www.SanTanSun.com
Youth Hamilton Lacrosse readies sticks by Kevin Rolfe
A sport with Canadian roots and a rich East Coast heritage, lacrosse, is making its way west.
“It’s always been huge back east,” says Hamilton Huskies Coach Tyce Thielsen of what has been called the fastest growing high school sport. “It’s a big sport in Texas now and it’s a high school sport in California, so it’s just a matter of time for us here in Arizona. We’re getting there.”
Lacrosse at Hamilton is a club sport, meaning the Arizona Interscholastic
“We’re starting to see kids that have played lacrosse exclusively growing up,” says Thielsen. “They’ve always had a stick in their hands.”
The Hamilton varsity club team is made up primarily of Hamilton students, but there are also some students from Perry and Basha high schools on the team. “Basha had a team up until a few years ago. We are all kind of codependent on each other to grow the sport,” says Thielsen. “If we get to the point that we have enough to add another team, then maybe one of those schools could add a team. But for now, we just want to bring kids together and grow the sport. We also want to be competitive, of course.”
Thielsen says his team is young this year, but he does expect them to be good defensively.
STSN photo by Kevin Rolfe
NEW GAME: Offensive leader Nick Feltch, left, looks to lead the Pumas. Lacrosse, formerly a mostly Eastern sport, is moving west, including to Chandler.
Association does not sanction it. The Arizona Lacrosse League website lists 27 school programs that compete with Hamilton either directly or indirectly. But Thielsen and others say they think the time is coming that the AIA will sanction lacrosse.
Hamilton’s lacrosse club is divided into three sections. The varsity team has 22 to 24 players. A junior varsity team has another 20-plus players, while a junior high team feeds into the Hamilton program. Ryan Grant heads up the junior high team, known as the Firebirds.
“The biggest thing people don’t realize about lacrosse is how big it is. It’s huge!” says Grant.
Junior varsity Coach Gordon Green says he gets players with varying experience. “Some freshmen come in with no knowledge or very little knowledge of the game and some have played a few years in younger leagues,” he says. “Our primary goal is to develop players.”
Green says they have plans to start a program for sixth-graders and younger, something other programs in Arizona already offer.
STSN photo by Kevin Rolfe
GUARDING: Senior goaltender Jawad Shahnbandar sets up in goal during a recent game.
“We can stop goals, but scoring them could be a challenge this year. It’s a really tough region we are in.” Under a new reorganization of the Arizona Lacrosse League, Hamilton is in the same region as powerhouses Chandler and Desert Vista high schools, along with three other clubs. Hamilton will play each regional foe twice and also mix in a few matches against teams based on power rankings. Being a club team, the Huskies don’t get the fi nancial
support from the school district that other sports do.
“The players have to buy their own uniforms and they’re expected to fundraise to help us cover our other costs,” Thielsen says.
The lacrosse season begins in early March. For information about the program, to register, or contribute, visit
www.laxhuskies.com.
Kevin Rolfe, a fourth-grade teacher at Basha Elementary School, is a Chandler sports enthusiast who lives with his family in Traditions at Avalon.
February 4 - 17, 2012
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