by By Dan Ninham, contributing writer
Avery Doran’s Mohawk name is “Tewenniostha” which means “She carries good words”. Doran is an enrolled member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and she is from the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory. She is currently a three varsity sport athlete in lacrosse, ice hockey, and field hockey as a senior at The Hotchkiss School located in Lakeville, CT.
“I am also committed to play lacrosse at Brown University and will be entering as a freshman in the fall ’24,” said Avery Doran.
Doran’s accomplishments are far and wide as an athlete with the Haudenosaunee Nationals, the Hotchkiss Varsity and Akwesasne Ride lacrosse programs. These include:
Haudenosaunee Nationals – Gold Medal winners: PALA Sixes Cup 2023; Bronze medal winners: World Lacrosse Super Sixes 2023; Game MVP of HN v. Team England: World Lacrosse Super Sixes 2022 (First time the HN team beat Team England in program history; Game MVP of HN v. Team Canada: World Lacrosse Super Sixes 2022 (First time the HN team beat Team Canada in program history)
Hotchkiss Varsity Lacrosse – Founders League Champions 2021/2022/2023 – team goals/points leader (2023); NEPSAC ALL STAR 2023; NEPSAC First Team 2023; Western New England ALL STAR 2022; ALL NEPSAC – Honorable mention 2022
Akwesasne Ride Lacrosse Team – World Lacrosse Festival U18: Tournament MVP 2022
“The greatest highlight of my lacrosse career has to be when our Haudenosaunee Nationals team beat Team Canada for the first time ever and I scored the game winning goal with only two seconds left on the clock,” said Doran. “That experience will forever hold a special place in both my memory and my heart as it represented a watershed moment not only for our team but for all of our Haudenosaunee Nations and community members.”
Doran also is a leader outside of the lacrosse arena. She said, “I believe that one of my greatest personal achievements occurred when, after working with some faculty members at my school, I was able to successfully advocate for the inclusion of the Haudenosaunee national flag to be hung alongside the many national and international flags displayed in the Hotchkiss dining hall.”
“I am also proud of the fact that, throughout my time at prep school, I have been able to raise awareness of indigenous people and our issues by regularly presenting in my classes and at all school meetings,” added Doran.
Indigenous core values help guide indigenous student athletes in and out of the academic and athletic arenas. Although being away from Mohawk country, Doran’s good heart and mind are always being Mohawk. “I grew up on the reservation when I was very young, (but) I have lived away from my Mohawk family and community for many years,” said Doran. “Thankfully, I travel back home frequently for holidays and during the summer to spend time with my Akwesasne family and friends.”
“I am beyond grateful for my Mohawk family and for the fact that my grandparents are fluent Mohawk speakers who make every effort to teach me, my siblings and our cousins as much as they can about who we are and where we come from,” added Doran.
“Because the land is integral to our identity as native people, it is always so nurturing for me to return to the reservation, even if only for a few days or weeks at a time,” said Doran. “I feel grounded when I am there and I am reminded to be forever grateful for all of the gifts we receive from our Creator every single day.”
“I feel this gratitude especially when I play lacrosse and especially when I play with my Haudenosaunee teammates who have become my sisters, and together, we play for the Creator and for everyone but ourselves,” added Doran.
Doran continued to talk about lacrosse being more than a game. She said, “It is this traditional concept, namely that we play ‘Tewaaraton’ or the ‘Creator’s Medicine Game’, not for personal glory but for those who cannot that drives me to play the very best that I can every time I step on the field. As Haudenosaunee ambassadors, we know that we play for the sick, for the young, for our Elders and to uplift our communities. We are committed to growing the game of lacrosse and sharing our ‘good medicine’ with the world.”
“I know that I will carry these beliefs and teachings with me into my future and they will guide me both on and off the lacrosse field,” added Doran.
Elite athletes have challenges that are not always obstacles that stand in their way. They develop and extend coping skills to find ways to remedy situations.
“We moved away from the reservation when I was in grade school and still very young,” said Doran. “We left our family and community and I no longer had all of my cousins and my school friends to play and to grow up with. The transition to our new town took some time because I was incredibly home sick and lonely. As it turned out, we moved to a town that absolutely loved lacrosse! I quickly joined the local team, made friends and began to embrace my new community.”
“I was once again faced with a similar challenge and feelings when I first arrived at prep school,” said Doran. “I struggled to adjust with living away from my family and leaving my friends yet again. I also was trying to do this all of this during Covid which only added to my loneliness, homesickness and my feelings of isolation.”
“That first fall semester was the hardest. However, once I returned to school I began winter and then spring lacrosse training and everything changed for the better. I instantly bonded with my teammates and my coaches and my love for Hotchkiss began to grow from that moment,” added Doran.
“In both of these situations, lacrosse was my light and provided me with the ‘good medicine’ that I so badly needed to overcome these challenges and difficulties,” said Doran. “The Creators game continues to feed my soul and guide me on my life’s pathway.”
“One of my greatest mentors is someone very close to my heart and someone whom I have had the privilege to know my entire life, my mother,” said Doran. “My mom grew up playing box lacrosse with the boys on the reservation before she went on to play in both prep school and then college. She was an incredible lacrosse player herself who encouraged me to pick up a stick at a very young age.”
“I constantly reflect on my mother’s experiences playing lacrosse which are both inspiring and instructional. Her love, respect and appreciation of the game has undoubtedly been passed down to me and I am so grateful for this gift. It has been amazing to lean into her knowledge and to have such a seasoned and wise player of the game serve as my first and forever mentor,” added Doran.
Lorraine White is the mother of Avery Doran. “I am a member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and grew up playing lacrosse on our reservation, the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory,” said Lorraine White.
