If you want to attract a crowd of young lacrosse players, is there a bigger draw than Charlotte North?
Absolutely not, but Courtney Benevides wasn’t necessarily looking to draw a crowd when she invited North to run a clinic for players in New Hampshire. Benevides, the incoming president of the Exeter (N.H.) Youth Lacrosse, was attending a clinic with her daughter in Massachusetts and decided she simply wanted to offer the same type of opportunity for players in her community.
Pardon the baseball analogy, but if you build it with Charlotte North, they will come.
The interest in the event grew so fast that it was split into two clinics, one for high school players and one for youth players. Benevides, a former captain on the Vermont women’s lacrosse team, helped North put together a crew of local coaches to assist in running the clinics, including National Lacrosse Hall of Famer and former USA gold medalist Sarah Nelson. Local high school coaches Colleen Farias (a former U.S. Developmental Team player), Taylor Landers and Missy Long joined in, as did former Middlebury player Julia McPhee, a youth coach in the Exeter program.
More than 200 players, from four states, attended the clinics. Two full high school teams came to the first clinic and Exeter’s local youth were well represented.
North brings both knowledge and connectivity when she speaks.
“She draws a lot from the men’s game and that was interesting to me,” Benevides said. “It was cool to see that approach. I learned a lot that day. She’s extremely engaging, thorough and she’s great with the kids. They’re having fun – it’s not all about instruction and she gets that.”
The entire day encapsulated what’s happening in the Exeter area – everyone coming together.
Exeter Youth Lacrosse is thriving in part because of the quality of coaching available. The local club programs are fully engaged with the community programs, so everyone benefits.
“It’s vital,” Benevides said. “Club is a wonderful option for the families that can afford it, but not everyone can. On top of that, it’s okay to love lacrosse and not want to play five days a week. There are all kinds of different ways to love the game.”
Benevides didn’t start playing until high school, but immediately fell in love with the sport. Her own daughter shares that love and currently plays on three teams — her community team, her club team and for her middle school team.
The love for the game, no matter the level, is what’s driving the sport in Exeter. Exeter Youth Lacrosse also hosted a Pick Up & Play clinic last November as part of USA Lacrosse's National Celebrate Lacrosse Week, introducing more than 60 boys and girls to the sport.
“Everyone just wants to play,” Benevides said.
With inspiring heroes like North and the hard work of dedicated volunteers, that trend is only going to continue.
