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Why I want to go on world cup 2010 in Manchester?

My name is Noah Hoselton, but in Slovak, people call me Noko. I was born and live in Ottawa, Canada. I am a Canadian, but I’m also Slovak. My Mom is from Kosice. That’s where she met and married my Dad. My family still lives in Kosice and I travel to Slovakia often. Other than the ice cream, my favourite thing is hiking in the Tatras. And, although I live in Canada, in my heart, I am also Slovak. I even have a Slovak hockey sweater with my Mom’s name on it. Slovakia is important to me.

I love lacrosse. I mean, I LOVE LACROSSE! I play box and field 11 months of the year on 4 or 5 teams. I play against kids my age and players older then me. It doesn’t matter because I just love to play. I eat and live lacrosse. But, making the elite teams in Canada is very difficult. And, Ottawa is in an isolated area which makes it even more difficult to play for the elite teams.

Then, one day on YouTube I saw a feature about a Slovak lacrosse team playing at the European Championships in Finland. I had such a smile on my face because I knew that I could help Slovakia. And, when I saw that we lost to the Czechs by only 1 goal, I knew that I could help for sure. I knew that no matter what I could help us beat the Czechs!

So, I contacted the SLF and asked how I could get involved. I was very surprised that they were interested in a young Canadian player. But, as we wrote back and forth, my dream of playing for Slovakia grew. Then, I had the opportunity to go for the National Team tryouts. You wouldn’t believe how proud I was when I told my Babka and Dedo that I was trying out for a Slovak National Team. I had tears in my eyes!

When I got to Slovakia and met the team, I thought wow, these guys are fast. I was nervous because I really wanted to make the team. All the guys were great and really made me feel welcome and comfortable. That really helps when you want to make a team. You need good teammates and good chemistry.

It was like a dream. I played with a Slovak team against Austria and two Czech teams. I was so happy, so proud.

Now, I’m nervously waiting to hear if they want me on the team. I’m so nervous. I’m working hard to become better — to get faster, bigger, stronger, and more skilled. And, yes Martin, I’m working on my left hand!

It’s such a huge dream and I’ll be so proud to wear the Slovak colours. I don’t think the Czechs could stand against us!

No matter what, I want to say thanks to all of you for the chance to play with you. You may not believe it, but you are all great!

Slovensko do toho!