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Outlaws' Kai Iwamoto to make Major League Lacrosse history on Sunday

Outlaws' Kai Iwamoto to make MLL history on Sunday.

It’s a journey that began 16 years ago in Tokyo, Japan – the day Kaisuke “Kai” Iwamoto bought his first lacrosse stick. After moving to the US to learn English and after two failed attempts to make the Denver Outlaws roster, Iwamoto is only days away from making MLL history.

PICKING UP THE STICK

TOKYO, JAPAN

Kaisuke "Kai" Iwamoto was a freshman in high school when a friend brought him out to lacrosse practice. Iwamoto attended Keio High, one of the few high schools in Tokyo that has a men’s lacrosse program.

“It was so much fun,” Iwamoto recalled. “And like handling a stick, [that was] pretty cool. Tossing it around, pretty fun. Then after the practice I went to a lacrosse shop in Tokyo and got my own stick.”

The year was 2002 and lacrosse was just beginning to take shape in Japan. In the U.S., Major League Lacrosse was just coming off their inaugural season. It wouldn’t be until a couple years later that Iwamoto would begin to watch the MLL from afar, thanks to the creation of YouTube.

His favorite team to watch? The Denver Outlaws.

His favorite player? Outlaws goalie Jesse Schwartzman.

“I was a huge fan of Jesse Schwartzman since he was in college at John Hopkins. I was trying to be like him in Japan. I was just watching his tape on YouTube millions of times.”

Iwamoto would continue to grow the sport in his home country, playing several times with the Japanese National Team. It wouldn't be until 2015, and more than six-thousand miles away from home, that lacrosse would help Iwamoto reach his biggest goal.

COMING TO AMERICA

Portland, OR/ Denver, CO

On his 29th birthday, Iwamoto boarded a plane for Portland, Oregon. The plan was to study English in hopes of one day expanding his father’s company to the U.S., but it would be lacrosse that helped his American dream flourish.

Iwamoto thought the sport would be a great tool for him to make friends and learn English, but he wanted to play at the highest level he could -- the MLL.

For the next three years, Iwamoto would fly from Portland to Denver every spring for the Outlaws open-tryouts. After two failed attempts to make the 25-man roster, Iwamoto finally broke through this April, even though he struggled to read the email himself.

“I was like, what’s this?” Iwamoto explained, holding an imaginary phone in his hand. “Then I asked my friend, can you read that for me? I don’t understand.”

Even after Iwamoto’s friend read him the good news, he couldn’t fathom that he had actually made the team.

It was a massive moment for the 32-year-old that won’t be topped until this Sunday. With Jack Kelly playing for the Americans and Dillon Ward playing for the Canadians in the FIL Men’s Lacrosse World Championship, Iwamoto will get the start in goal against the Dallas Rattlers, becoming the first Japanese player to play in a MLL game.

“It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t honored to be playing a game in the MLL as the first Japanese or Asian lacrosse player,” Iwamoto said. “It’s gonna be huge for Japenese culture. I haven’t had this type of experience, thousands of people watching me play. So I can get nervous but, I don’t know, just try to [have] be fun.”

But Iwamoto is a firm believer in the team over an individual’s accomplishments.

“I’m not just a Japanese, I’m part of the Denver Outlaws. So I just really want to win this game.”

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