In 2016, as part of the grand opening for the new USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Maryland, the national governing body unveiled a 9/11 memorial garden located in the southwest corner of the promenade around Tierney Field.
Designed by landscape architect Kris Snider, a former All-America player at Virginia and a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, the memorial seeks to honor the memory and spirit of the lacrosse community members and fallen heroes who perished in the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.
Through the years, thousands of visitors have had a chance to visit the unique memorial, which includes a central heart stone surrounded by six spirit sticks pointing skyward.
“I think it’s less about the event itself and more about how we remember the people,” Snider said. “The idea behind this was that we’re a big family of lacrosse people and there’s something special about us.”
Snider noted that the location for the memorial, just off the modern playing field and at the edge of a meadow that surrounds the complex, seemed just right.
“When I started thinking about the location, it was about understanding how we could fit this little garden beautifully within the campus here,” he said. “I thought that putting it in the seam between the modern field and the meadow where the ancient game was played was pretty cool.”
It is believed that at least 70 people who were connected to the lacrosse community perished in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A video exhibit inside the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame & Museum scrolls through the names and photos of those individuals. A piece of steel from the World Trade Center, donated by the FDNY, NYPD and NY/NJ Port Authority, is also displayed as part of the exhibit.
Please watch the video below for Snider’s full comments about USA Lacrosse’s 9/11 memorial garden.
