Don’t tell Pat Foley that a few new lacrosse sticks can’t make a difference.
As president of Sioux Falls Lacrosse in South Dakota, he has seen the excitement on kids’ faces when they get their first glance at the newest equipment shipment from USA Lacrosse.
Earlier this year, Foley’s organization applied for a USA Lacrosse First Stick grant, with hopes of expanding lacrosse in their community through a new partnership with the local YMCA. Their approved application yielded a USA Lacrosse Starter Kit package, providing 30 lacrosse sticks, two dozen soft practice balls, and two 3’x3’ goals, along with complimentary USA Lacrosse memberships.
The First Stick grant to Sioux Falls was one of 31 awards made by USA Lacrosse as part of its most recent grant cycle. These grants have a combined retail value of over $80,000 and an estimated direct impact to over 850 players. STX and Cascade serve as equipment providers for the USA Lacrosse First Stick Program.
“The sticks are phenomenal,” Foley said. “The kids see the shiny new equipment and ask ‘what’s this?’ It gets their attention.”
Sioux Falls Lacrosse was established in 2014, and sponsors both boys’ and girls’ teams in the Northern Plains Lacrosse League. The competitive squads traditionally travel throughout the state to fill out their game schedule, venturing from Aberdeen to Bismarck, and Grand Forks to Watertown.
To increase the number of recreational teams around Sioux Falls, located in the southeast corner of the state, Foley helped to establish a new partnership this past spring with the YMCA to add lacrosse as one of the offerings.
Marketed as Y-Lax, Foley and other volunteers are teaching newcomers the fundamentals of lacrosse in a safe and fun environment. The equipment provided by USA Lacrosse offsets the need for families to purchase their own sticks to participate in the clinics.
“We’re re-introducing lacrosse in Sioux Falls,” Foley said. “The YMCA has a huge outreach, so it made sense to work in partnership.”
The early returns on the collaboration have been very encouraging.
The success of the initial spring clinics prompted the YMCA to add lacrosse to its popular summer program, Camp Leif Ericson. Foley and others helped to provide lacrosse training to over 60 of the camp’s counselors. The YMCA is also starting a lacrosse rec program this fall for multiple age divisions, utilizing USA Lacrosse’s Flex6 format.
“The kids absolutely love it,” said Nicole Bissell, sport director at the YMCA. “Our initial thought was that having lacrosse would get more kids involved, but it’s turned out even better than we expected.”
Bissell says that kids from all age groups, as young as six and up through high school, have already taken part in the YMCA program. Seeing the rapid growth in participation has been exciting.
“This has been an awesome adventure,” Bissell said.
There’s also no doubt that those shiny sticks from USA Lacrosse are now getting good use. Between the summer camps and the rec program, hundreds of kids are using them each week.
“The momentum is fantastic,” Foley said. “I think we’ve only scratched the surface.”
