Madelyn Thomas is headed to South Carolina to play lacrosse for the Limestone University Saints.
The Qualicum Beach athlete is excited to get the opportunity to play with the Saints in the NCAA Div. II South Atlantic Conference, and also get her schooling paid for, starting this fall.
Achieving this milestone is a significant accomplishment for Thomas, as her journey towards this goal wasn’t an easy one. She has had to play lacrosse mostly outside the community because there is no women’s team in Parksville Qualicum Beach.
The 18-year-old looks forward to starting another chapter in her lacrosse career with the Saints women’s squad.
“It’s exciting and definitely a huge opportunity,” said Thomas, who will soon graduate from Kwalikum Secondary. “I have a lot of people to thank for, especially my family, my coaches in Parksville and Nanaimo, I couldn’t thank them enough because they help me get to where I am today. It’s exciting to be the first woman to have the chance to play NCAA Division II lacrosse from Parksville Qualicum Beach.”
Thomas took up lacrosse 11 years ago. She was inspired by legendary lacrosse player Brian Nikula, a former Mann Cup winner with the New Westminster Salmonbellies, who also played pro lacrosse for the Buffalo Turbos, Pittsburgh Bills and the Buffalo Bandits.
“Kudos to him (Nikula). He has been an idol and a huge mentor in my life,” said Thomas, who simply fell in love with the sport from the start and stuck with it. “I pretty much tried every sport in the book and nothing really piqued my interest but lacrosse. I just love the competitiveness of the game, the contact and the skill level. Just having the ability to show off talent like that, is definitely an honour. I am glad to have the opportunity to do so.”
In the early years of her development, Thomas played mostly on boys teams. She said it was difficult but acknowledged the experience greatly contributed towards the development in her game and it also toughened her up.
“It’s a very rough sport,” Thomas said. “I have my fair share of playing box lacrosse with the boys and then I played boys field lacrosse. And honestly, it just made me a better player on and off the field.”
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Over the years, Thomas played women’s box lacrosse in Nanaimo and spent nearly four years as a member of Team B.C. She currently plays for the Nanaimo Timbermen women’s junior team. She said she truly relishes the experience.
“The lacrosse team that I play for in Nanaimo, we created a huge family with each other and that’s the best thing that ever happened to me because we have this huge bond,” said Thomas, who is back playing again after suffering an ACL injury at a tournament over a year ago. “Being able to bond with such a team, you create a family that has your back.”
That close relationship she has with the team was instrumental in getting her recruited by Limestone University, as former teammates who now play for the Saints put in a good word for her.
“I applied to the university and I got accepted,” said Thomas. “I emailed the coach and they decided to offer me a scholarship. This was during spring break in March.”
Thomas will head to South Carolina in August to start a new chapter of her life. She plans to take a course in criminology.
“I am excited to go down there to learn and also play lacrosse,” said Thomas.
Thomas hopes to one day see a female team formed in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area. She sees the potential of building one here and is hoping she can be involved with making it a reality.
“I do see a lot of girls playing co-ed lacrosse who are interested in the game,” she said. “It will be fun to have a girls team in Oceanside. And that’s why I am kind of all over the place encouraging girls to come play. I want to build the game. It’s Canada’s national sport so I want to pass it along as much as I can.”
