www.fortworthlacrosse.org

4/17           GAME Home 3:00 p.m. vs. Keller – Blue

4/20                    Practice 5-6:15 p.m. only 1 this week (Benbrook Elementary)

4/24         GAME Home 3:00 p.m. vs. Flower Mound – White

4/27                     Practice 5-6.15 p.m. TBA…

5/1             GAME 2:00 p.m.  @ Coppell – Black/ABC

5/2            GAME (Sunday) Home 3:00 p.m. vs. Keller – White

5/4                       Practice 5-6.15 p.m.  TBA…

5/8             GAME Home 3:00 p.m. vs. Colleyville – Red

Q: What if my child has never played Lacrosse before?

A: Lacrosse is a relatively new sport to Texas that is quickly growing in popularity. Each organization we play will have kids new to the sport. Our experience has shown us that anyone with reasonable hand to eye coordination can pick up Lacrosse very quickly

Q: What equipment will I need to buy?

A: The basic equipment requirements for boys Lacrosse are stick, helmet, shoulder pads, arm pads, gloves, mouthpiece and cleats. (Athletic cups are used by some, but not required)

Q: Where can I purchase equipment?

A: Most major sporting goods stores are now beginning to carry Lacrosse equipment. When shopping, please note the difference between girls’ and boys’ sticks. Also note the stick should be size appropriate for your son. A standard length stick is appropriate for Middle School and older or taller Youth players while a shorter length stick is a better fit for Developmental and younger / shorter Youth players. If you have any questions or are unsure of what length to buy, contact your coach.

Online we have a great deal with LaxWorld.com.  If you are shopping at LaxWorld, please call Adam 1.800.752.9529 and reference Fort Worth Youth Lacrosse League. PLEASE WAIT TO PURCHASE EQUIPMENT UNTIL WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE NUMBERS TO FORM A TEAM. If you want to play but have financial concerns, please let us know at FWYLAX@gmail.com, your request will be confidential and we will try to help you son as much as possible.

Locally, equipment is available at the following stores:

Dicks Sporting Goods

Sports Authority

NJS (Not Just Soccer – Plano)

Play It Again Sports Carrollton

Q: What should I expect the cost to be for equipment?

A: These costs are just estimates: Junior/Youth – $170 per pack-Shipping per pack – $15 *package includes a helmet, Arm Guards, shoulder pads, gloves, complete stick, a mouth piece and a lacrosse ball.  Call Adam for Info!  The cost will outfit your son for a number of years.  When they grow out of their equipment, the FWYLA would love to purchase it for future use.All Fort Worth Youth Lacrosse participants must also join U.S. Lacrosse for insurance. The cost is $25 for youth (grades 1st through 8th) players and provides insurance and loads of other stuff (you also get a $10.00 gift certificate from laxworld.com on your birthday). The web site for U.S. Lacrosse is www.usLacrosse.org. For those not familiar with Lacrosse, many tournaments require players to be registered with US Lacrosse for insurance purposes. Most clinics also require that U.S. Lacrosse membership is valid as well.

The season fee will be as little as possible to cover uniform and league fees.

Q: I already have my own equipment. Can I use it? A: Yes as long as it conforms to U.S. Lacrosse standards.

Q: How long is the season? A: Lacrosse is a spring sport. Practice begins in late January, and the season runs from February through late April/early May.

Q: How often is practice? A: Generally, teams practice twice a week with games on the weekend. However, there is a possibility that a few games may be played during the week.

Q: Where do we practice and play our games? A: The boys will most likely practice at Benbrook Elementary (side practice fields) and games will normally be on Saturdays/Sundays at the Benbrook Dutch Branch Park field, LMRA soccer field and other cities fields.

Q: My son is small for his age, do you have to be big to do well in Lacrosse

A: Absolutely not, Lacrosse is a game of speed and finesse. There is contact in Lacrosse however quickness and hustle are very important.

Q: My Son is in 6th grade and is tall / big for his age. I am concerned about his size compared to other players in the Youth bracket.

A: We understand that 6th grade can represent a transition year in growth and academics for many players. For boy’s who have not played Lacrosse, regardless of size, the youth bracket is an excellent opportunity for them to learn the fundamental skills and game in an environment where the contact is limited by rule.

Q: Where does Lacrosse at the youth level lead to as my son gets older?

A: Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. High Schools are introducing Lacrosse at a 25% growth rate each year and most of the colleges in Texas have quality Lacrosse clubs. The Fort Worth Youth Lacrosse Association will continue to grow the Lacrosse program as interest in the sport grows. It is our hope that the 5/6 grade program will continue through 7/8, filter downward to 3/4, and into high school in addition to the growth and development of our youth teams at every level.