“Although Avery grew up playing all kinds of sports, including competitive ice hockey, I knew from a very young age that she was naturally gifted when it came to lacrosse. As I have done with all of my children, I let Avery organically find her way to lacrosse and did not push or influence her decision in any way. Although I had played the game myself, I very much wanted my daughter to be drawn to ‘Tewaaraton’ on her own terms, at her own pace and for her own reasons. This way her love for the Creator’s game would always be pure,” added White.
“Avery was an incredible talent and force from the very first time she picked up a stick and took to the field,” said White. “Amazingly, prior to high school she never really had any formal training or coaching and just relied on her raw talent which was both impressive and undeniable. As she began to play more competitively in high school and with her club team, she began to really come into her own as a player and as a teammate.”
“It was also around this time that Avery first began to play with the Haudenosaunee Nationals which has been life changing for her. Although Avery has enjoyed playing on various lacrosse teams, there is nothing that compares to the immense pride that she feels when she puts on her purple and gold jersey. She plays to honor the Creator, the Mohawk Nation and the entire Haudenosaunee Confederacy and it shows,” added White.
“Early on, I had the opportunity to be coached by Andy Towers just before entering the ninth grade,” said Doran. “I was immediately impressed by his loud energy and found that I responded incredibly well to his coaching style which then quickly translated into my field play.”
“Similar to my mother, Coach Towers’ appreciation for and understanding of the game was admirable. His effectiveness was reflected in his ability to break down complex concepts and drills and find ways to make them simpler and easier to emulate. Coach Towers has always been so supportive of me and my lacrosse journey and was an incredible advocate for me throughout my recruitment process, which is something I am eternally grateful for,” added Doran.
“Avery Doran was in my Lacrosse Player Developmental Program and crushed it,” said Andy Towers. “She is a natural athlete, very skilled, very high player IQ, and best of all outstanding intangibles: hyper competitive, very coachable, mentally tough, physically durable, great teammate, great sportsmanship – all of those intangibles are choices, not god-given talent. Speaks to her parents doing a great job raising her and makes her a total pleasure to work with and be around.”
Coaches may be extensions of the mentorship relationship and Doran has had several that continue to help guide her. Whereas role models may be positive and negative, mentors are primarily positive in their development of their mentees and are often lifelong in their influence.
“Finally, Coach Anna Traggio, my former high school head coach, is one of the greatest coaches I have had in my entire life,” said Doran. “Ever since my freshman year, ‘Trag’ has been an amazing supporter, teacher, and second mother to me. The love and care she has for her players is something I had never experienced before coming to Hotchkiss. She treats everyone on the team equally, regardless of skill level, and finds a way to teach each drill in so many different ways so that everyone is able to understand, learn and improve.”
“Coach Traggio goes above and beyond for each and every one of us, and through her leadership has taught me so much about the game of lacrosse and more importantly, how to be a good human being,” added Doran.
Anna Traggio, Avery’s high school lacrosse coach at Hotchkiss Academy said: “I remember when Avery applied to Hotchkiss – I could tell instantly that she was a terrific kid. I was told in advance that she was something special on the field with a ton of potential but didn’t know that she would have such an impact on Hotchkiss lacrosse and as a member of our community as a whole.”
“I think Avery really began recognizing she was something special after her freshman year when she started playing with the Haudenosaunee. I was lucky enough to watch her play in an international tournament that summer. Avery played a pretty big role, on both teams, and, even as a younger player she thrived. She was competing against incredibly talented teams and was making an impact against some of the best kids in the world,” added Coach Traggio.
“After that weekend, I think she realized that she had the power to play lacrosse at the highest level,” said Coach Traggio. “It has been so exciting to watch her develop as a player, a student and a young woman. She is going to have a wonderful career at Brown. Avery is such a natural! I love to watch her play.”
“Avery Doran is another exceptional athlete that I have had the opportunity to coach with the Haudenosaunee women’s sixes team,” said Tim Bomberry, Haudenosaunee Nationals Super Sixes head coach. “I just got the opportunity to coach Avery since 2022.”
“At our tryout camp for the sixes team in 2022, Avery immediately stood out in the scrimmage as an exceptional lacrosse player. Very athletic and a prolific goal scorer. She is also an excellent defender. She is a young player and definitely is going to be a star player for Brown University when she attends there. Avery is very coachable and is a committed team player. Team Haudenosaunee is very blessed to have Avery Doran playing for us,” added Bomberry.
“I coach Avery on the CT Grizzlies Lacrosse Club,” said Lisa Lindley. “I first noticed Avery playing in a tournament and immediately noticed that she had a very strong left hand shot and ability to get to the goal.”
“My connection with Avery is watching her in high school play for our teams representing our nation in the Brogden Cup,” said Claudia Jimerson, Director of Women’s Lacrosse Operations for the Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse (HNL). “I have been watching her grow from here on and it’s been amazing.”
“I first noticed Avery in the Brogden Cup tryouts,” said Jimerson. “The tryouts were one thing, but when we played USA at the Brogden Cup (high school tournament), she showed up! Going up against that kind of competition isn’t easy, but her and other girls stayed resilient and were still able to put the ball in the back of the net. She was all hustle and heart; and she played awesome!”
“Watching her progress since then has been a gift. I love watching her play and grow as a young woman. She is not even out of high school yet and she’s already a force to be reckoned with. She still has more development to do, so I can’t even imagine what type of player she’ll be once she gets Division I playing experience under her belt. I’m so excited to see what she can do at the next level. It will only help our program, that’s for sure,” added Jimerson.
Photo: Lorraine White
