The majority of high school athletes say that their interest in playing sports has remained the same or grown over the past year, despite worries that they could catch or transmit COVID-19 through sports participation. 

Those were among the findings announced from a survey by the Aspen Institute that collected data from more than 5,000 students in grades 9-12 between October 2020 and March 2021. Responses were from boys’ and girls’ athletes across all sports, including lacrosse.

Lacrosse and education have been two of the passions of John Sardella’s life. A rummage through his archives last year gave him the inspiration to marry the two passions with a line of children’s books focused on the sport.

Quick Stick Harry was one of the characters developed for Sardella’s L is for Lacrosse book that he published through US Lacrosse in 2003.

“I was looking at my archives and came across Quick Stick Harry,” Sardella said. “I wanted to do it with a different twist and write it as more of a young kid just experiencing the game.”

The following article is part of a content partnership with TrueSport, a positive youth sports movement powered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). TrueSport has partnered with more than 20 sport NGBs to promote a positive culture of youth sport with expert content and programming.

This article appears in the March 2021 edition of USA Lacrosse Magazine, available exclusively to USA Lacrosse members. Join or renew today! Thank you for your support.

As teams and leagues return to the field this spring, there are common questions arising related to the liability challenges for organizations, insurance coverage, and minimizing risk in a pandemic world.

US Lacrosse believes there are many reasons to play youth sports, including athletes enjoying a wide range of physical, emotional, and social benefits. But abuse, on any level and in any form, can not be part of the equation. 

It was for that very reason that US Lacrosse, in 2018, instituted a mandatory national background screening for all adult coach members. To demonstrate our commitment to the importance of this issue, US Lacrosse has absorbed the cost of these background checks since the beginning, yielding no direct cost in the membership fee of coaches.

There’s nothing more gratifying for a parent than to see your child happy. Watching them on the lacrosse field can be one of the greatest experiences you’ll have. But how can you help them enjoy that experience?

We asked our more than 176,000 Instagram followers that very question recently and here’s some of the feedback lacrosse parents shared with their fellow parents. You might even see a response or two from their kids on how you can help, and maybe a tongue-in-cheek response for some levity.

SPARKS, Md. — Steve Stenersen, the CEO of US Lacrosse since the organization’s inception in 1998, announced today his intention to depart the organization by the end of 2021. The decision is the outcome of a multi-year series of strategic conversations between Stenersen and the US Lacrosse Board of Directors about succession planning and organizational evolution.

A proud past and a bright future

Lacrosse showcases the best of sports — speed, athleticism, skill, heart, determination — and it’s a recipe for a lifelong love affair. The first girls’ lacrosse program in the United States was established nearly a century ago and the sport continues to thrive. No other sport is growing faster at the high school or college level, resulting in countless opportunities for young women to make their mark.