Akwesasne’s T19 Sports, Former NLL Star Mike Thompson Form the Thompson Lacrosse Company


Hogansburg, N.Y./Akwesasne Mohawk Nation — T19 Sports, located on the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, and former professional and international lacrosse star Mike Thompson have announced the formation of the Thompson Lacrosse Company.

Uniting the team behind T19 Sports and Mike Thompson, the Thompson Lacrosse Company—also known as Thompson Lacrosse—represents more than 75 years of experience in lacrosse, with family roots extending back hundreds of years to the earliest traces of the game as it was originally played by the Iroquois people.

In the coming months, Thompson Lacrosse will introduce the i6, a one-of-a-kind, universal-spec plastic lacrosse head, and a new online source for hand-made traditional wood lacrosse sticks, custom stick stringing and more.

“Words can’t explain my excitement to formally enter the lacrosse industry with the great people from T19 Sports, which has become an important part of the Mohawk lacrosse community,” said Mike Thompson, who was born and raised on Akwesasne and has spent more than a decade as a junior and senior box lacrosse goalie on the reserve.


The i6, currently pending approval for universal college/high school specifications, will be the first major product release from Thompson Lacrosse. With its introduction, Thompson Lacrosse will bring a unique product to the market that embodies the spirit of Iroquois lacrosse culture and represents months of research.

In an effort to spark a Renaissance of traditional lacrosse sticks, T19 Sports and Mike Thompson have joined forces with famous Akwesasne woodworker Jack Johnson, widely regarded as one of the leading Iroquois stickmakers. Mike Thompson and Johnson are currently ramping up an inventory of wood box and field sticks that will be made available for individual purchase and pre-order on the company’s website, ThompsonLax.com, and at events throughout the spring and summer, including the FIL World Lacrosse Championships in Denver.

“Partnering with Mike and Jack will allow Thompson Lacrosse to differentiate itself from other lacrosse businesses in the industry and to represent the Iroquois lacrosse culture in everything we do,” said Kristian Thompson, owner of T19 Sports.

“I’m more than pleased to be working closely with my talented friend Jack Johnson, one of the best stickmakers around,” Mike Thompson said. “We’re proud to help keep the tradition and art of stickmaking alive and to help bring wood sticks to more lacrosse players. Keeping the wood stick an integral part of lacrosse is important for the sport’s growth and crucial in preserving and honoring the origins of the Creator’s game.”

As part of its stringing endeavor, Thompson Lacrosse has teamed up with legendary Mohawk lacrosse player Dave White to create the innovative Trad-Mesh pocket. The company will become the first Iroquois business to offer custom stick stringing to the masses, as well as a large selection of traditional stringing materials—including items for restoring wood lacrosse sticks—mesh and unique accessories. With some of the best and most experienced stick stringers from the region, Thompson Lacrosse will offer custom stick-stringing services through ThompsonLax.com.

“We’re confident that our mix of products and services will be unique and will cater to today’s young lacrosse players, who are more interested than ever in stringing their own pockets with high-quality materials, using custom-strung pockets and owning a traditional wooden lacrosse stick,” Kristian Thompson said.

Operating Mike Thompson Lacrosse Camps since 2011, Mike Thompson will work with T19 Sports to enhance his camp and clinic offering, including box lacrosse goalie camps on the Akwesasne reserve and beyond, under the Thompson Lacrosse brand. T19 Sports currently sponsors the Akwesasne Attack elite travel team and will expand its camp and club program offering through Thompson Lacrosse.

Bringing together some of the most ambitious lacrosse minds from Akwesasne and Upstate New York, the Thompson Lacrosse Company will officially launch Memorial Day weekend in Baltimore, Md., to coincide with the 2014 NCAA men’s lacrosse championships.

Learn more about Thompson Lacrosse at ThomsponLax.com. You can also follow the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/ThompsonLacrosseCompany), Twitter (@ThompsonLax) and Instagram (@ThompsonLacrosse).

For more information, contact Thompson Lacrosse at [email protected].

About T19 Sports

T19 Sports was founded in 2009 and has since become a leading provider of lacrosse and hockey equipment and services for players from the Akwesasne, Kahnawake and Oka Mohawk reserves, as well as communities from Upstate New York’s Northern Tier.

About Mike Thompson

One of the greatest Iroquois goaltenders of all time, Mike Thompson played seven seasons in the National Lacrosse League, guiding the Buffalo Bandits to the 2008 Champion’s Cup victory. A graduate of SUNY Cortland, he also won two Mann Cups as a member of the Peterborough Lakers, earning the Mike Kelly Award in 2012 as the MVP of the Canadian Senior A box lacrosse championship. Representing his people at the highest level of the game, he was a goaltender for the Iroquois Nationals at the 2007 and 2011 ILF World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, earning All-World honors in 2007.

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