CityLax's Passion to Push Lacrosse Forward

Lacrosse has its share of iconic venues.

Buffalo has Banditland. Syracuse has the JMA Wireless Dome. Johns Hopkins has Homewood Field. The list goes on.

While considering your own list, you likely won’t examine “the fields under the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in New York City.” But that could be changing.

Randall’s Island, particularly March 27 at fields 73-75, was the site of some CityLax games that might open your eyes. The passion and push to move lacrosse forward was as strong as you’d see anywhere.

CityLax is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to developing and growing lacrosse in New York City public schools. It originally launched in 2005. The organization runs clinics and funds and assists launching teams inside New York City schools. Currently, there are 26 boys’ teams and 26 girls’ teams.

On a windy March day, four of those teams came to Randall’s Island. The field space is critical to the growth of the sport in the city, as it can be in short supply in an urban environment.

“Randall’s Island services a lot of sports, including lacrosse, and it’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to build CityLax over the last 19 years,” said Mat Levine, founder of CityLax. “Every school in Manhattan does not have a field. There are schools in the outer boroughs that do have fields, but many of them don’t. A lot of the games that are scheduled for those teams and Manhattan teams are played here.”

On one field, FDA took on Brooklyn Tech. The rivalry game had playoff intensity. Frederick Douglass Academy won 20-12, improving to 4-0 and handing Brooklyn Tech its first loss.

One field over, Jamaica took on South Bronx Prep. The NHL has the Original Six, and CityLax has an Original 3. Two of them are Midwood High School in Brooklyn and Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens. The third is Jamaica.

“Jamaica, interestingly, had a lacrosse program before CityLax got started. That goes back into the 80s. But unfortunately, they didn’t sustain it,” Levine said. “But there are some Jamaica alums that have come back to help that program.”

The games are not played at a beginner level. Brooklyn Tech’s Quentin Delgado turned heads early by taking his man to the high wing and hitting an explosive right-to-left split to get to the middle of the field before hitting a top corner on the run from about 12 yards.

FDA attackman Nasir Barr has college-level dodging ability and punctuated FDA’s win by catching a feed on the doorstep and shooting over his head with his back to the net for a goal. The SportsCenter-worthy finish electrified the sideline, setting off bench celebrations on par with the best.

The right ideas were on display, but they might have needed some polish, and that’s the next step for CityLax.

“I think what Eamon McAnaney, our CEO, and I are trying to do now is get more development at the middle school level in the schools,” Levine said. “Our whole mantra is, ‘Try to establish lacrosse inside the schools, not necessarily on a club basis.’ We think getting it in the schools as an established, go-to sport is the way to go. A lot of these kids don’t have the wherewithal and the financial commitment it takes to play club. So, trying to get scholastic lacrosse the best we can make it inside the public schools, that’s our mantra.”

The level of play, relative to the level of experience, is impressive. And it’s improving. Some programs have grown to the point that they support junior varsity programs, too.

“Brooklyn Tech, and there’s about 10 others, have JV teams,” Levine said, “and that’s another way to develop kids earlier. I think that gets a more positive impact on the depth in the rosters and of course the talent level.”

Lacrosse has been a natural addition for some schools, which has escalated the growth of both CityLax and the game in general in NYC. USA Lacrosse has supported CityLax with financial grants, equipment grants and partnered on a variety of clinics to help introduce the sport to new players.

“Over the years, things have really ramped up,” Levine said. “We’ve had some teams that have really taken to the game. FDA was one of the first high schools we started. It’s a high school in Harlem, and they also have a very good and unusual situation because they have a middle school within the high school building.”

FDA is the rare case in which introducing the game to middle schoolers is easier. For others, it’s a larger effort. But it pays off.

“If a kid comes to a public high school as a ninth grader or even a tenth grader and has never played lacrosse before, it’s a leap to pick up a stick and play a sport you’ve never really seen,” Levine said. “Compared to 19 years ago, there’s a lot on YouTube, on the internet, and on ESPN, but still it’s a leap. And what we do is try to offer free clinics in the offseason to try and introduce the game to those kids so there is more roster buildup.”

Alumni of the program go on to college, many at state schools in New York, and while they might not immediately join varsity lacrosse programs, a large number of them play club ball.

CityLax alums, both boys and girls, are playing at schools like Hunter College in Manhattan and many of the SUNY schools around the state. Some at a club level, and a few at a varsity level in Division III.

“This is all about getting kids exposure to the game, and really using it as a vehicle getting them onto a two- or four-year college opportunity,” Levine said. “That’s the most important thing to us.”

The instant access to a team means they head to college and arrive with a support system, a group of friends and a fun and smooth transition into their next chapter of life.

“I have had countless kids come back to me and say, ‘Coach, it's my first time out of the city, I’m at Binghamton, and I joined the club team. I instantly had 25 friends the first time I walked on college campus because I played lacrosse,’” Levine said.

The games played on windy March days under the RFK bridge might not have the same pizazz as a Saturday showdown at the Dome, a Friday night in Banditland or a summer Saturday at Homewood. But the games are just as important ‑ if not more.

The lacrosse on display is competitive and joyful. The numbers are getting bigger. Doors are opening and opportunities are coming for athletes who have been introduced to a sport they might not have known much about otherwise.

CityLax teams might not show up in national rankings (at least not yet), but that’s not how their impact is measured. With the efforts to introduce lacrosse to middle school athletes and go beyond just New York City high schools, CityLax represents one of the best and most sincere efforts to do what all lacrosse fans say needs to happen: Grow the game.