Eboni Preston-Laurent, USA Lacrosse’s director for diversity, equity, and inclusion, has been named as a recipient of the DEI Champion Award by DiversityFirst, and will be recognized by the organization at its virtual National Diversity & Leadership Conference in April.

As we continue our celebration of Black History Month, we honor some of the key figures in the sport’s history and significant milestones that have helped shape the lacrosse world. We are proud to continue our content partnership with Blaxer’s Blog to help recognize key moments in our sport.

Throughout the month, we will continue to share more stories on the people that make our sport special.

As a person who works regularly with programs and teams in underserved areas, I am often humbled by the number of volunteer coaches and parents that spend countless hours going above-and-beyond for their players.  That doesn’t include the obvious day-to-day duties like running practices or e-mailing parents. That is to be expected. 

Last week, USA Lacrosse hosted its first National Celebrate Lacrosse Week initiative, seeking to unite the lacrosse community from coast-to-coast through virtual and in-person events designed to showcase this special game. 

A key component of the week-long celebration was a series of free “Pick Up and Play” clinics that provided youth players with an opportunity to try the sport for the first time. Hosted in partnership with local lacrosse organizations, there were 39 clinics nationwide that provided kids with a chance to experience the game.

With the post of a short video, University of Oregon women’s basketball player Sedona Prince put in full view what so many others knew: there is gender disparity in how the NCAA was funding the men’s and women’s division I basketball tournaments. The now well-documented video illustrated the stark differences. 

USA Lacrosse is excited to celebrate the sport of lacrosse this fall from Nov. 6-14, 2021. National Celebrate Lacrosse Week will offer daily themes throughout the event to bring the lacrosse community together virtually and in person to help showcase this special game.

Part of this initiative is to make the sport of lacrosse more welcoming, diverse and inclusive. We welcome all individuals from every walk of life to come and experience a sport that has so much opportunity for all youth.

(Oct. 1, 2021) — Beginning today, USA Lacrosse is accepting applications for the second round of its 2021-22 grant offerings, which provide resources to groups and organizations to support local lacrosse development and opportunities. 

As part of this Round 2 (Standard) cycle, USA Lacrosse will be accepting grant applications (called proposals) for the following initiatives: TryLax, Physical Education, First Stick, AED, National Diversity Grant, Urban Lacrosse Alliance, Sankofa Clinic Series, Box Lacrosse, and Officials Development.

Perhaps more rapidly than at any other time in recent history, the landscape for diversity, equity, and inclusion is shifting in society and in sports. Driven in large measure by the influence of younger generations, the time is ripe for change. That message was one of the primary points of emphasis in the recent SheCompetes webinar hosted by USA Lacrosse. 

Trailing by a goal late in the game, the Nation United 2023 girls’ lacrosse team forced a turnover and raced up the field. After a shot went wide, mere seconds remained. After a couple of quick passes, Kirra Crowley cut down the lane in front of the goal and scored to give Nation United a 9-9 tie against a Big 4 HHH club team from Pennsylvania.