Lacrosse makes inroads in N.C.

Lacrosse is a foreign sport in the South. No one has any idea what it is or how the game might even be played.

The majority of people on campus who know the rules and enjoy watching it are either out-of-state Northerners or the players themselves.

But even though lacrosse isn’t a traditional Southern pastime, when scanning the UNC men’s and women’s team rosters, one thing always sticks out: the lack of players from the state of North Carolina.

The men’s team features only three players from North Carolina, and the women’s team only has one representative of the Tar Heel state.

And while the absence of lacrosse players from North Carolina is disheartening, it doesn’t accurately reflect the success the sport has had in the area in recent years.

Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports in the South.

High schools around the state are now starting to accept lacrosse as a varsity sport, and participation is on the rise.

In 2003, U.S. Lacrosse claimed that its membership in North Carolina had jumped almost 60 percent in five years.

And in 2004, 59 high schools in North Carolina had boys’ varsity lacrosse programs.

“The growth of the sport in the state is outstanding,” said UNC women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy, who has led her team to the NCAA Final Four three times in the varsity program’s short nine-year existence.

“There were no (girls’) high school programs when I got here 10 years ago, and now I think there are over 35 high school varsity programs, which is great.”

Levy and her Tar Heels are doing all they can to promote lacrosse in the area.

All the women’s lacrosse players volunteer much of their time during the fall — their off-season — to get the word out about the sport.

They host clinics on the weekends and sponsor a 7-on-7 tournament for in- and out-of-state high school teams.

Levy also runs a club lacrosse team for high school students in the summer that competes in tournaments around the country.

She has seen the participation in her program rise as the interest in lacrosse has moved south, and last week she had more than 50 girls try out.

Other local lacrosse leagues also have appeared around the state.

The Triangle Area Lacrosse League, or TALL, is a league that originally started to provide the resources to expand lacrosse, but its participation grew so large that it can no longer provide resources for individual teams.

Instead, it now assists areas in starting up their own lacrosse programs.

“I would like to see local players get to the level where they are sought after by competitive programs,” Levy said. “I would also like to see the youth developed better by not only having varsity programs, but also (junior varsity) programs.”

Levy also stressed that programs are needed in middle schools so they can feed into high schools.

The feeder system is instrumental in developing a strong lacrosse foundation, and its success can be seen in lacrosse-obsessed states such as Maryland and New York.

“Once you get feeder programs, then the talent level will only increase in those areas,” Levy said.

A bigger talent pool can only mean good things for UNC recruiting.

Talent can become future wins and future championships.

And as the popularity of the sport continues to rise and as more programs are built, maybe one day the North Carolina roster will feature more North Carolinian hometown heroes.

Contact Briana Gorman at bggorman@email.unc.edu.