From the podcast: Marty Bowes on finding meaning in lacrosse

Marty Bowes, center, joined hosts Kyle Devitte, right, and Jack Piatelli in the Seamans Media podcast studio. (Seamans Media)

On this week’s episode of New England Lacrosse Journal’s “Chasing The Goal” podcast, hosts Kyle Devitte and Jack Piatelli welcomed St. Michael’s College assistant coach and Quincy, Mass., native Marty Bowes to the studio. 

Bowes has had an interesting career as a player and coach. While he runs his own business with Compete Lacrosse Academy, he is well-known for being an incredible utility player in Major League Lacrosse with the Boston Cannons and Florida Launch.

Bowes started playing lacrosse later than usual and eventually worked his way up to walking onto the University of Hartford team before making the transition to the pros.

He has become a leader in the online lacrosse community with his stances against racism and abuse, part of a journey through the lacrosse landscape that’s been long, nuanced and highly engaging. 

The full podcast can be accessed below and is available on all major platforms. If you enjoy it please leave a rating and a review.

This podcast is sponsored by the University of Nebraska High School and the NCAA. For more information on UNHS, visit highschool.nebraska.edu/nelj. For more information on the NCAA championships, visit https://www.ncaatickets.com/sport/mens-lacrosse.

Kyle Devitte: Let’s start with you growing up in Quincy, which is just a stone’s throw away from our podcast studio here in Milton. What was that like for you and how did you get attracted to lacrosse? Because it wasn’t just something you grew up playing, right? 

Marty Bowes: No, I started with baseball in the spring before lacrosse. I was just trying different sports. I loved moving around. I was rollerblading, playing volleyball, you name it. By the time sixth grade rolled around, a neighbor had suggested the sport, and I gave it a go and played lacrosse and baseball.

Eventually, my mom made me make a decision. And at that point, it just was a no-brainer. There were so many avenues to develop myself and develop my skills, and I was really excited about it. It was like the newest thing I had tried. And I also because it wasn’t big in this area, it was like I had an instant opportunity to sort of like, be better than all my friends, you know, like I could show up the next year and have some foundation of a skill-set and that was attractive to me at that time. So yeah, just was lucky to get introduced to it when I did. 

Jack Piatelli: Well, you guys have all been in the locker room. And I think sitting in that locker room and looking across from you, whether the guy to the left or right doesn’t matter what race he was or is and whether he’s on the left side, the political scale, or the right side. When you were inside that locker room, those were your teammates. Those are the guys that loved you. You know, it didn’t matter where they came from; we all fought for each other, and that’s what we have to do outside the locker room. Right? Some of our best friends are people of color, and because of the bond we had with the game of lacrosse — that continues to this day. 

Marty Bowes: That connection is so strong. It’s incredible. And I think — like you just mentioned — that shared experience is so powerful. When you have a group of individuals that may come from different socioeconomic backgrounds, be of a different race, have a different gender identity, whatever — all these different things that can make us different humans. But when we have that shared experience of being on a team together and having a shared mission, it creates that togetherness.

I think that speaks volumes to why people stay in lacrosse for so long. I think, hopefully, as more and more people become aware and share this conversation, that will continue to happen because of those shared experiences. Hopefully, there can be more work done outside of the locker room because I think that’s the plight of some of the people that feel slighted — we have these shared experiences and you know, you’re there for me as a teammate. But then I put something on social media or something is said to me, and you’re not really there for me?

So that’s where we have to continually check ourselves. It’s not about being right or being woke or knowing what’s really good. It’s about being there for your people and actually being a good person. 

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