Fourth year lacrosse player, Joe Wasson-McQuigge, has managed to break into the National Lacrosse League with the Minnesota Swarm.

With only nine teams currently participating, and teams folding or relocating on a yearly basis, the National Lacrosse League is arguably one of the hardest professional leagues to find work in as a player. However, Joe Wasson-McQuigge, a fourth year player and captain of the Gryphons men’s lacrosse team, has managed to find a job on the practice squad of the NLL’s Minnesota Swarm, a huge step towards reaching his ultimate goal of becoming a full-time professional in the league.

A native of the lacrosse hotbed of Peterborough, Ont., it didn’t take Wasson-McQuigge long to get involved in Canada’s national sport.

“I started playing lacrosse competitively when I was six years old, but played house league starting when I was four,” said Wasson-McQuigge.

Since then he has gone on to play along side some of Canada’s top players in the Ontario Lacrosse League’s “Junior A” division, and more recently in Major Series Lacrosse (Canada’s “Senior A” league) with the Peterborough Lakers, as well as in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association with the Gryphons. This experience has contributed to his role as a heavily relied on player with the Gryphons.

“Wass has a huge role with our team,” said third year attackman, Connor Deuchars. “He is a huge presence in the locker room and he can have a big impact at both ends of the field on any given shift, especially on face-offs and ground balls.”

Despite his on-field success with the Gryphons, including a National Championship in 2008, Wasson-McQuigge believes his participation in CUFLA with the Gryphons has helped him in his development as a lacrosse player.

“Playing with the Gryphons has helped me develop into a more of an all-around player,” said Wasson-McQuigge. “We play field lacrosse here at Guelph and I play midfield, so I get to play both offence and defence, where in the summer time we play box and I mostly just play defence, so it has definitely helped my offensive game.”

Wasson-McQuigge looks to continue to develop and find more on-field success again with the Gryphons next year, who look to improve on their semi-final loss to the Bishops University Gaiters at the CUFLA National Championship this past season. In the meantime, Wasson-McQuigge will continue to work towards cracking the game day roster of the Minnesota Swarm, who are in a rebuilding year this season. The Swarm currently sits at 0-1 and takes on a 2-0 Buffalo Bandits squad Jan. 28.

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