As US Lacrosse’s regional manager in the Midwest for the past four years, Bryce Woodson has met and befriended many of the faces of lacrosse in that part of the country.
He has been instrumental in providing resources and support to the countless program leaders, coaches, and volunteers who are doing the work to bring lacrosse to the next generation of players.
Starting next month, Woodson is going to become one of those faces as he transitions from his position at US Lacrosse into a leadership role with OWLS Lacrosse, based in Chicago.
Founded in 2011, OWLS seeks to improve the lives of Chicago’s most at-risk youth by offering a lacrosse-based program that combines teaching and playing the sport with academic tutoring, mentoring and social enrichment.
The growth of the OWLS program in recent years, and the corresponding demands, has become too much for the organization’s one full-time employee. Founder and executive director Sam Angelotta knew that it was time to bring on another full-timer as the chief program officer. It was an opportunity that Woodson could not pass up.
“I certainly believe in their mission, and I’m excited to be able to work more directly with youth once again,” Woodson said. “It’s also an honor to become just the second full-time employee for the organization.”
In urban areas like Chicago’s South and West side neighborhoods, children are regularly exposed to violence. Many of them grow up in racially segregated, restricted neighborhood environments with little or no safe places to play. Those limitations on safe play spaces, along with a lack of quality coaching, the cost to play, and transportation issues, ensure that lacrosse is out of reach for almost all of the at-risk youth from Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods.
That’s where OWLS come into play. Utilizing more than 150 volunteers across four programming site locations, OWLS seeks to support students from many of those challenged South and West Side neighborhoods. Nearly 90-percent of the OWL participants live in low-income households. Ninety-eight percent are either Black or Hispanic.
Working with a network of partner schools, OWLS operates Outreach (grades 3-5), League (Grades 3-8), and Academy (grades 6-12) sports-based youth development programs and serves over 400 students annually.
“Professionally, I’m always searching for how I can best use my skill set to positively impact a community,” said Woodson, a former lacrosse team captain at Ohio State. “After many of the events that we have seen in our country over the past year, I knew that I wanted to find a way to help address some of the systemic issues that exist.”
True to that commitment, Woodson’s impact as the face of US Lacrosse in the Midwest region has been significant. Through his tireless efforts, he has helped to shepherd many local lacrosse organizations “from point A to point B” by supporting program leaders with resources, guidance, and expertise.
“Over the course of the last four years, Bryce has demonstrated outstanding leadership and has been an integral part of the resurgence in the Midwest lacrosse landscape,” said Steve Kirr, director of regional development at USL. “Bryce has earned the respect of constituents and staff as a true ambassador for lacrosse. The OWLS are getting a good man.”
Woodson’s new journey with the OWLS begins officially on May 1, but the transition is already underway. He has a virtual meeting this week with Angelotta and members of the leadership team to get further acclimated.
“I’m coming in to facilitate a lot of the programming, but I also look at this as another learning opportunity,” Woodson said. “My North Star is paying it forward.”
