FAMILY TIES AND FAST BREAKS
Reaching the international stage is a feat which only a small percentage of the lacrosse community will achieve, and each player’s journey to the top is different. Not too long ago we sat down with Amy and Stephen Bolton of Ireland Lacrosse, who gave us great insight into just what it has taken for Amy to represent her country at European and World level; plus the role that her family and support system continues to play in her journey.
When 11-year-old Amy Bolton first picked up a lacrosse stick at her secondary school, it was love at first pass. Within three months, she had her own stick, a rebounder in the garden, and a burning determination to improve. She remembers those first few months as a blur of school games and solo practice. “By Christmas, I just knew I wanted to see how far I could go,” she says. Stephen Bolton, her father, saw it coming almost immediately. Amy had always been drawn to challenges, whether in sport or school. At school, she often measured herself against older, more experienced players, using them as benchmarks to raise her own game. “She’s the kind of person who’ll look at someone performing at a higher level and think, ‘I want to get there,’” Stephen says. One such player, a year ahead of her, set a bar that Amy chased all the way through her school years.
By the time she captained the first team, Amy was already thinking beyond school lacrosse. She began seeking out higher-level opportunities - trials, tournaments, and development programmes that could push her further. That willingness to step outside her comfort zone led to a defining moment when, at 17, she mistakenly registered for Ireland’s senior squad trials instead of a youth trial.