Last week at a cooking class, I ran into a woman who looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place her. It was driving me crazy! After about a half-hour of staring at each other, she came over and introduced herself. Turns out, her daughter Jane, now in third grade, had attended our camps and clinics from the time she was in kindergarten. Images of a reluctant blond-haired girl clinging to her mom’s leg came rushing back to me.
Despite that difficult first day, Jane’s mom smiled and told me that Jane is now obsessed with lacrosse. Ironically, she had just come from dropping Jane off at an indoor clinic at a lacrosse club Jane’s been attending since the fall.
Jane Came for the Sprinkler and Talent Shows — She Stayed for the Lacrosse
“You know, Jane would never be playing lacrosse if it weren’t for your program,” the mom said. “She has an independent streak a mile long, and even as a kindergartner, Jane wanted nothing to do with playing on a team. We only got her to try lacrosse because we promised there would be sprinkler time, arts & crafts, and the ability to sing in the Talent Show!”
I laughed and told her that Jane was not alone. Plenty of our first-time campers and clinic attendees are not particularly enthusiastic about the idea of playing a sport they’ve never seen before that involves a strange-looking stick and a small ball, which is difficult to catch.
We Make Lacrosse Programs Fun and Accessible
Our mission at Swax Lax Lacrosse is to make our programs fun and accessible for beginners so that the young players can get over the hump of learning a difficult sport. We want to give our attendees a chance to fall in love with lacrosse, which is why we incorporate lots of fun stuff. We know that early first experiences with an unfamiliar sport can kill the love before it has a chance to grow. It sure is difficult to lure a child back into something when it didn’t go well the first time!
Jane’s story is a good reminder to all of us to sprinkle a healthy dose of fun into a child’s initial experiences with a new sport in order to spark and grow an enduring passion. Fingers crossed that Jane’s love affair with lacrosse lasts for many years to come!
