In 2021, the Rebels Youth Lacrosse Club in Chico, California received a USA Lacrosse grant to help supplement its equipment needs. Founded in 2002, the non-profit, volunteer-run local organization needed the additional resources to meet the demands of its growing membership.
Next spring, that grant may be one of the reasons behind the biggest lacrosse celebration ever seen in Chico.
Beginning in the spring of 2027, the area’s two public high schools – Pleasant Valley and Chico – will field their first CIF-sanctioned varsity programs. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) serves as the state’s governing body for high school sports.
Game schedules for next spring haven’t been finalized yet, but local boosters are hoping the rivals will be matched against each other in the inaugural CIF contest for each school.
It’s the game the locals have been anxious to see since last October, when the Chico Unified School District approved the elevation of the PVHS and CHS teams to CIF status.
“We really hope that’s Game One,” said Hogan Brown, a member of the Rebels’ leadership board and one of the principal catalysts behind-the-scenes in gaining the CIF status. “It will be a very cool environment, but also bittersweet because a lot of the boys have been together for years on the club team and they’re best buddies. And now they are going to split off and be playing against each other.”
The fact that the school district created CIF-sanctioned teams at both of Chico’s high schools came as a bit of a surprise to many, but the decision was also a testament to the strength of the Rebels club, which is a USA Lacrosse member organization. Having a healthy feeder program that serves as a pipeline for two high school programs is notable.
“Moving to varsity high school status can be a heavy lift for booster clubs and parent clubs in this day and age, with school budgets being the way they are,” said Lyn Porterfield, Pacific Region director at USA Lacrosse. “I believe that what they did in Chico is a natural evolution from having a robust youth program.”
Both schools plan to offer lacrosse as a no-cut spring sport for both boys and girls. Team sizes could range from 18 to 40 players for both varsity and junior varsity squads.
The estimated cost for each school to support the sport is approximately $8,500 annually, but the initial goal of the booster organization is to raise as much as $20,000 for each team to provide a solid financial foundation.
Having worked for many years as an advocate for CIF sanctioning, Brown has now transitioned into full fund-raising mode to support the high school programs. His son, Oliver, is a rising senior at Chico High School who hopes to also continue playing in college.
“You fall in love with the things that your kids love,” Brown said. “Because of him, I’ve been involved with the Rebels program for a long time, and it’s a really cool thing for him to now play for his high school team.”
Chico, an isolated Northern California community about 90 miles north of Sacramento, is geographically separated from many Rebels opponents. As more high school club programs in the Sacramento area gained CIF status in recent years, it made sense for the Chico school district to also elevate its local programs.
“Under CIF lacrosse rules, CIF schools can only play against other CIF teams, so there weren’t many clubs left for us to play,” Brown said. “If there wasn’t going to be a path forward for youth players in the Rebels program to move to an established high school team, there was a chance that the sport would die in Chico.”
Brown and other program leaders now anticipate that the trickle-down impact is likely to provide another boost for the Rebels youth program. The club experienced a resurgence following the Covid pandemic -- prompting the initial grant from USA Lacrosse -- and is now seeing a second wave prompted by CIF sanctioning for the local high schools.
“Our youth enrollments are exploding because kids see that they could eventually play for their high school,” Brown said. “This is the definition of creating access. At Rebels, we never say no to a kid. That’s how you grow things, right?”
About USA Lacrosse Grants
USA Lacrosse is now accepting applications for its 2026 national grants, which provide resources to local groups and organizations to support and promote lacrosse opportunities. Click here to learn more and to access the online application.
