It's that time of year again, Mansfield Youth Lacrosse!

When thinking about my senior project, I knew that my focus would have something to do with Lacrosse. I have played lacrosse since I was in elementary school and when I reached high school, I started reffing. The next step for me would naturally be coaching. My senior project was a great push for me into the coaching world. Luckily upon reaching out to Mansfield Youth Lacrosse, I found they were in need of coaches. I immediately put my application in and became an assistant coach for the juniors. (grades 5 and 6)

Going into the first practice, I was both nervous and excited. As a junior in high school, being in my first leadership role at this level was intimidating, but once the first practice came around, that feeling vanished. The kids were excited to play and passionate about the sport. I really feel like I was able to make a connection with the players and it was a great feeling being able to share my skills and love of the game with younger players. As part of my senior project, I wrote a paper on the importance of youth lacrosse programs. Coaching for Mansfield Lacrosse cemented my opinion that every town should have a lacrosse program. I was able to see first hand what effects the sport had on kids, especially first year players. The progression in player’s attitude, skill, and athleticism was tremendous.

Compared to youth programs in neighboring towns, Mansfield lacrosse is a young program. They are working towards establishing a strong youth program that can then feed a proposed EO Smith High School Lacrosse Team. Despite being a new program, the teams are led by strong head coaches with lots of knowledge on the sport. The Mansfield Juniors went up against seasoned teams and programs when I was coaching and held strong, they even made it to the finals.

Mansfield Lacrosse is always looking for players. The more interest & participation they gain, the stronger the league and eventually the High School team will be. This year, Mansfield could use a lot more players. If you know/have any boys from ages third to eighth grade that want to have a lot of fun with a great group of people, you should encourage them to join Mansfield Lacrosse.