While I attended West Virginia University, I “played” defense for the lacrosse club Redbeards. Many of my fraternity brothers on the team were from the Maryland/D. C. area and had grown up playing the sport. I had played football and basketball so I was able to muddle through as a temporary defensive player when they needed a body.
The Northeastern part of the country has produced some of the world’s top lacrosse players and made the sport more popular nationally, including in the sunshine state where many middle school athletes have decided to try their hand at lacrosse.
My son, who played baseball with the Indian River County Recreation Department for years, caught me by surprise the day he said that he wanted to skip baseball and try lacrosse to see if he liked it.
He hasn’t stepped back into the batter’s box since.
The sport is growing locally and the Vero Beach High School Boys team did their part to increase interest in the sport by sponsoring a skills clinic at Storm Grove Middle School last week for prospective players.
Student athletes from Gifford, Storm Grove, Sebastian River and Oslo were in attendance to learn the basics from Vero Beach high school players and Head Varsity Coach Rick McCarthy.
“We want to make sure a wide range of kids are aware of lacrosse in our community and that it’s available to them,” McCarthy said. “Indian River County is unique in that they actually sponsor middle school level teams and I think it’s a great opportunity to give these kids exposure to the sport at an early age.”
For many of the middle school students that attended the clinic, it was their first time using a lacrosse stick or understanding the fundamentals of the game.
Vero Beach high school senior goalie Brad Heckman, who didn’t start playing lacrosse until 7th grade, took pride in showing the participants the dos and don’ts of his sport.
“It’s important to give back and a clinic like this is great for kids this age. I wish we had one when I was in middle school,” Heckman said. “I want to teach these kids the proper lacrosse skills they need to continue to play when they get into high school. The game is really growing in Florida.”
About 100 student athletes participated in the clinic that taught players proper grips, passing drills, defensive principals, and teamwork. McCarthy said he was impressed with the turnout and proud of how his players worked with the younger kids.
“I was really excited about the participation by the middle school players and high school players,” McCarthy said. “I was really proud of how our guys interacted with the kids and I think that’s the secret to getting them excited about the game and getting them involved in the game. To me the highlight of the day was our players interacting with the young guys and helping them get better.”