Player Name:

US Lacrosse Member Number:

Grade & School:

Male/Female

Phone:

Mailing Address:

Guardian Name:

Guardian Phone:

Guardian email:

Guardian Address:

WAIVER & RELEASE OF LIABILITY

The undersigned parent, guardian or managing conservator of the minor child named above (hereinafter “Player”) realizing that the Fort Worth Youth Lacrosse Association (hereinafter “FWYLA”) is  a non-profit association, and that the FWYLA and its teams are organized, managed and supervised by volunteers, hereby consents, agrees and binds himself/herself, his/her heirs and assigns to the following regarding Player’s participation in FWYLA activities: (1) Inconsideration of the benefits derived by Player’s participation in FWYLA activities, I hereby consent, approve, covenant and agree to indemnify and save harmless FWYLA, its agents, servants, representatives, directors, officers, coaches, managers and referees from and against all actions or causes of action, claims demands, liabilities, loss, damage or expense of whatever kind or nature which may be sustained or incurred by virtue of injury or damage to me or Player resulting or growing out of participation in any FWYLA activities, including without limitation any cause of action sounding in negligence or any tort.  (2) I understand that I must give FWYLA a completed and signed registration form before Player is eligible to participate in the FWYLA activities. (3) I further understand that FWYLA does not provide any personal injury or liability insurance whatsoever and that I must provide at my own expense any other insurance I deem necessary. In the event I cannot be reached during a medical emergency, I give my consent for medical treatment by a healthcare professional to preserve the life and well being of Player. (4) I represent that the information on this registration form is true and correct.

_____________________________________________________

Parent, Guardian or Managing Conservator’s Signature

Date Signed

Print out, fill out and bring to any event.

Mission:  Help build healthy kids through lacrosse in Fort Worth.

Strategy:  Effort – Character – Fun

Values
Integrity
Hard Work
Each athlete is valuable
Teamwork
Laughter
Volunteer Participation

Measures (of Success)
Enjoyment of lacrosse
Development of character
Physical development
Practices are attended
High degree of repeat players
Every parent contacted to volunteer

Lacrosse Muscles Its Way West

A Sport Incubated by Eastern Prep Schools Quietly Picks Up Converts; Big Gains in California

By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG and KELLY EVANS

This weekend in Foxboro, Mass., more than 100,000 spectators are expected to pour into Gillette Stadium to see four schools — Duke, Virginia, Cornell and Syracuse — square off for the national championship of a sport that, if the numbers are correct, you’ll be hearing a lot more about. That sport is lacrosse.

Until recently, lacrosse — America’s other stick and ball sport — was rarely on TV and only its championship games generated much in the way of media coverage. It was mostly played on the East Coast, and it was often viewed as a game for private-school kids. Some of the game’s most electrifying athletes — Gary and Paul Gait; Casey, Ryan and Michael Powell — were little known outside core followers. The sole exception may be Jim Brown, the former Cleveland Browns running back who played lacrosse at Syracuse University.

Economics reporter Kelly Evans explains how lacrosse has grown in the last 10 years among American students from many demographics.

“Lacrosse has taken off because it combines the hitting of football, the speed of basketball, and requires the endurance of soccer,” says Kyle Harrison, who led Johns Hopkins to a national championship in 2005 and who won that year’s Tewaaraton Trophy as the country’s best male player.

These days the sport is showing serious growth. Participation in high school lacrosse has about doubled this decade, to a total of 143,946 boys and girls playing on high school lacrosse teams in the 2007-08 school year, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, which tracks participation by sport. In 2000-01, there were 74,225 high school lacrosse players.

And the fervor goes beyond high schools. A 2007 survey by the National Sporting Goods Association found an estimated 1.2 million Americans over age 7 had played lacrosse within the previous year — an increase of 40% since 1999.

Johns Hopkins is one of the 56 men’s Division 1 college lacrosse teams, based on NCAA data from the 2007-08 season. Including Divisions II and III, there are some 239 men’s college lacrosse teams nationwide with 8,900 athletes, double the number of participants two decades ago. On the women’s side, there are now more than 300 college lacrosse programs across Division I, II and III, according to the NCAA, triple the number seen two decades ago.

It’s also growing when compared to other sports. In the 2007-08 school year, 17 colleges added women’s lacrosse, more than any other sport. Meanwhile, a dozen men’s teams were added in 2007-08, far more than sports like basketball, which added three teams; football, which added two and baseball, which added just one team.

