Colorado's Brittany Read is Self-Funding Her Run at the World Cup and 2028 Olympics

Team England's All-World goalie has built a career that spans college lacrosse, professional play, international medals, and coaching in Colorado. Her next challenge is getting to Japan for the World Cup. After that, she keeps pushing toward the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

For many Colorado lacrosse players, Brittany Read is Coach Britt. She is the goalie specialist and co-founder of The Lax SkillHaus, and a former University of Denver assistant coach.

This summer, she takes on a new role. She starts in goal for Team England at the 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship in Tokyo.

England named Read one of two goalies on its 22-player roster for the tournament, which runs July 24 through August 2. England enters as the defending bronze medalist and will face Puerto Rico, Scotland, and Argentina in pool play.

Making the roster was only part of the challenge. England's players cover their own training, travel, lodging, food, and tournament costs.

Read started a GoFundMe with a goal of $13,000 to help cover training with England, competing in Japan, preparing for LA, and the travel her Olympic path requires. As of July 20, 2026, the campaign has raised $5,124 from 53 donors.

"When I received confirmation that I had made the World Cup roster, my first reaction was pure excitement and gratitude," Read said. "Representing England at a World Cup has been a dream of mine. I always play for my dad.

"At the same time, the financial burden is always there in the back of my mind. As a self-funded athlete, the excitement of making the team is quickly accompanied by the reality of what it takes financially to actually get there. It can be difficult because you are celebrating a lifelong dream while also thinking, 'How am I going to afford this?'"

The Hidden Cost of Representing Your Country

Read's situation shows a side of international lacrosse that fans rarely see.

The uniform may carry a country's name, but the athlete wearing it often covers much of the cost herself. Read balances international training and travel with her work as a coach, business owner, professional player, and mother.

Her fundraiser covers training, travel, lodging, transportation, and team fees tied to England and Great Britain lacrosse.

"I have already paid for four round-trip flights to England, transportation, fees for England, and my flight to Japan," Read said. "After the World Cup, I will still need to pay my own way to train with GB for the 2028 Olympics. There will be team fees, equipment fees, and more travel and lodging.

"At times it has been a huge financial burden as a family with two young kids and three dogs, running our own business, and trying to pay for it all. But with these donations and help from family, I hope to finish my run as an Olympian."

A Career Built in the Goal

Read's path to another World Championship started long before Colorado.

A native of Gibbsboro, New Jersey, she played three seasons at Louisville and helped the Cardinals reach three NCAA tournaments. She finished her Louisville career with a .516 save percentage, then transferred to Oregon for her senior season.

As Oregon's captain in 2018, Read started all 18 games and set a program single-season record with 179 saves. She averaged 9.94 saves per game, led the Pac-12 in that category, and earned Second Team All-Pac-12 honors.

Her playing career continued professionally with Athletes Unlimited. In the league's first season in 2021, Read led all goalies with 100 saves. She placed fourth overall in 2022 and fifth in 2023, starting every game both seasons.

Read later joined the Boston Guard in the Women's Lacrosse League. She helped the Guard win the league's 2025 test tournament and returned for the first full WLL Championship Series in 2026.

Her motivation has grown as her life has changed.

"It's only grown deeper," Read said. "I now also play for my two little boys, River, 3, and Bray, 1. River got to stay with me during my six weeks at Athletes Unlimited for two years. He watched my career unfold from the sidelines. Playing with Guard, I had both boys there with me.

"The time away from them is hard. But knowing I get to come home to them, and show them women can play at the highest level, fills me with so much pride. Coaching at The Lax SkillHaus and watching young girls fall in love with this game reminds me every day why lacrosse matters. The game gave me my career, my friendships, my business, my purpose. The least I can do is keep showing up for it."

An All-World Performance for England

Read's connection to England became part of her career's defining chapter at the 2022 World Lacrosse Women's Championship.

She started seven of England's eight games and helped the team reach the bronze-medal game against Australia. In a triple-overtime finish, Read stopped 13 of 20 shots and made three saves in overtime as England won 8-7.

