s involvement with the team.
“Hayden is an exceptional player and an inspiring teammate,” Horowitz said. “We are happy to have him join our team.”
While he is only playing for the U-19 team, or a team made up of players aged 19 and younger, Edelson said he hoped to make the men’s professional team in the future.
“That’s the eventual goal assuming the next 10 years of my life are good and I stay an active lacrosse player and I’m healthy,” he said. “I’d like to play on the men’s team.”
Edelson also said he was proud of lacrosse’s growth in Israel and hoped he could continue improving the sport’s popularity.
“Lacrosse has really only been a sport in Israel for about four years and they’re ranked seventh in men’s lacrosse and this is the first time competing in a U-19 national tournament,” he said. “Lacrosse’s growth in Israel has been so explosive and exponential.”
