What does USA Lacrosse do? How? Why?

I get these questions a lot. Most often it’s “what” and sometimes it’s “how.” But rarely is it “why,” the most important question of all.

WHAT WE DO

We have three objectives defined by 11 words:

• Fuel the growth.

• Enrich the experience.

• Field the best national teams.

HOW WE DO IT

Our first objective is best achieved by introducing the game to as many people as possible. There are best practices and insight-driven strategies, but getting sticks in kids’ hands is the focus.

For the sticks to stay in kids’ hands, they need a fun experience. That means educated coaches, trained officials and an infrastructure that can sustain lacrosse play — whether it’s a community league, a private club or a school-based program.

The “how” doesn’t just happen. Throwing out some balls and sticks and saying, “Go,” doesn’t work like we wish it would. All sports need some strategy and infrastructure to flourish.

We have eight U.S. national teams that compete internationally and four USA Select teams that form a pipeline for exceptional youth players as part of the National Team Development Program. Fielding the best in the world is the unique responsibility of a governing body.

WHY WE DO IT

Paraphrasing author Simon Sinek, what organizations do is important, but why they do it is more important. Our “why” is simple: We change people’s lives.

Sounds a bit lofty, if not pretentious, but let me share a story.

This past October, I was in the lobby of a hotel near our headquarters in Sparks, Maryland. It was a big weekend of international competition — the USA Lacrosse Fall Classic and the Brogden Cup. The parents of a girl on our USA Select U16 team introduced themselves to say hello. I asked how their daughter, Emily, was enjoying her experience, and how she was playing. Her father paused, looked at me and said, “USA Lacrosse is changing young girls’ lives. Natalie Wills (the program’s lead) is changing young girls’ lives.”

I was speechless. Speechless wearing the hat of USA Lacrosse CEO, and speechless as the father of a teenage girl.

We are all Emily and Emily is all of us because we all have a story. A story of how the game profoundly changed our life. We want more people to have their own Emily story.

So when people ask what USA Lacrosse does, I do say those 11 words. But what I really tell them is, “We change people’s lives.”

This article appears in the January 2022 edition of USA Lacrosse Magazine. Join our momentum.