A way to stay in the game ...

When we first moved to eastern NC there were no youth leagues or schools who offered the sport of lacrosse. Then the following spring a coach who had moved into the area decided to help open the area up with a youth league. He organized a "Lacrosse Day" at an area park for youngsters to come out and see what the sport was all about.

Since Ryan had played for several years prior to our move here he was excited to say the least! We all were thrilled be able to be a part of the sport becoming a success in our area; "we" meaning all of the families involved in organizing, hosting, supporting, and encouraging our lacrosse athletes. Both Ryan and Jennifer would end up playing two seasons with the youth league on the boys teams. Yes, Jennifer played with the boys team of youngsters in the age group of U13 (under 13 years of age).

As Ryan aged out of the U15 team, he went on to take an officials class for lacrosse and has officiated for the past two seasons. This year will make his third year as an official. Jenn also aged out of the U13 team, and would have had to go on to play with the boys in U15 the following season, but she opted to do something different. She took a season off and then joined the color guard team. She has been having a blast!

During the last two years we stayed in contact with the coach who started it all here, Ryan gathered lists of names of those interested in playing the sport at the high school level, and he is so excited to finally have the opportunity to play with a 20 man team this spring! Yes, we have lacrosse club teams in several area towns this year, and two teams in our town as a result of a lot of hard work from coaches, players, supporters, and families.

Now, how does Jenn find a way to stay in the game? She is now the high school lacrosse club team's manager. She assists the coach in getting registration forms to prospective players, collecting the money for equipment, logging uniform sizes, taking attendance, and assisting the coach on the field with skill sets. After all folks, she did play for two years by the boys rules and regulations.

Coach says he really is thankful for her help, and why not, she is a smart young lady as well as a former lacrosse player!