Youth lacrosse has exploded in popularity across the Treasure Coast since the mid-1990s when a handful of truly visionary pioneers planted the seeds in what turned out to be very fertile soil for the sport.
A string of state championships – whether officially recognized or not – was compiled by the girls at St. Ed’s around the turn of this century, plus two more by the boys team during that same era. Then there’s the unparalleled excellence established by the Vero Beach High School girls with their current streak of 10 consecutive state titles.
Over the past quarter-century a sport rooted in native North American culture has evolved from a regional phenomenon based primarily in the northeast into a national and even international presence. Florida has become a case-in-point, with Vero Beach arguably the epicenter of development within the state.
The founders and members of the Indian River Lacrosse Association (IRLAX) intend to see that all of this was not simply a matter of beginners luck. They want everyone in Indian River County to realize that the expansion of interest in lacrosse has created opportunities for young student-athletes that were never even envisioned not so long ago.
“As far as I know, lacrosse is the sport that produces the most collegiate athletes from Indian River County,” said IRLAX Board Member Michele Sternberg.
Sternberg should know. As St. Ed’s Director of College Counseling she has found lacrosse to be a key factor in guiding student-athletes to academic institutions. She is also one of the local lacrosse pioneers.
The three-time All-American at McDonogh High in Maryland earned a four year scholarship to the University of Virginia. McDonogh, currently the nation’s premier high school girls lacrosse program, squared off against the VBHS girls at the Citrus Bowl in 2013 and 2014. The buzz created by those games was palpable.
When Sternberg arrived at St. Ed’s in 1994 to teach English and introduce lacrosse as a start-up, only three schools in Florida offered girls lacrosse. She would travel across the region conducting introductory clinics and generating interest in the sport that meant so much to her, realizing that it could provide enjoyment and opportunity for many others as well.
Sternberg coached the St. Ed’s girls to those state championships and eventually was inducted into three lacrosse Halls of Fame – at McDonogh, the South Florida Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse, and of course St. Ed’s.
IRLAX defines its mission in simple terms. The organization strives to promote the growth and development of lacrosse for all student-athletes regardless of financial means. Additionally, it is committed to ensure that lacrosse athletes from our area are given the tools and training necessary to be prepared when facing the best players in the country.
“In order for our student-athletes to be able to compete nationally for lacrosse scholarships, they have to be playing more than a five game middle school schedule,” Sternberg said. “The high school season has more games, but if that’s all you’re playing in an entire year, you can’t compete with kids playing all year round. Where I come from in the Baltimore area kids usually pick up a stick in kindergarten.
“It was essential for this community to have club and recreational programs for kids to develop skills at an early age. So we really needed to do this and IRLAX was born. We are a nonprofit trying to keep costs low for families so their kids can afford to play. We provide scholarship support and buy equipment for those less fortunate. We do things like that.
“But the biggest mission for our group was to provide fields so the kids had somewhere to play. This sport needed that. The fields must have suitable goals, be lined in a certain way, and groomed properly. That’s when we met with the county and they gave us the space to do that at South County Park.”
IRLAX now has multiple lacrosse programs running for boys and girls, including recreational leagues and travel teams. The group is encountering burgeoning expenses, but the goal is to resist having the burden passed on to local families.
The economic impact of this movement can be measured directly by the number of scholarships awarded – or opportunities that materialized – as a result of recognition through lacrosse. The VBHS girls team regularly sends a large fleet of graduating seniors on to colleges big and small. The same is true for St. Ed’s on a much smaller scale. The scholarships are never full rides, but can be an important component of a financial aid package and perhaps mitigate the need to repay crushing loan obligations.
“It’s been a tremendous help and made all the difference in the world for some of the kids I have worked with,” Sternberg said. “It was a make-or-break deal for them to attend some of these colleges, especially out-of-state.”
IRLAX invites everyone to check out the complex at South County Park and welcomes new members, volunteers, corporate sponsors and individual donations at www.irlax.org.
