ORLANDO, Fla.— There is a new semi-professional box lacrosse team in town, the Orlando Rockets.
“Box lacrosse is just a mixture of hockey and lacrosse. We have smaller nets, boards around us. Same sticks as we use on the outdoor field. So it’s the mixture of the aggression from hockey moved into lacrosse,” said Brandon Boss, the General Manager and a player for the Orlando Rockets.
For Kyle Lugo, it’s an opportunity to play the game that has given him so much.
“It’s almost eerie in a good way. I step on, I get chills sometimes and it’s just like wow I’m here,” said Kyle Lugo, a player for the Orlando Rockets.
The now 22-year-old discovered his love for lacrosse when he was 13.
“A couple of the guys that lived in my neighborhood when I first moved in had a couple of sticks and they handed me one and said hey you want to come try this with us. I found it and I fell in love with it,“ said Lugo.
One year later, his life changed forever.
“It all hit me pretty hard. You’re 14 years old just starting out high school and you don’t know why am I sick you kind of ask yourself that question,” said Lugo.
Lugo spent two weeks in the hospital before he was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease.
“I have lupus nephritis stage five. So it effects my kidneys so basically what lupus is my body attacks itself,” said Lugo.
Doctors told him he might not be able to play lacrosse again.
Seven years later and Lugo is back on the field doing what he loves.
“Hard work and a lot of practice,” said Lugo.
He has learned to adapt.
“It’s a lifestyle so healthy eating, healthy habits, healthy living really,” said Lugo.
Taking control of the disease while living out his dream.
“There’s one word that describes the feeling when I step on the court with these guys it’s just unreal,” said Lugo.