Team Sweden adds local talent to roster

As some of you local Lacrosse faithful may or may not know, the Seattle Lacrosse community recently had two of our local talents selected to the World Team. Not team USA but the Swedish National team. Issaquah’s Kevin Powers and Lakesides Sten Jernudd were recently chosen to represent Team Sweden in the World Cup of Lacrosse this summer 2010 overseas in England. Over a dozen nations will compete including the United States and Canada. Walax recently had a chance to ask the two stand-outs about Lacrosse, international play and of course, Sweden.

Walax: What age group is this team for those that do not know?
 

Sten- Kevin and I both made the men's national team so there's no real age limit.

Kevin- He and I are the only teenagers on the team everyone else is between 20-40 years of age.
 

Walax: Have you ever been to Sweden? How long/when?
 

Sten - Yeah I have. I usually go back to Sweden every summer. My dad's whole side of the family lives there and I've spent my summers there for as long as I can remember. That's sort of changed recently because of lacrosse and basketball and how I play for Seattle and West Coast over the summers and AAU for basketball so I don't really get to go back as much. But I definitely have some awesome memories from my time spent over there.

Kevin - Yes I was born in Sweden and lived there till I was five and then moved over to Washington. My family and I visit Sweden often in the summer here and there.
 

Walax: What was your feeling going into those try-outs?
 

Kevin- I was a little nervous being the youngest player there also I didn’t know any of the players or coaches and I was a worried how my Swedish would do on the lacrosse field and with the other players.

Sten- I didn't go to those because I couldn't really do it school/basketball-wise but I was fortunate enough to be able to play over there this summer in a tournament and I met a lot of the team then so they sort of took me based on that.
 

Walax: Where were try-outs held/ for how long?
 

Kevin- They were the weekend of October 31st and November 1st in Stockholm Sweden

Walax: Describe the other players and some of the talent that was attending try-outs.

Kevin - . The first thing that I noticed when I scanned the field the first time was the size of the Defenders. All of them had to be at least 6 foot and these where big guys too. There was a good group of athletic and fast midfielders, and the attack group was solid as well. Everyone knew what they were doing there, that for sure. I really hope we represent well at the games this summer.

Sten - Well when I played back in Sweden this summer, there were definitely some players who could really play. There were a couple who had played college ball in the US, but most importantly everyone on the field was at the least a very good athlete. There were some guys who might not have had the best stick skills but who could run forever. Everyone out there had backgrounds playing other sports at a high level, which definitely will help us going into the World Games.

Walax: Do you know how many kids were trying out for the team/how many did they keep?
 

Kevin - I think it was a little more than 40 guys out there from all over Sweden and 3 or 4 swedish-american players and everyone was invited to show up. They kept 29 players for a practice squad until final cuts are made.
 

Walax:  When are the games?
 

Sten - The World Championships are next July in Manchester, England.

Kevin – Yeah, The Games will be this summer July 14-24th in Manchester
 

Walax: How long have you been looking forward to this opportunity?
 

Kevin - I didn’t know that Sweden even had a national team until last summer and hoped to go tryout.
 

Sten – Actually, When my dad told me that Sweden did indeed have a national lacrosse team I was really excited to try out and hopefully get to play on the national level. It's an awesome opportunity that I have definitely been looking forward to for a while.
 

Walax: What does making the team mean to you?
 

Sten – It’s going to be really cool to put on that jersey and know that I am representing my country. It's kind of daunting to think about and it's a big responsibility in that I have to make sure to put my best foot forward on and off the field at all times but I am really excited and thankful for the opportunity.
 

Kevin - I think it’s really special for me to be selected to play at the World Cup Games this summer being only 17 years old and having the chance to represent my home country is huge.
 

Walax: What number do you hope to wear?
 

Kevin - What number I wear isn’t a huge concern for me I’m happier being able to wear the SWEDEN across my chest than the number
 

Sten - I hadn't really thought about that until you asked, but I guess I will probably try to wear 42 because it's my number for basketball and probably my favorite number.
 

Walax: What kind of motivation does this give you moving forward with your HS career?
 

Sten - Well I definitely want to finish off my high school career strong anyways this year, but it does add a little something because one of my goals has always been to be named an All-American, and it would be so sick if I received that honor and also was on Team Sweden.
 

Kevin - This motivates me to take initiative to help lead our team back to Memorial stadium. The last two years we have had outstanding upperclassmen and we can’t rely on them anymore now we have to take it upon ourselves to prove everybody wrong that we can’t make it back again.
 

Walax:  How do you feel knowing that you will also be representing Seattle along with your nationality?
 

Sten - When I play, especially when I play back east, I always keep in mind that I'm representing Seattle and the West Coast which is definitely a motivation going up against the East Coast kids. But it's a really cool opportunity to know I'll be representing Seattle on that stage.
 

Kevin - It’s a real honor for me to be representing Seattle and Sweden. I hope me being on the team sheds more light on Lacrosse in Northwest. It’s also a great opportunity to help Sweden lacrosse grow as well.
 

Walax: What do you expect or hope to gain from this experience?
 

Kevin - I hope playing at the national level will give me another sense of the game that I haven’t felt before. I hope to learn a lot from my teammates and practice my Swedish too.

Sten - I really just hope to play really well and represent my country as well as I can.
 

Walax:  What is your next goal following this Summers games?
 

Sten - Well going into this Spring season I hope to be named an All-American, and then after this summer I'll be working my butt off and hopefully I have a really good career at the next level (College).

Kevin - College and my last year of high school lacrosse. I want to finish my high school lacrosse career with another State championship. I am really glad that I made this team one for the experience and two that it should make my college resume look very good to coaches. Not a lot of people have played for a national team.

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