AProper By Paul Ohanian
nspiring participation is central to the US Lacrosse mission, and perhaps no program offered by the national governing body does a better job of
Introduction I
Kimmel received a 2012 equipment
making that happen than the soft-stick lacrosse initiative.
Through equipment grants and in-
service training, US Lacrosse brings lacrosse right into hundreds of classrooms and youth organizations nationwide. The fi rst exposure many kids have to the game is through the soft lacrosse experience at their schools. Using specially molded, gender- neutral plastic sticks and soft balls, educators and community leaders are able to teach the basic skills of the game in a fun and safe environment. A physical education curriculum guide, specifi cally developed by US Lacrosse, is included with each equipment grant. “It’s fun, it’s new and kids want to try
it,” said Darrell Houston, youth sports program coordinator for the Berwyn City (Ill.) Parks & Rec Department. Houston received an equipment grant last year and, working in cooperation with local school district offi cials, planned to apply for a workshop grant in 2013. “We quickly realized we needed more equipment,” Houston said.
Similar sentiments are shared by other recipients. “The kids love the game,” said Stacey Kimmel, a physical education assistant at Celia Hayes Elementary School in Rockwall, Texas. US Lacrosse annually offers two grant
opportunities for PE/soft-stick lacrosse. These grants provide equipment and/or training to lacrosse teams, schools, and community centers.
28 LACROSSE MAGAZINE August 2013>>
grant for her school. Due to the rave reviews by her students since beginning play in January, the entire Rockwall School District will join the party this coming year. Thomas helped her school district administrators submit a 2013 workshop grant application to provide greater exposure for the sport in Rockwall. The US Lacrosse PE workshops are three-hour, in-service training seminars for teachers, many of whom may never have seen lacrosse before. The educators are taught how to introduce and teach the game to their students in a safe and age-appropriate manner. Each school represented at the workshop receives a set of the soft lacrosse equipment. US Lacrosse piloted the PE lacrosse workshop in 2011 with a teaching seminar for 50 teachers in Little Rock, Ark. The national governing body expanded that effort to four PE training workshops for school districts last year. A third cycle of workshops will start this fall. Each in-service workshop typically has
30 schools in attendance, with the cost completely covered by US Lacrosse. “This program provides schools and
local organizations from coast-to-coast the opportunity to incorporate lacrosse into physical education curriculums,” said Meghan Mulford, programs manager at US Lacrosse. Including workshop participants, US Lacrosse awarded 221 soft lacrosse equipment sets to schools and civic organizations in 34 states nationwide in 2012. The Thomas Edison Charter Academy (TECA) in San Francisco was among those recipients.
US Lacrosse soft-stick lacrosse programs take hold in classrooms and youth centers nationwide
“I can’t adequately share the giggles and the shrieks of the students as they held lacrosse sticks for the fi rst time and as they ran with joy and abandon practicing cradling with their new sticks,” TECA’s Kate Sherwood said. “I was simply delighted to see the excitement on our students’ faces as they experienced a sport that they would never have had the chance to without the generosity of US Lacrosse.” The newest component of the PE/soft lacrosse initiative is the development of a tutorial DVD that will be included in all equipment packages to complement the US Lacrosse Curriculum Guide. It provides a complete video-based instructional workshop on teaching and playing soft lacrosse. The DVD includes information about the origins of lacrosse, the variations of the game, the basic skills required, sample drills and activities and details about the rules and execution of soft lacrosse game play. “It’s certainly our hope that if kids
enjoy the soft lacrosse experience, they will then transition to playing traditional lacrosse,” Mulford said. LM
USLACROSSE.ORG
Online applications for soft lacrosse equipment and workshop grants are available in late spring each year. Workshop applications close in early summer, while equipment applications are accepted through the summer. The deadline for 2013 soft lacrosse equipment applications is Sept. 1.
USLacrosse.org/SoftLax
A Publication of US Lacrosse
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