Park Hits the Field

Grant helps WP break area into girls' lacrosse

By MIKE HUGHES
Lacrosse is a fast-rising sport across the country but has yet to make a solid footprint in the Ohio Valley.

So Jill Robbins, a teacher at Wheeling Park, was a little taken back at a request last year from one of her homeroom students.

Jake Nelson, a member of the newly formed boys’ lacrosse team, approached her about the possibility of getting involved with a girls’ team at the school. Nelson’s sister, Cassie, had a serious interest in playing and wanted to form a team.

An effort was made to start a team for the 2007 season, but circumstances didn’t pan out to allow that to happen.

‘‘We had a group that was interested in playing, but we didn’t have everything fine-tuned and the team wasn’t a go last year,’’ Robbins said of the initial attempt.

If girls’ lacrosse was to be a go at Wheeling Park, like the boys’ team, it was going to have to do so as a club sport. So besides generating enough player interest to get the team off the ground, there was the little matter of financing to be dealt with.

Club sports, unlike varsity sports officially recognized by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission, are not fully funded. In fact, they aren’t funded by the school at all.

Like the school’s hockey team, the lacrosse players would be required to foot the bill for equipment, uniforms, transportation and all other associated fees.

And for a sport like lacrosse, there’s no doing so on the cheap.

A base-model stick costs between $30-40; the goggles an additional $40 and each player is required to purchase insurance through U.S. Lacrosse for $35. So before even hitting the field, a player is out more than $100 to play a sport she may or may not even like.

That’s when a group of parents stepped in an applied to U.S. Lacrosse, the sport’s national governing body headquartered in Baltimore, for a possible grant.

The application panned out, as Wheeling Park was the recipient of a grant consisting of: 24 pairs of sticks and goggles and full equipment for one goalie.

‘‘We’ve had to fundraise for everything, so getting the grant really helped out,’’ Robbins said.

That grant allowed the Patriots to take the field for the 2007 season with a roster 15 players strong and a seven-game schedule in the West Virginia Scholastic Lacrosse Association.

There are a few differences between the boys’ and girls’ games — the boys play with 10 on the field, the girls 12 — but the main difference between the two is physical contact. The boys, who play with full pads and protective gear, are allowed contact, the girls, are not.

It’s been a learning experience so far for not only the Park players, but also for Robbins, who admitted she needed a crash course in the sport before donning the coach’s whistle.

‘‘I’d say crash course is an understatement,’’ Robbins said jokingly. ‘‘I’ve read up a good bit, but what’s nice is in this sport how willing people are to help out and that really makes it worthwhile.’’

Robbins pointed out she’s received assistance from countless places, from opposing and collegiate coaches to game officials. The unified goal seems to be to help build exposure and interest in the sport.

What should help that goal along, according to the coach, is how easy the game is to pick up.

‘‘It’s a really exciting sport, but it’s not one where you need a specific set of skills to excel at,’’ Robbins said. ‘‘We have a bunch of girls with different backgrounds coming together.

‘‘It doesn’t take a whole lot to learn, and once you get the basics down, it’s almost instant gratification.’’

The WVSLA has five teams in the girls’ division. Buckhannon-Upshur, like Park, is in its first season while Fairmont Senior, University and Morgantown are more established programs.

The boys’ division has 10 teams, including Park, Linsly and Wheeling Central locally.

A playoff for both divisions will be held at the conclusion of the season to determine a champion.

The hope is the sport will continue to grow, not only in the valley, but in the state.

‘‘It’s growing in Pittsburgh by leaps and bounds and we’d love for that to be the case (in West Virginia),’’ Robbins said.

‘‘I’ve already had some girls who said they want to play next season and I’m really hoping it catches on.’’