View Slideshow

Lacrosse 101: A beginner’s guide to North America’s oldest team sport.

Lacrosse is a fast-paced running and shooting game created by American Indians. Migrating south from Canada in the 19th century, it won followers in the Northeast; New York University fielded the first college team in 1877.

The men’s game has 10 players who wear helmets, shoulder pads, elbow pads and gloves. There’s body contact and stick checking, with the most effective shooters able to weave and dodge around defensemen. The women’s game has 12 players who wear protective eye goggles and sometimes gloves. There is no body contact, so the focus is on passing, cutting and running.

A number of factors have contributed to the sport’s growth, including an increase in media coverage, the availability of athletic scholarships and the sport’s growing appeal at schools west of the Mississippi.

The men’s game has 10 players who wear Indeed, the game has steadily migrated as former players and coaches moved West. Lacrosse Magazine says that of the 2,427 men’s lacrosse players on D-I rosters in 2009, 118 players came from five key Western states: California (55); Colorado (37); Washington (13); (Arizona (9) and Oregon (4.)

“The game has just exploded in the three years that I’ve lived in San Diego,” says Dave Herman, the varsity boys’ lacrosse coach at Francis Parker School in San Diego.

The availability of college scholarships is also a draw. Chuck Cohen, who helped launch a youth league in Orangetown, N.Y., that has grown from 70 boys in grades five through eight to more than 300 boys and girls from first to eighth grades, says, “Many of the D-1 teams are offering college scholarships, and there are tournaments and recruiting camps where college coaches can watch the kids play.”

The Web has played a crucial role, says Steve Stenersen, CEO of US Lacrosse, the sport’s governing body. “There’s tons of stuff on YouTube, as well as coverage on a variety of news and alternative sites.”

The media, specifically cable TV networks such as ESPN, have also popularized the sport. “It’s always been considered an Eastern sport, but now it’s spreading nationwide,” says Steve Herbst, executive vice president of CBS College Sports Network, which has carried the sport for six years.

Lacrosse has been welcoming to women. Forty years ago, there wasn’t a single girls high school lacrosse team; in the 2007-08 school year, there were over 1,600 high school programs with more than 60,000 players in 23 states. Undoubtedly, many will be watching Northwestern University, based in Evanston, Ill., compete this weekend for its fifth consecutive national women’s championship.

As might be expected, the states with the most popular programs are those where the sport has traditionally been popular. New York has the most, followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Maryland. But next on the list is California, with 110 high school teams and over 3,000 women’s lacrosse players.

High-school lacrosse players practice in Seattle.

Lacrosse still trails far behind more traditional sports and it remains to be seen whether the sport will ever catch up in popularity. The number of high school lacrosse players, at about 144,000, is just a fraction of the participation seen in football, with 1.1 million high school athletes; basketball and track and field, both with just over a million players, and soccer, with 730,000, as of the 2007-08 school year.

The economy has also had an impact on the sport. Jake Steinfeld, founder of Major League Lacrosse, a professional outdoor lacrosse league that kicked off its ninth season last weekend, says the MLL now counts six teams, down from 10 in 2008. “This is like any other business, you try to understand what’s happening with the country and the economy,” he said. “Our goal is to stay alive and thrive.”

Virginia’s Max Pomper, right, looks to make a play against Johns Hopkins’ Mark Goodrich.

The recession has been felt elsewhere. “We’d hoped to have 50 stores by 2019, now those plans are derailed,” says Joe DeSimone, co-owner of Lacrosse Unlimited Inc., based Hauppauge, N.Y., which owns 19 stores in the Northeast. Mr. DeSimone says he generated about $250,000 from his first store in 1990; this year he expects revenue to top $15 million. “Our average sale was probably less than $50 in 1990, today it’s probably $110.”

Still, fans say the changes are striking. “The three areas that are really booming right now are high school women’s, youth boys and youth girls,” says Paul Gait, a Syracuse University Hall of Fame lacrosse player who’s now president of Albany, N.Y.-based DeBeer Lacrosse, one of the four major equipment makers. But that doesn’t necessarily mean business is booming: differences in how the women’s and youth games are played means those players tend to spend less on equipment. “For years we were seeing revenue growth of ten percent but now it’s more like 5-6% and decreasing each year,” Mr. Gait said.

“People like me live by the growth of the sport and none of us are getting rich,” he said.

Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at jeffrey.trachtenberg@wsj.com and Kelly Evans at kelly.evans@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications
High school girls’ lacrosse teams were not officially sanctioned by state athletic associations 40 years ago. This story incorrectly stated there were no high school girls’ lacrosse teams 40 years ago.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page D12