By Alisa Bodner
Scott Neiss never played a game of lacrosse in his life, but he is responsible for introducing the sport to Israel and bringing hundreds of young Jewish adults from North America to the Jewish State to play for its national team.
A Long Island native with a background in sports management, Neiss had never been to Israel until a post-college Birthright Israel trip in 2010. At that time, he was working in New York for the National Lacrosse League. He was only two days into his Birthright Israel trip when he began toying with the idea of starting a lacrosse league in Israel. By the time the trip was over, he already had a list of contacts and an outline for his vision.
Israel did not have any lacrosse program at that time, let alone a national team. Neiss was determined to change that. He raised an initial $25,000 for a launch tour in Israel over the summer of 2011. He secured donations of equipment, which he stored in his apartment and sent in bits and pieces to Israel via friends and family who were traveling. He knew his idea was starting to become serious when he was notified that spring that Israel was accepted into the Federation of International Lacrosse, the international governing body of the sport now known as World Lacrosse, with 68 member countries.
Neiss recruited a group of Jewish athletes from the U.S. to join him on his summer lacrosse tour around Israel. The group ran about 30 lacrosse clinics at various camps and youth movement retreats. They had a blast touring the country and introducing Israelis to a sport that most had never heard of. The press started picking up on rumors of a new lacrosse league being formed in Israel, and young athletes in North America began making inquiries about how they could take part.
At the same time that Israel Lacrosse was taking off, Neiss’ connection to Israel was growing. “It was Israel lacrosse first and Israel second,” Neiss explained. “It was only after I was living there that I started falling in love with Israel.” He decided that all this travel between New York and Israel did not quench his growing passion for the Jewish homeland, so in February 2012 he bought a one-way ticket to Israel. That was also the first year Israel’s national lacrosse team played in an international competition, placing eighth out of a total of 17 teams at the European Championships. The men’s team competed in its first World Championships in 2014, finishing in seventh, and the women’s team in 2015 placing fourth.
Today Israel boasts eight local lacrosse clubs, many of them in periphery cities. Israel has five national teams representing different age groups and women’s and men’s leagues. The senior men’s national team is currently ranked seventh in the world and second in Europe. The women’s team is also ranked second in Europe and sixth in the world standings. Israel Lacrosse also runs a service trip to Israel for students in Jewish high schools with an emphasis on lacrosse playing, as well as an annual Birthright Israel trip for lacrosse players.
While most of the players on Israel’s national team are North American imports, Neiss invests many resources in cultivating homegrown talent. Each year, Israel Lacrosse awards 16 Israeli athletes with the Daniel and Wendy Kraft Lacrosse Scholarship to attend camps and high-level tournaments abroad. The organization also runs a program for at-risk youth called Sticks for Kids that reaches 10,000 children from low socio-economic backgrounds. Sticks for Kids also awards scholarships to dozens of youth to play in a local league and receive full equipment and uniforms. Neiss hopes that the same energy on the field that excites him will also empower these youth.
Ten years ago, when Neiss would tell his Israeli friends about his endeavor, he would start by explaining what lacrosse is. When he speaks about lacrosse today, most Israelis are familiar with the sport. Though Israel is yet to medal at a World Championship, Neiss is patient and understands that medals do not come overnight, and that every step along the way in this grassroots initiative is a significant milestone.
One of the highlights for Neiss along this journey was back in 2018, when Israel was offered the rare opportunity to host the World Lacrosse Championships after England withdrew. This was the first time the competition was held outside of North America, England or Australia. Over 10,000 people flocked to Netanya to watch the tournament, and Neiss was at the center of this tremendous sporting event. “The world was coming to Israel,” Neiss shared with a bit of nostalgia. “That for me was the thing that made me most proud, seeing all those people I knew whom I never thought would go to Israel.”
Neiss hopes that lacrosse will continue to introduce unaffiliated North America Jews to Israel and the wonderful things the country has to offer, just as he discovered a little over a decade ago. With 110 young adults who immigrated to Israel as a result of the sport, Neiss can certainly say that the impact of Israel Lacrosse is far beyond what happens on the field alone. “These kids want to be associated with Israel Lacrosse because Israel is their passion. They are representing Israel.”
Follow the Israel Lacrosse Association on Instagram @israellacrosse; visit the website: https://lacrosse.co.il.
Alisa Bodner is a Fair Lawn native who immigrated to Israel a decade ago. She is a nonprofit management professional who enjoys writing in her free time.
