May 2, 2024 | SPORTS | By Theo Tannahill
Markhus “Duke” Lacroix sat at a table in the brand-new stadium of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. Lacroix just finished a day of practice, afterwards, the Ivy League alumni still answered questions eloquently. He seemed comfortable. Seven months ago, his situation could not have been more different.
Before being a Colorado Springs Switchbacks fullback Markus “Duke” Lacroix most recently appeared in his former national team’s locker room, trying to understand what his Haitian national team coaches were saying. French, Creole, Spanish and English were firing off in different directions through the post-practice air. Meanwhile, Lacroix stared blankly. His new teammates were translating, but the new tactics, coaching and ideas were flying far too fast.
He had been called up to the team only a few days before, and he wouldn’t make it to the first game.
Back in Colorado, Lacroix paused when asked about his time in the athletic training camp for Haiti. He turned to his teammate, smiled, and let out a light laugh.
“There was good and bad. I think the politically correct answer was [it was] a great experience,” Lacroix said.
Lacroix’s time with Haiti was defined by learning and often, unpredictability.
Lacroix’s parents were both born and raised in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. Lacroix doesn’t speak French and was born in New Jersey. He’s never actually been to Haiti. Due to political turmoil, both of his training camps were in the Dominican Republic and Florida. Still, he said he embraces his Haitian background.
“I felt honored the first time I was called into a national team camp. I was representing my country and my family,” Lacroix said.
Lacroix had been scouted to play for the national team during his rookie season with the USL Indy Eleven but initially turned down the offer. He didn’t start with the Indy Eleven and chose his club over country.
When the possibility of representing Haiti emerged again, this time in July of 2023, Lacroix did not shy away from the opportunity.
“A player who played in the USL, a Haitian player, got called into camp. He calls a youth coach for the Haitian team, who calls the head coach. He says, what’s his (Lacroix’s) number? Then, I get a random phone call on a Wednesday afternoon. ‘Hey, I’m the Haitian head coach, how can we get you into camp?’” Lacroix said.
An injury stopped him from competing, ending his chance to represent Haiti in the 2023 Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football Gold Cup.
In September of 2023, the chance to play for Haiti reemerged. This time, in the middle of a late-season run into the playoffs.
Even at such a critical time in-season, Switchbacks coach James Chambers fully supported the national team experience, even though he lost some of his best players for a few games.
“Would you rather play against [Angel] Di Maria or listen to me on the field? Like that’s the reality of it. You learn more from those games than anything else,” Chambers said laughing.
Lacroix has often had a short period to adjust to new teams, but his experience with Haiti was something entirely new.
“Everything is being thrown at you, all the tactics they want to get across, the personnel they want to get across, and their philosophy they want to get across is thrown at you. It’s 100 miles an hour, in different languages, in 10 days,” Lacroix said.
The rapid pace and unfamiliarity with a new team came to define Lacroix’s time in camp.
“How quickly can you absorb information from this other person?” Lacroix said.
While playing professionally, it’s been a while since the nine-year veteran has been in such a new environment. Lacroix is used to being on the other side, helping people out of that unfamiliarity, similar to new Switchbacks midfielder Aiden Rocha, who just joined the club before the 2024 season.
“I’m trying to absorb everything I can from him (Lacroix),” Rocha said. “There’s a lot of learning and a lot of growth for me.”
With Haiti, Lacroix was back in Rocha’s position, at the bottom of the learning curve.
Lacroix’s experience, though, cut through the new environment. In two camps without a shared language, Lacroix adapted to the rapid pace and new environment by leaning further into the game itself.
“We all bonded over football,” Lacroix said. “On the field again, it’s the same game.”
Off the field, though, the learning curve was just as steep. The Haitian Football Federation was difficult to navigate, and Lacroix was unable to cut through the red tape and paperwork required to play in-game.
Just like that, Lacroix could not take the field for his country. His senior team debut, that moment running out onto the field in the blue and red of the Haitian jersey, fell just out of reach due to paperwork.
“There’s no one directly you can talk to to be like ‘Hey, you’re the person that has to solve this.’ There’s technically a person you can talk to, they’re not the actual person that signs the bottom line,” Lacroix said.
“That was frustrating because it wasn’t tangible. It’s like, these things are happening to you and there’s nothing you can really do,” Lacroix said. “It was a big disappointment for me.”
After he described his frustrations with the system, he clarified what the time meant to him.
“It was an amazing experience,” Lacroix said. “If I’m called back into the national team, I would absolutely love to play again.”
In Colorado Springs, Lacroix’s appreciation of the experience was clear.
“I noticed a sense of pride and added confidence in Duke when he returned from his international call-ups,” said Axel Learn, Switchbacks Creative Director and friend of Lacroix. “His hard work wasn’t just paying off, but was being recognized.”
Lacroix especially valued his interactions and relationships with Haitian teammates, many of whom he still talks to.
The camp occurred during a semi-peaceful window in Haiti – before a massive surge in national violence this January and calls for armed revolution linked to corruption allegations against former Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
According to the United Nations, violence in Haiti has doubled in the past year. January has been called the most violent month in two years, as more than 800 people were killed from turmoil within the nation. Despite the political chaos and his personal struggle with the team, Lacroix warmly remembers his experience in Haiti.
“At the end of the day, the people who are there, those relationships you build, they treat you accordingly,” Lacroix said. “I wouldn’t change anything.”
Lacroix hasn’t been in camp since the explosion in violence. He noted that the turmoil likely has caused challenges for the Haitian Football Federation, but as a player, all he can do is lean on his teammates and play on the field.
Now back in Colorado Springs, Lacroix faces a new challenge, albeit with less geopolitical chaos.
In Lacroix’s second season in Colorado Springs, the Switchbacks have a 1-1-5 record and are second to last in the USL’s Western Conference. Lacroix maintained the same calm when addressing questions about the Switchbacks record as he did about his experience with Haiti.
“We (have to) bring back the confidence to be like, ‘Hey, we’re going to turn this around, and then believe it,’” Lacroix said. “We have the belief, then things will turn around.”
Lacroix’s belief in his team, like his belief in Haiti, never seemed to waver. With an experienced member like Lacroix on the Switchbacks, anything seems possible to accomplish.