Lacrosse will become a school sponsored sport beginning in the 2011 season. Although the team will have less competition in the Kansas City area, assistant coach Holly Ambrose hopes the school’s recognition will gain the sport popularity.
Currently the lacrosse team is a club sport and is not affiliated with STA. The team competes against other club teams that are also not affiliated with certain schools, although these teams are primarily composed of girls from Pembroke Hill High School and Notre Dame de Sion. Once the team becomes school sponsored, it will no longer be able to compete against these club teams, potentially resulting in regular trips to St. Louis and Tulsa for games.
“A big change I’m looking forward to [once lacrosse becomes school sponsored] is travel,” said varsity lacrosse player, sophomore Lucy Edmonds. “Last year we traveled twice: once by bus that we had to pay for and once our parents had to drive us.”
Although players look forward to traveling, athletic director Mark Hough views traveling as one of the few cons that comes with lacrosse becoming a school sponsored sport. The only other con, according to Hough, will be determining the location of practices.
“Right now [the lacrosse team has] a facility that would work and the field is already marked [with appropriate lacrosse field boundaries] and everything but we want to eventually house [all of the sports] on campus,” Hough said.
According to Ambrose, another disadvantage to becoming school sponsored is the lack of local competition. She is hoping, however, that other schools will follow in STA’s footsteps and sponsor their lacrosse teams.
“In St. Louis lacrosse wasn’t very popular and then a few schools joined MSHSAA and then everyone joined,” Ambrose said. “That’s what we’re hoping will happen here.”
Although finding other teams to play will be a challenge, Ambrose believes that becoming a school sponsored sport is the best decision.
“The benefits [of becoming a school sponsored sport] out-number the cons,” Ambrose said. “Especially if other schools adapt [by also becoming sponsored], growth [for the sport in the Kansas City area] will exponentially increase.”
Pros and cons of lacrosse becoming a school sponsored sport:
Pros:
- less expensive for players
- draws more attention to sport
- allows girls more opportunities for college
- travel (will allow team good competition)
Cons:
- no local competition
- travel (expensive for school)
- potential problems with practice facilities
Sources: Lucy Edmonds, Mark Hough, Holly Ambrose
Hough agrees that once lacrosse becomes school sponsored, its growth throughout the city is inevitable.
“[Lacrosse] is a hot sport right now,” Hough said. “It’s not if, but when, it explodes.”
Edmonds also believes becoming a school sponsored sport has more advantages, including getting the STA community involved in lacrosse.
“[I’m excited for lacrosse to become school sponsored] cause [the school’s support] will draw more attention to the sport,” Edmonds said. “And the school will take us more seriously.”
According to Hough, school sponsorship of a sport includes paying for transportation, uniforms and facilities.
“It’s kind of an expensive sport,” Ambrose said. “The school’s involvement will relieve monetary involvement for players and parents.”
Besides the competition, possibly practice facilities and the school’s financial contributions, nothing will really change, according to Hough.
“We need to keep teaching girls [how to play lacrosse],” Hough said. “We’ll still need to offer a varsity, JV and ‘C’ team because unlike volleyball and soccer, girls are trying out for lacrosse as complete beginners.”
Overall, Ambrose just hopes that STA’s recognition will spark interest in lacrosse.
“I’m all about the sport,” Ambrose said. “My ultimate goal is expansion. I just want the bench to keep getting bigger.”
