Cole found similar help in Lee County. “One board member’s comment was, ‘We have almost 70 percent of our students on free and reduced lunches. I don’t see how their parents will be able to spend $300 or more on lacrosse gear.’ We were able to negate the argument by showing concrete numbers from US Lacrosse of what can be supplied as grants to start-up programs,” he said.
‘Prime the Pump’
Grassroots support groups like “Dade Wants Lacrosse” in Miami-Dade sprung up across Florida last summer.
Intercollegiate Athletics (IA) league continued. “It was important to give these schools a framework which exactly mirrored the same rules and policies of FHSAA to help them make the transition,” said Charity Cox, president of the South Florida Chapter of US Lacrosse. But the club system had limits. Teams struggled to find field space and athletes. After extending the transition period to four years and seeing little progress, the FHSAA made a board-level decision in spring 2011 to enforce its policies. Schools would have to sanction lacrosse as a varsity sport to get state recognition. Lacrosse would have to fight for school
funding in a bad economy. Some thought lacrosse in the Florida was dead.
Not on Their Watch Grassroots support organizations
sprung up across the state like “Dade Wants Lacrosse”, “Broward Lacrosse,” and “Save Lee County High School Lacrosse.” They used social media to get support and exchange information. US Lacrosse and its three Florida chapters provided demographic information on growth and participation rates while detailing for school leaders the programs and resources available to them through the organization. In Lee County, US Lacrosse lobbied the school board that voted 5-0 in favor of keeping lacrosse as a self-funded varsity sport for at least the next two years. Similar situations arose in Miami-Dade County, Broward County and Brevard County — all of them ending in victories for lacrosse. “We became aware that many groups
48 LACROSSE MAGAZINE March 2012 >>
within the state were fighting battles on multiple fronts,” said Billy Hook, director of programs for US Lacrosse, “and we realized our support was needed to help prevent lacrosse from taking a substantial negative step back in Florida.” US Lacrosse provided assistance in a similar budget battle victory for lacrosse in Ann Arbor, Mich. “We realize numerous developing areas across the country face similar challenges and as the sport’s national governing body, we provide responsive leadership, sound influence, effective programming and educational materials to support the responsible growth of lacrosse,” Hook said. “People tend to associate US Lacrosse with our magazine or insurance, but we have tremendous resources we can deploy that really provide member value to our constituents.”
Miami-Dade area high school coaches Roy Kelly and Steven Kellough and pro lacrosse player Chazz Woodson said US Lacrosse’s national influence helped them make a case for the sport on a local level. Kelly’s team, Ransom Everglades High, received a US Lacrosse Equipment Grant (see page 24) after the school board’s decision. “We believe that US lacrosse’s readiness to provide equipment grants and start-up information and its willingness to make Florida a priority area for the grants were instrumental factors in the school board’s decision,” they wrote in a letter to US Lacrosse. Fort Myers High head coach Chuck
Growing pains continue in Florida, but with more than 1,000 high schools in the state, the growth potential is enormous. In most Florida counties, lacrosse was approved with no budget. The teams are self-funded yet must provide equal access regardless of a student’s financial capacity and in compliance with Title IX. Miami-Dade County has 54 public high schools, but only three have varsity lacrosse programs (Coral Reef, Miami- Killian, Miami-Palmetto) and just one middle school (Palmetto Middle) includes the sport. This will be the first year that all three high schools have girls’ programs. How do you best grow lacrosse to the remaining 51 high schools and several hundred middle and elementary schools in Miami-Dade alone?
“Prime the pump,” Hook said. “I am willing to meet with school boards and administrations in Florida at the executive level to provide guidance and support about how we can use our resources to get key programs launched at the high school and middle school levels.” Said Cox: “Our chapter will continue to
support the growth efforts in Broward and Miami-Dade by holding more officials and coaches training, helping new programs and holding lacrosse events to introduce more athletes to our sport.” Indeed, the future of lacrosse in Florida remains bright. LM
Support the First Stick Program Thanks to the support of members and donors, US Lacrosse remains committed to expanding the participation base of the game. You can help put a stick in the hands of a youth player for the first time. Learn more about the US Lacrosse First Stick Program and make a secure online donation in support of this effort at
uslacrosse.org/firststick.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
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