State champ goes global: CCHS’ Vivi Myles working lacrosse magic in Brazil

By Stephen Tobey — Correspondent

For the last three years, Vivi Myles has played on a Concord-Carlisle girls lacrosse team that has won two MIAA Division 1 state championships and undoubtedly inspired young athletes in the community.

This summer, she has played on a team that hopes to inspire young athletes in a different country.

Myles, a rising senior at CCHS, followed her junior season with the Patriots by qualifying for Brazil’s under-20 national team.

She holds dual citizenship with the United States and Brazil, where her mother, Tamara, was born and still has family. 

“It’s so incredible,” said Myles, who speaks conversational Portuguese. “It’s amazing to be a part of something so much bigger than myself. We’re representing our sport, and we’re representing our country.”

Olympic aspirations

This fall Brazil will compete in the Pan American Sixes Lacrosse Championship in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, from September 29 to October 4. The tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2027 World Lacrosse Sixes championship and is a qualifying event on the Olympic pathway to Los Angeles in 2028.

Think of Brazil and the sports that often come to mind are soccer, basketball, volleyball, and jiujitsu — but organizers are pushing a greater lacrosse presence there. Most of Myles’ teammates are like her, Americans who meet the team’s eligibility requirements; tryouts and training camps were held in the U.S. Northeast. 

“There’s mainly an effort to globalize the game,” Myles said. “My mom showed a lacrosse stick to other members of my family, and they didn’t know what it was. There’s definitely a push to grow the game in Brazil.”

Early days

Myles grew up playing a wide variety of sports and got into lacrosse in the fourth grade, joining Concord-Carlisle’s youth program. Once she got to middle school, the sport became her focus.

“I really started to take it seriously in the seventh grade,” said Myles, who plays for the Revolution club program. “I had tunnel vision about making varsity.”

The CCHS girls lacrosse program has been very strong for more than a decade, regularly making deep runs in the state tournament and producing high school All-America and Division I college players.

In the past two seasons, however, the Patriots have climbed to new heights, winning back-to-back Division 1 state titles, the first two in the program’s history.

“It was so incredible, watching 20 girls come together for a shared goal,” Myles said. “We were always talking about pointing toward June and the state tournament. The losses we had [in the regular season] were just lessons.”

This summer, Myles has been through training camps and a scrimmage against Armenia. As someone who is used to playing with top-level high school players, Myles has been impressed with what she’s seen from her Brazilian teammates.

“The players do have a high level of skill,” she said. “The level of play has been very impressive. Some of them are Division I college commits. Some played on teams that won state championships.”

Looking ahead

Myles plans to play college lacrosse at the club level and focus on academics. 

At the Pan American tournament, her team’s goal is to get the chance to keep on track for a chance at a gold medal.

“Our goal is to place in the top five and have a chance to be on the path to the Olympics,” she said. 

Long-term, the goal is to see young Brazilians learn to love the game and transition their soccer and basketball skills to the lacrosse field. 

“To see the game grow there would be amazing,” she said.