for four years while also administering its involvement with the federally funded National Youth Sports Program. Both initiatives provide access to the college environment through sports. “These experiences really opened my eyes and fueled my passion to exposing kids to opportunities,” said Clark, whose 13-year-old son, Myles, plays lacrosse and whose wife, Sharon, coaches volleyball.
For the past three years, Clark has
served as the Indiana Youth Institute’s Program Manager for Mentoring Partnerships, overseeing an initiative to pair adult mentors with kids primarily from low-income families, to provide them with access to college and a path to success. “We’re striving each day to make a positive difference,” said Clark, who works directly with mentoring programs throughout the state to improve service and accountability. “We track these kids, support them and make sure that they don’t fall through the cracks.” Lacrosse continues to factor prominently in Clark’s life. He’s the boys’ coach at Park Tudor (Ind.) High and was co-chair of Indiana's host committee for the 2013 NCAA Division I men’s quarterfi nals in Indianapolis. Clark also co-founded the Indiana Youth Lacrosse Association (IYLA),
formerly presided over US Lacrosse’s
Indiana Chapter and
continues to deliver the game to young minority players by
Look for the Seal As of Jan. 1, 2014, all lacrosse balls
used for any level of play must meet NOCSAE standards and include the words “Meets NOCSAE Standard.”
Only balls marked as "Meets NOCSAE Standard" will be allowed for use in games in 2014.
running clinics in select areas. US Lacrosse recently hired Eboni Preston as its fi rst fulltime associate director for diversity and inclusion, a sign the sport is moving in the right direction, Clark said. “It’s time to walk the walk,” he said. “Hiring Eboni shows folks that US Lacrosse is serious about diversity issues.” LM
NOCSAE, the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, commissions research in sports medicine and science and establishes standards for athletic equipment. All three governing bodies for lacrosse in
the United States — US Lacrosse, the NCAA and the NFHS — have agreed to mandate that only balls marked as “Meets NOCSAE Standard” will be allowed for use in games. Manufacturers now are producing these
balls, but delivery to retailers may be slow. US Lacrosse encourages leagues, teams and programs to order balls now. Delaying the ordering of balls until spring could cause availability issues if quantities are limited. Rulebooks have been adjusted to include
this new ball requirement. For more details, visit
uslacrosse.org/2014BallStandard.
US Lacrosse boasts more than 415,000 members nationwide. “The 400K Club” is a Lacrosse Magazine series telling the stories of the donors, staff and volunteers that continue to make it happen.
30
Early-bird discounts on fi ve US Lacrosse events expire at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Tickets to the US Lacrosse National Convention, presented by Champion, Jan. 10-12, 2014, are just $95 this month, a savings of $20 vs. December’s online pricing. The team registration fee for the US Lacrosse Regional Championships,
powered by Lacrosse Unlimited, in June 2014 is $1,350 this month, a savings of $200 on the Dec. 1-May 1 fee. The championships are for boys’ and girls’ U13 and U15 teams and are set for North Carolina (June 7-9), Wisconsin (June 13-15), Massachusetts (June 21-23) and California (June 27-29). Log into your
USLacrosse.org account to register for these events.
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