Brooklyn Youth Lacrosse for Boys and Girls

The Brooklyn Lacrosse Club (www.brooklynlacrosse.org) is Brooklyn's Premier Youth Lacrosse organization, 100% run by committed volunteers. Our mission is to bring the game of Lacrosse to boys and girls of Brooklyn, emphasizing Fundamentals, Team, Respect and Brooklyn. We are the only Lacrosse Organization in Brooklyn whose coaches have been National Champions (Div 1 and 2), Hall of Famers and Professional League Players.

“The goal is to expose kids to a sport played at top universities across the country. City kids, who do great in school and excel at lacrosse...you can’t name me a college that wouldn't be falling over themselves trying to recruit this amazingly diverse demographic”, explains founder Joe Nocella.

Lacrosse has enjoyed an uneven history in North America.  Initially played centuries ago by native Americans as training for war, Victorian-era Americans took to the sport to connect with the idea of the “noble savage”.  This generally took root in very affluent sporting clubs of the upper class.  Throughout most of the 20th century, lacrosse retained the stigma of a sport mainly played at boarding and prep schools.

As the sport has spread across the country in the last 20 years, one of the last frontiers has been inner cities. “There are many barriers to entry for a new lacrosse player in the city.  Equipment costs, field space, perception and logistics all contribute to very few active urban teams compared to their suburban counterparts” Nocella reflects.

The Brooklyn Lacrosse Club has some powerful allies in the mission to bring lacrosse to this final frontier.  As a recipient of the National “First Stick” Grant from US Lacrosse. the Brooklyn Lacrosse Club is working hard to remove many barriers of entry to the sport as possible with equipment grants and financial assistance. “We have kept our registration at $99, in many cases that's even cheaper than baseball”, says Nocella.

The Brooklyn Lacrosse Club will kick off the Spring 2013 Season with 3 Free Indoor Clinics in February, and will hit the field at the new Brooklyn Bridge Park on March 2.  We are tentatively set for Sunday morning practices this Spring. In addition, we have been invited to play a game at Citi Field on March 17th.

Boys and girls from Pre-k thru 8th grade are invited, and beginners are most definitely welcome. For more info, please visit www.brooklynlacrosse.org.