Roy Simmons Jr.

It was that winning 1989 team that took on a monumental off-field challenge—taking lacrosse to the suffering town of Lockerbie, Scotland. Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed over Lockerbie that year, claiming the lives of some of its residents and bringing tragedy into its midst. Thirty-five Syracuse University students were on that flight as well, and visitors from the stricken town attended a memorial service at the university. After the memorial service Simmons decided to take his team to Lockerbie.

In addition to placing a lacrosse stick on the Wall of Remembrance, a memorial erected in the town, the Orangemen ran several lacrosse clinics for youth and donated equipment to interested young players. Only women played lacrosse in Scotland, so the boys in the clinics had a great deal to learn about the game. After the visit, lacrosse soared in popularity with youth in the area. Simmons and his players returned to Scotland several times, bringing more equipment, conducting workshops and talking to physical education directors about adding lacrosse to their curricula. When Simmons visited in 1995, the Orangemen took on the newly formed Scottish national lacrosse team. Three years later, that team competed at the World Games in Baltimore, squaring off against Wales' equally new squad.