Officials named her player of the match and picked her for the tournament's All-World Team. She was the only goalie to earn that honor.

Four years later, she's gearing up for a return to the World Championship in Japan, chasing another medal.

Playing for Her Father

Read's decision to represent England carries a personal meaning that reaches beyond results and awards.

Her father, Don, died from a brain aneurysm in 2016. Read says he was her biggest supporter and deeply proud of his British background.

"He was so proud to be British, and I grew up with many of the traditions," Read said. "I never thought it possible to represent a country that meant so much to him. He would be so proud if he was still with me today. So for that, I play for him.

"There are moments all the time when I wear the England jersey that I think of my dad, whether it's during a difficult moment in a game, before the opening whistle, or simply when I take a moment to realize what I'm doing. I know he is always there with me.

"Wearing the England jersey also keeps me connected to my family back in England. I have two brothers and a sister there, along with aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. Representing England connects me to my family, my roots, and my dad."

Building the Next Generation in Colorado

While Read's playing career has taken her around the world, Colorado has become the center of her coaching work.

She spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Denver, working with goalies, draw specialists, and the defense. During that time, Denver won conference championships, developed several top goalies, and reached the program's first NCAA Final Four in 2023.

Read is also a co-owner and co-founder of The Lax SkillHaus, where she trains Colorado athletes and gives goalies specialized instruction.

Her young players now get to watch their coach prepare for the same international and professional opportunities they may chase one day.

"Coaching young goalies has taught me so much," Read said. "I love sharing my experiences with them, and showing them that the lessons we learn through lacrosse, resilience, confidence, handling adversity, can carry into every part of life.

"The Colorado lacrosse community has supported me in so many ways, from the athletes and families I coach to the broader community. I hope the young goalies I coach can watch this journey and see their dreams are possible too. If they see me chasing my dream even with challenges and financial obstacles along the way, maybe it will inspire them to keep chasing theirs."

The Road to Los Angeles 2028

Tokyo is Read's immediate focus, but it is not the final goal.

Lacrosse returns to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, where the sport will use the sixes format. Because Olympic participation runs through National Olympic Committees rather than World Lacrosse country teams, Read's Olympic path runs through Great Britain rather than Team England.

The 2027 World Lacrosse Sixes Championship will serve as the main Olympic qualifying event. Read is working to earn a place with Great Britain and a chance to compete when lacrosse returns to the Olympic stage.

"Right after the World Cup ends in August, I go on tour with Great Britain," Read said. "The transition from the traditional field game into sixes is something I'm looking forward to. Sixes is faster and more dynamic, and it requires players to make quick decisions in a different way. As a goalie, you have to adjust to the speed of the game, the smaller playing area, and the constant pressure.

"Representing Great Britain at the Olympics in 2028 would be an absolute dream. Lacrosse was not in the Olympics when I was growing up, so for a long time it felt completely separate from the sport I loved and dedicated my life to. Now that possibility feels real, and it would be one of the biggest moments of my career, not just for me but for the growth of the sport.

"I hope young athletes watching can see that the possibilities in this sport keep growing. When I started playing, I never imagined I could one day play lacrosse at the Olympics. Now I have the chance to chase that dream, and that is exciting."

A Community's Chance to Help

Read has already reached the highest levels of the sport. She has been a record-setting college goalie, a professional player, a World Championship bronze medalist, an All-World selection, and a coach to hundreds of athletes.

Now she is asking the lacrosse community to help make the next stage of that career possible: returning to the World Cup and becoming an Olympic athlete.

Donations of any size help cover her training and travel as she prepares to represent England in Tokyo and Great Britain in L.A. Sharing her campaign also shows more people the financial costs many highest-level lacrosse players carry.

For the Colorado lacrosse community, this is a chance to support one of its own as she chases another World Championship medal and a possible place in the 2028 Olympic Games. 

Help Send Brittany Read to the World Cup https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-brittanys-journey-to-the-world-cup