[
THE SCOOP] we are US Lacrosse >> THE 400K CLUB A Giver on the Go
Mary Hopkins carries the fl ag for US Lacrosse event volunteers
By Emily Gibson
When you search “Mary Hopkins + lacrosse + Florida” in Google you get about 7,700 hits.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s volunteered with US Lacrosse for that many hours,” said Beth Porreca, director of special events at US Lacrosse.
Back in 2003, the lacrosse world acquired a dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer in Hopkins. When her daughters fi rst picked up sticks, Hopkins was eager to get involved despite having never played the sport. For most people, that might mean helping out as a team manager or attending practices and games. For Hopkins, it meant joining the board of directors of the Orlando Chapter of US Lacrosse and organizing free clinics for youth players. Two long-time U.S. World Cup players and coaches provided the spark.
>> USL MAY CALENDAR 2
US Lacrosse director of health and sport safety Bruce Griffi n attends the National Summit on Sports Concussions. US
Lacrosse is co-sponsoring the event. The sport’s national governing body has invested more than $500,000 in research to study injuries in lacrosse and programs to make it safer, much of that thanks to membership dues and to donations to the US Lacrosse Foundation, the philanthropic arm of US Lacrosse.
32 LACROSSE MAGAZINE May 2014 >>
“I was very inspired, years ago, by Jess Wilk Strosberg and Sue Heether [to give back to and grow the sport],” Hopkins said. “While we were trying to develop lacrosse in Florida, they bent over backwards to help me in any way they could. I saw their love of the sport literally coming out of every single pore on their
body. I thought, ‘Wow, if we get Florida on the lacrosse map, how can I not give back when so much was given?’” Of course, it didn’t end with the chapter board or free clinics. No stranger to upcoming events like the US Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament, presented by the Heather Leigh Albert Foundation and Harrow, and the US Lacrosse U15 National Championships, powered by Lacrosse Unlimited, Hopkins has been the go-to person for anything lacrosse-related in the Sunshine State over the past decade.
“Last summer she recruited, organized, scheduled, trained and coordinated more than 200 volunteers for four events over a 10-day span at ESPN Wide World of Sports in the Orlando area,” Porreca said. “They showed up on time and she took care of them on site. She was at the event sunup to sundown and never blinked once. Mary always had a smile, was genuinely engaged with everyone she dealt with and was a true ambassador for her chapter, her region and lacrosse.”
Aside from events, Hopkins also
has served as the Orlando US Lacrosse All-American Chair, a 2012 U.S. U19 women’s national team selector, on the US Lacrosse Women’s Game Committee (currently as the
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Representatives of the US Lacrosse
Sports Science and Safety Committee and the Women’s Game
department attend the semi-annual meeting of ASTM
International in Toronto to discuss further development of the women’s headgear standard.
7
Day one of the US Lacrosse Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates National
Championships, presented by Harrow, in Virginia Beach, Va.
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US Lacrosse men’s game leaders will be in Southern California for the Men’s
Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) National Championships.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©JOHN STROHSACKER; ©SCOTT MCCALL
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