As a young athlete, Rich Thomson played six different sports through his middle school and high school years. Lacrosse was not one of them.
He didn’t discover the Creator’s Game until adulthood, but it’s now a passion. As evidence, Thomson has co-founded two separate youth leagues in Wisconsin over the past 10 years.
Motivated initially by his young daughter’s interest in the game, Thomson helped launch the Kimberly Area Lacrosse Association in 2016. The youth program serves both boys and girls, and has added high school varsity and JV squads in recent years.
When Thomson’s family moved a bit further north in 2018, he discovered that their new community of Pulaski, located on the outskirts of Green Bay, was also devoid on lacrosse. So, it was time to rinse and repeat, with Thomson becoming co-founder of Pulaski Lacrosse in 2018.
“Our goal with these programs has always been the same, which is to make sure kids have a good experience, they have fun, and they want to come back the following year,” Thomson said.
The growth strategy in Pulaski is pretty simple. Introduce the game to kids through a series of free clinics and then let the stick work its magic.
“These learn-to-play clinics help to get lacrosse on kids’ radars, and once they get a stick in their hand and start running around, they are sold,” Thomson said. “We have about an 80-percent conversion rate with kids who do the clinics then joining teams for the spring season.”
In addition to its own clinic series, Pulaski has served as a host for USA Lacrosse’s National Celebrate Lacrosse Week clinic in each of the past four years.
“Being a part of NCLW has really helped to give us a larger presence in the community and raise the level of awareness about lacrosse,” Thomson said.
As a USA Lacrosse member league, Pulaski offers 8U, 10U, 12U and 14U teams that compete as part of the Bay Valley Lacrosse Association. A loaner program helps to offset equipment costs for first-year families, while an informal education program helps parents who are new to the game learn the rules.
“Pulaski Lacrosse just does everything the right way,” said Matt Burke, Midwest Regional Manager for USA Lacrosse. “They provide a great lacrosse playing experience for kids in their community, but they also keep a focus on the seasonality of lacrosse. They encourage kids to also play other sports, which is great.”
After serving as president of Pulaski Lacrosse since its inception, Thomson recently passed that mantle to another member of the board. But he is far from done with his lacrosse involvement.
In addition to continuing as president of the Bay Valley Lacrosse Association, Thomson is now in his fifth year as head coach for the Pulaski High School boys’ varsity team, which includes his son Ricky. Lacrosse was approved as an officially sanctioned championship sport for boys and girls in Wisconsin beginning with the 2024 spring season.
“It was really exciting to go from club status to being a WIAA (Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association) sanctioned sport,” Thomson said. “We’re playing a lot of more established teams, but we are raising our level each year. I love being on the field every spring with a chance to influence kids and teach them the game. It’s very gratifying.”
With the growth of the game continuing throughout Wisconsin, the message from Pulaski Lacrosse is pretty straightforward.
“We tell folks that lacrosse is for everyone,” Thomson said. “We want to make it a big part of our community.”
