England U20 Men's squad | Which clubs do they play for?

18 of the 22 players in the England U20 Men’s squad heading to Jeju, Korea, for the 2025 World Lacrosse U20 Men’s Championship are based in England with all 18 playing for clubs within a 17-mile radius of each other.

The 18 England-based players are split between six clubs in Greater Manchester, one of the hot-beds of lacrosse in the country.

It speaks to the quality of the clubs within the Greater Manchester area that pretty much a whole squad of players can be selected to represent England at a World Championship from that region.

The most represented clubs in the current England U20 Men’s squad are Brooklands and Cheadle Lacrosse Clubs with four players each hailing from these clubs.

Archie Carr, Oscar McCarthy, James McIlhagger, and Alex Tyldesley-Worster all ply their trade at Brooklands in Sale.

Based at Brooklands Sports Club, lacrosse was first played in that area of Sale in 1918 before dropping off a few years later.

In 1993, lacrosse returned to Brooklands when Hulmeians moved from Whalley Range to form Brooklands Hulmeians where the sport has been played ever since.

Brothers Ellis and Leo Baythorpe alongside captain Joachim Ruby and Zak Spreckley all play for Cheadle Lacrosse Club in Stockport.

Incredibly, there has been a lacrosse club in Cheadle since 1879 (that’s 146 years!) and since then they’ve become one of the most decorated clubs in the country, securing countless league and flags titles.

In the 1980s, Cheadle won the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Divisional Championships; a feat unequalled by any other club in the history of the game.

Heaton Mersey and Mellor Lacrosse Clubs each have three players representing the young lions at this year’s World Championship.

Captain Will Brown, Ben Jackson, and George Smith play for Heaton Mersey in Stockport which, like Cheadle, was also founded in 1879.

They run a whole range of teams from U12 boys right up to senior teams and in 2025 their U14 boys team won the annual Centurion Cup and their U16 boys won the U16 Cup at the Northern Flags Festival.

Will Hodgson, captain Jamie Mochan, and Drew Wilkinson hail from Mellor Lacrosse Club (technically Cheshire) just outside of Stockport.

Mellor has recently celebrated its 100th birthday with the club being founded in 1925 and at the 2025 Northern Flags Festival their U12 boys team won the Onondaga Cup.

The final two clubs with England U20 Men’s representatives are Timperley and Stockport Lacrosse Clubs.

Jack Dearden and Owen Shuttleworth are current members of Timperley (another one that’s technically Cheshire) in Altrincham.

Timperley is one of the largest lacrosse clubs in the country with teams across the age group categories and was founded in 1970 when Chorlton-cum-Hardy relocated to Timperley.

Wil Baker and James Thompson play their club lacrosse at Stockport which will celebrate its 150th birthday next year after being founded in 1876.

It’s one of the oldest lacrosse clubs in the world and is one of the most decorated in the English game having a plethora of league and flags titles in its trophy cabinet.

For more information about the England U20 Men’s squad and the 2025 World Lacrosse U20 Men’s Championship, click HERE.