Lacrosse: A sport on the rise

Success at middle schools urges connection with high schools

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Published: 04:36PM October 14th, 2009

High school lacrosse is coming to Gig Harbor.

Members of the community were accepted for provisional membership in the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association last month.

Boys who attend a Peninsula School District high school are eligible to play. The season will begin next spring, but registration is scheduled to open this fall.

Although the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Rules Committee does not consider lacrosse an official high school sport, the Harbor Fire will be a member of the WHSBLA, which is comprised of 49 clubs statewide.

Gig Harbor will play at the Division II level, which is designed for less experienced teams. The Fire will play four other teams in the Olympic Conference.

Ken Uddenberg, Harbor Fire administrator, said the team will provide a tremendous opportunity for Gig Harbor teenagers.

“The kids who play it absolutely fall in love with it,” Uddenberg said of the sport.

The Harbor Fire Youth Lacrosse Association wanted to expand its club membership, so students who are matriculating to high school can still play. In its first season in Gig Harbor, the HFYLA registered 60 kids for middle school boys and girls. Some were turned away, because there wasn’t enough room.

Previously, once players competed as eighth-graders, those like Shane O’Connor would have had no other choice but to play for the bordering teams in south Kitsap County or Tacoma.

“I got really into it last season, so I was hoping there would be a high school team,” O’Connor said. “I wanted an off-season sport to football.”

Lacrosse heating up

WIAA Executive Director Mike Colbrese said that lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing high school sports.

“People are seeing something different,” Colbrese said. “It’s a unique sport.”

Although it’s gaining popularity, the WIAA has denied its placement as an official high school sport, mainly because of the economy, Colbrese said.

Stadium High School, which competes against Gig Harbor in other sports in the Class 4A Narrows League, has a competitive lacrosse team in the Division I category.

There’s even a professional lacrosse team now in Washington state. After six seasons in San Jose, Calif., the Stealth — members of the National Lacrosse League — have made their home in Everett.

Locally, Uddenberg said there will be tryouts for the Harbor Fire and possibly an increase in teams at the middle school level, depending on the level of participation.

High school coaching

Harbor Fire has two coaches lined up with strong lacrosse backgrounds. Marc Kemp was a former player at the University of California-Santa Barbara, and Kelly Bland, a Gig Harbor High School graduate, played lacrosse at Gonzaga University.

Both were coaches for the seventh- and eighth-grade youth teams last season in Gig Harbor.

While some novelty sports can fizzle, Uddenburg said lacrosse likely will remain a popular with middle- and high-school students.

“We see this as a sport that continues to grow,” Uddenberg said. “It’s not just a fad.”

Want to play?

Any high school student who attends a Peninsula School District institution is eligible to try out for the lacrosse team, which will begin next spring.

Interested players and coaches should e-mail Ken Uddenberg at ken@kenuddenberg.com for more information. Registration is scheduled to begin this fall.

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