The program exists to cultivate appreciation among students for a simple, non- contact version of the game, with hopes of developing intramural or interscholastic lacrosse in regions of potential growth. “I think this is the fi rst step to do that in an area that has never heard of the sport or seen it,” said Meghan Mulford, programs manager at US Lacrosse.
No matter how a sport develops, its potential players must fi rst grasp its fundamental elements. So Perry reviewed some of the same drills she had used in her three-week introductory course with the students in the fall. Indoor or outdoor, her classes followed a similar pattern. After some jogging, the students broke off into pairs to toss their sticks to each other, switching hands each time. Then fi ve or six students formed a circle, planted their sticks upright on the ground, counted off three seconds and then sprinted to a neighboring teammate’s spot to catch that stick before it fell. The boys would extend the gaps between themselves up to 7 feet, while the girls stayed closer to each other. Laughter echoed throughout the exercise.
Then came the most popular activity. Students sprinted from opposite sides of the fl oor toward a group of lacrosse and tennis balls at midcourt. Whichever team scooped the most balls and returned them to its side won. The competition was meant as a building block for actual lacrosse (scooping a ground ball in traffi c) when the players become more adept.
Chery Perry organizes a lacrosse lesson for her Christ Lutheran (Ark.) phys-ed students, including Dakota Case (above), Sally Phillips (far left) and Layne Hether.
Representatives of 39 schools in the Little Rock area were part of a pilot program in which students earn class credit to learn lacrosse. In September 2011, US Lacrosse held a daylong seminar in Little Rock where the teachers — mostly lacrosse neophytes — were taught the basics. Each teacher received nine hours of continuing education credit, a copy of the US Lacrosse physical education curriculum and 30 lacrosse sticks and 30 balls.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
There are challenges. Football reigns supreme in Arkansas, followed by basketball, baseball and then soccer. The most athletic kids — the ones who would most easily pick up lacrosse — also have the busiest schedules. Take Andrew Warren. The Christ Lutheran seventh-grader was already interested enough in lacrosse (from watching it on television) to join Perry at the September workshop, but he doubts he’ll join any of the club teams that have emerged in the area the last couple years due to commitments with baseball and golf. “I would play it, but I’m so busy playing other sports,” he said. Other students feel lacrosse could
carve out a niche as an alternative sport. “I think it could catch on, like ultimate frisbee or a sport like that,” said 13-year-old Katie Kumpuris, adding that it might be diffi cult to access equipment outside of school.
The physical education curriculum, which bars stick-to-stick or body-to- body contact, aims to make lacrosse “soft” and as safe as possible in a learning environment. Perry showed her students the correct footwork and hand placement for holding a stick before fl inging the ball, and reminded passers to make eye contact with recipients before letting loose. There was a little extracurricular twirling during downtime between drills, especially among the boys. Some sticks “tend to turn into swords or light sabers,” Perry said. Feedback from Perry and other pilot program teachers will help US Lacrosse improve its future physical education curricula. Local groups such as the Little Rock Lacrosse Club will give the students a chance to play outside of class. But the ultimate success of Arkansas lacrosse may boil down to how many people come to share the sentiment of 14-year-old Lauren Pyle. “Once you get the hang of it, it’s a lot of fun,” she said. LM
USL provided 58 physical education grants — 30 soft sticks and balls, plus training — to schools in 2011. More info at
uslacrosse.org/education
May 2012 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 27
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