Team: Iroquois Nationals

Position: Midfielder/Captain

Age: 27

Birthplace: St. Rigis, N.Y.

The skinny: Born and raised on the St. Rigis Indian Reservation in upstate New York, Gray's father was a Mohawk Indian Chief. Gray first played lacrosse as a child as part of his tribe's healing ritual. If someone in the tribe was ill, the elders would play against the youth using a medicine ball as a ceremonial ritual. The elders would always win in Indian tradition. Gray began playing competitively with box lacrosse in the eighth grade and then started playing field lacrosse soon after. "In box lacrosse, I learned stick skills and how to move on your feet, but the field game is so much more strategic," he said. Gray earned a scholarship to Hobart, where he played from 1990 to '94. He is playing in his third World Games for the Iroquois Nationals. In his first World Games in '90, Gray suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of his first game against Canada, a game the Iroquois lost to the eventual runner-up, 18-15. Gray's injury cost him his freshman year at Hobart in 1990. Gray is currently a director of marketing for a real estate agency in Ashburn, Va.

Impressions of Baltimore: "It is a very nice place. I came here once when Hobart played Loyola and it was one of my first city experiences."

Superstitions: Gray always reties his shoelaces before each game.

Pub Date: 7/18/98