London City Panthers: How I caught the lacrosse bug, even when dropping the ball

I’ve never seen the film Wild Child. When you tell people you’ve taken up lacrosse, that’s often the first quip that gets thrown at you.

That’s testament to how little I knew when rocking up to a London City Panthers training session under the floodlights in Oval for the first time. Fast forward six months and those midweek trips traipsing a lacrosse stick along the Victoria Line are routine.

The beginner-friendly club was founded in 2021 by Qasim Alli and has gone from strength to strength since then, now with 50 members. Panthers is a mixed lacrosse club, open to all genders, and champions a form of the game fast growing in popularity.

I heard about mixed lacrosse through an old friend, who played at university and cajoled me into a few humbling ‘throw around’ sessions in the back garden. Having played tennis and cricket as a kid, I had backed myself to take to lacrosse easily. As I fished the ball from the garden pond for the hundredth time, I realised that wouldn’t be the case.

London City Panthers on lookout for lacrosse beginners

I’ve been part of plenty sports clubs in my life - which have all been fantastic -but there’s an atmosphere that feels unique at Panthers. Growing the sport is at the heart of Qasim’s mission and it makes for an incredibly welcome space.

“The feeling of catching and throwing a lacrosse ball is magical and addictive,” Qasim laughs. “It helps that it’s a novel sport and an unusual skill set, meaning everyone starts with less baggage.

“When founding Panthers, I was very conscious of the ways elitism shapes who has access to lacrosse. Radical inclusion was a founding principle - especially around gender - and our commitment to not selecting teams by ability is something that attracts players who might feel shut out from other sporting spaces.”

At the same time, a drive for quality lacrosse exists alongside a want to welcome beginners at any moment. Qasim is one of several Panthers players who represent the Lions Elite Mixed team - I soon learnt to pick up on nuggets of advice shared by these players in sessions.

‘Panthers a great place to progress’ - Cambridge Uni grad on first year with club

One teammate who joined the club at the same time as me is Pippa Lewis. While I arrived not knowing in which hand to hold my stick (it’s both), Pippa joined having graduated from Cambridge University, one of the highest-rated teams in the country.

“I had so much fun playing at uni, and with the friends I made through the sport,” Pippa explains. “I think the mixed lacrosse community is very welcoming, so I wanted to keep it up after graduating. Since Panthers is the main mixed club in London the decision was pretty easy!

“There’s such a nice mix of experience, with people who have played for years at a high level, people who’ve just started, and everything in between. It’s so good to have a coached training session - I want to keep getting better while having a good time playing lacrosse and making new friends, and Panthers is a great place to do that.”

Pippa is far too humble to big herself up but she’s already got a reputation as somewhat of a goal machine. Her trademark move involves loitering around the goal and cutting in at the right time to slot home, netting against old pals at Cambridge University in a recent cup clash.

“I’ve really enjoyed the matches,” she tells LondonWorld. “It gives me a good reason to get out of London on the weekends! With training being once a week it’s also nice to get more chances to play.”

Work hard, play hard

What’s important to know about Panthers is hard work on the pitch is emulated with hard work off it. Since I’ve arrived, post-training drinks have gone through a Tubedoku obsession and socials have included everything from roller skating to laser quest.

Ronnie Rakowska, who played women’s lacrosse at Loughborough University before starting mixed with Panthers, is one of the club’s social secretaries. The committee member has written her name into club folklore by negotiating a weekly platter of crisps at the Wednesday watering hole.

“Panthers is a very social and welcoming club,” Ronnie says. “We have casual socials after every game and training session, as well as regular activity socials which cater to all tastes, budgets and locations - we're probably one of the most social sports clubs in London!

“I think because mixed lacrosse is less well-known, it's a bit more chilled and everyone really comes together with a shared passion for the sport. Panthers is so diverse and inclusive, so we attract a lovely bunch of people.”

Being in my first year, I’m yet to experience the full calendar of Panthers socials, but it would be wrong not to mention my pub quiz win in January. When pressed to pick her favourite outing of the year, Ronnie’s thoughts turned to the summer ahead.

“The beach trip social,” she replies. “We went for a long coastal walk, a cold dip and then discovered our new favourite game - playing 'round the world' with kids paddle rackets. It’s become somewhat of an unofficial Panthers second sport.”

What’s next for Panthers?

Coming up to five years since its inception, it’s a well-oiled system at Panthers - for beginners, lacrosse veterans and social members. It’s an exciting place to be, especially with so much growth ahead for the sport.

“When I think back to how small our club used to be, and how we used to struggle to get regular attendance, it's so amazing to have so many people at training every week, and new people coming along all the time,” Qasim reflects.

“There are so many directions Panthers could go, and so many people who this club belongs to now. I know each member of our community will continue to grow this club in ways I can't begin to imagine, and I hope I can stick around and be part of it!”

As Panthers prepares to celebrate its fifth anniversary, it’s still a club - and sport - with its best years ahead. I’ve somehow caught the bug and, if I can clumsily force my way in, then anyone can.