The sport of lacrosse has a lot of nationwide momentum these days, but growing the game still requires overcoming some challenges. One common lament in many communities is limited access to field space.
On the high school level, where lacrosse remains a non-sanctioned club sport in some states, lacrosse teams often line up behind football, soccer, field hockey and other sports for practice time and field access.
Canyon High School in New Braunfels, Texas, has found a way to ease that burden through the benefit of the state’s ‘athletics class period.’ The school administration provides both the boys’ and girls’ teams with daily in-school class time for training, conditioning and practice. While that’s commonplace in Texas for state-sanctioned sports, it’s a rare benefit for a club team.
“We are really lucky that we get treated just like all the other UIL (University Interscholastic League) sanctioned sports,” said Devan Gallagher, who pulls double-duty as head coach of both teams. “I'm so happy for our kids. I emphasize to them almost every single day how rare it is at a public school that they get to play lacrosse in the middle of their school day.”
While there is no official nationwide count, “athletic periods” or similar school‑day class periods for athletic teams are most prevalent in Texas, Florida, and a handful of other locations. They are not a universal requirement in most states. For students in Texas, the athletic period counts as a physical education credit for graduation.
Now in his 11th year at Canyon, Gallagher acknowledges that this benefit came about through what he calls a perfect storm of circumstances. His personal lacrosse experience, which includes being a collegiate club player at Texas State, was one part of the equation.
“Even before I arrived, we had a superintendent who wanted to do this,” said Gallagher, a full-time CHS faculty member who teaches psychology and sociology classes. “So, when he found out that I grew up playing lacrosse, it kind of snowballed. We also had a principal at the time who was super supportive and was a big part of getting us the class period for lacrosse.”
According to Gallagher, there’s a simple reason that other schools in the district are not currently able to utilize the athletic class period for their lacrosse teams.
“The main issue is that most of the coaches aren’t school employees, which is the unfortunate reality,” he said. “And since they are not employees, they can’t be there to open locker rooms and use the facilities like we can here. Our situation is unique since I’m also a teacher at the school.”
Despite having the extra practice time during the school day, Gallagher must still take great care in coordinating practices and game schedules to minimize conflicts between the boys’ and girls’ squads. Each team is allowed eight additional hours of practice beyond the regular school day.
Both teams typically practice in the mornings before school starts. Since the boys have their ‘athletic class’ during first period, they start practice before school and then continue through first period.
The girls follow a more fragmented routine, practicing for one hour before school, attending morning classes, and then having their athletic class during fourth period. Neither team practices after school.
“We just kind of make it work,” Gallagher said. “As long as the kids are having fun, which they very clearly are, I'm happy. I would love to have them get a much fuller schedule, but those are small concessions given the fact that they really do get an awesome experience and have this athletic period.”
The participation numbers at CHS have steadily grown for both teams and now include an all-time high of more than 30 players for each squad. An emerging youth program in New Braunfels has become a pipeline into the high school program.
“I do think there’s a bit of a symbiotic relationship and we’ve helped each other in many ways,” Gallagher said. “Hopefully, having our high school teams as visible and competitive products helps get more local kids interested in the game. And the folks who run the New Braunfels youth program are awesome advocates for lacrosse in our area.”
As a USA Lacrosse member program, New Braunfels Youth Lacrosse (NBYL) benefits from support provided by the national governing body. The continued support of the school administration as well as the school district’s director of athletics also remains vital. It all works together for the growth of lacrosse in south Texas.
“I'm really proud of how we have built these programs and where our numbers are now,” Gallagher said. “I'm very proud of what this has turned into. We have great leaders who want to do right by the kids. To be able to break your day up with the greatest sport in the world, at least as far as I'm concerned, is definitely a privilege and a blessing that I'm really happy about for these kids. It’s pretty awesome.”
