by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Indigenous athletes represent their families and hometowns when they wear their team uniform in competition. But primarily they represent their nations.
Gage King-Gorman is Mohawk of Akwesasne. He is Wolf Clan. His Mohawk name is Tahortharakie, and his parents are Maggie King and Royce Gorman.
“I play for the Akwesasne Jr. ‘B’ Indians and have been for the last five years,” said Gage. “All my minor lacrosse career I’ve played for my hometown association, Akwesasne Storm. I’ve had a few accomplishments in minors, like playing for Team Quebec and winning a gold medal in the Peewee Nationals Championship. We also won a gold medal with the Storm and winning the A/B Peterborough tournament in the Midget. We won silver with Team First Nations in the Midget National championship. We also recently won silver in the Ontario Jr. ‘B’ championship.”
“I had the opportunity of playing with Team Iroquois at the 2019 U20 International Indoor Junior Lacrosse (IIJL) World Championship and winning silver,” said Gage. “My most impressive accomplishments to me is going undefeated in the regular season last year.”
“The very first person to influence me as a competitive goalie is my cousin Jake Lazore,” said Gage. “I felt like from watching him when I was younger he did everything right as a goalie, from his positioning to his mental game. I’ve always admired and tried to perfect his technique. He is hands down, one of the best to come out of Akwesasne to me.”
“I’ve known Gage King since he was just a kid starting his journey in the goal,” said Káhnekanò:ron Jacob Lazore. “I would often help him at his practices and at his family owned marina playing outside in the yard, giving him tips and pointers I saw fit to help and improve his game. He’s a silent leader on the floor, leads by example, and he is the anchor on the defense. When his team needs a boost, he makes a timely save to spark his teammates. He took the starting goal spot for the Akwesasne Jr. ‘B’ Indians and led them to the Ontario finals, putting up many spectacular performances along the way. He leads by example and is a very humble kid that I look forward to watching him and his potential increase.”
Coach Brandon Francis also helped me the last four years,” said Gage. “He isn’t a goalie coach though, but he helped me take my game to the next level and helped me with my confidence in between the pipes.”
“The physical training of my game is obviously practice and team training,” said Gage. “I like to work out at my house and do body weight workouts like pushups, sit-ups, burpees, Russian twists, and stuff like that.”
“I think I need to work on my short side positioning or rebound control to me is not perfect,” said Gage.
“I just like to entertain and play for my family and those who aren’t here with me,” said Gage. “And also for all our hometown fans that are dedicated to our team. Lacrosse is a medicine game and there is nothing better in lacrosse than making a huge cross crease save and hearing the arena explode, and that to me is medicine and why I play.”
“Mental toughness is a huge part of my game as it should be for every goalie,” said Gage. “Before every game I usually don’t talk to anybody and I just like to get into my own world and visualize making big saves and doing what I need to do. Sometimes during games your confidence does go down, it happens to the best of us, but you try to minimize those as much as possible. You don’t really have a choice but to suck it up and focus on the next play that’s where that mental toughness comes into play.”
Photo Credit: Lee Nanticoke from Nanticokephotography
