Fort Bend Lacrosse, a recreational youth and high school club in the Houston suburbs, has a lot of things working in its favor. Committed coaches, strong board leadership, good facilities, and a solid organizational structure.

Jonathan Swanburg, who stepped into the role of president last year, doesn’t take credit for much of what is working, but appreciates that it is.

“Yeah, I stepped into a very easy situation. The system was up and running. We had teams in place, and everything was good to go,” he said.

For American military servicemen and women stationed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the risk of Groundhog Day syndrome is quite real. Every day on the 45-square-mile base starts to look exactly like the day before. Rinse and repeat.

That’s one of the reasons that Ken Goris, an Army reservist now serving in his second tour in Cuba, decided that introducing the game of lacrosse might be a welcome distraction for his fellow soldiers and their families. Goris figured that the game he loves would be a good way to break up the daily routine.

SPARKS, Md. – National Lacrosse Hall of Famers Dave Pietramala and Chris Sailer will be honored at the 5th annual USA Lacrosse Foundation Gala on June 4, 2026 in New York City. The event will be held at Gotham Hall.

Launched in 2022, the USA Lacrosse Foundation Gala was created to honor the influential roles of players, coaches, fans and supporters in shaping the sport’s future – while also raising critical funds to advance initiatives that drive lacrosse’s continued growth.

USA Lacrosse went back to school this year and the grade is looking A plus.

For the 2025-26 school year, USA Lacrosse launched a pilot program in four states – California, Colorado, Ohio and New York – that brings its new physical education kit to school teachers to help them introduce the sport to new players.

Melody Sauceda understands the plight of the underserved. Growing up as a Native American who is Ma-chis Lower Creek, Apache and Mexican, she had personal experience as a kid who didn’t always feel like she belonged.

Now living in Sante Fe, New Mexico, she didn’t want that same ‘outside looking in’ experience for her two high school-aged daughters as well as other Native youth who were drawn to lacrosse.

“When my kids came home one day and they said they wanted to join lacrosse, I said ‘you guys do know that's an Indigenous sport, right?’” 

As one would expect in a place like Casper, Wyoming, outdoor recreational activities such as hunting, fishing, hiking and skiing are quite popular. Lacrosse hopes to join that roster in the near future.

With support from USA Lacrosse, which provided sticks and other equipment, the Boys & Girls Club of Central Wyoming recently hosted a two-day event designed to introduce the game and empower youth. Providing hands-on skills training through clinics, and competition opportunities with a Flex6 tournament, the event drew over 200 youth participants.

There’s a popular saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Schuyler Horn, founder and executive director of the Lacrosse the Bay (LTB) youth program in Monterey, California, has no problem with that philosophy. After all, one of LTB’s most successful initiatives, its K-2 introductory experience for the youngest kids, came from flag football.

As a former collegiate player at Princeton, Bruce Lincoln credits much of his lacrosse success to the skill development he experienced as a youth player in Lutherville, Md. His local youth program provided the type of guidance and coaching that he now wishes to pay forward to young players in New York City.

Earlier this year, Lincoln launched Uptown Lacrosse to specifically serve youth in Harlem and the other neighborhoods in Upper Manhattan.

As part of a diverse military community, the leadership team for Pikes Peak Lacrosse (PPL) in Colorado Springs understands the importance of helping local families overcome the barriers to lacrosse participation. They take an active approach to providing needed assistance.

“We offer full and half scholarships, equipment rentals, and utilize volunteers to help transport children back and forth to practice and games,” said Christopher Heese, president of PPL. “Our community has people from all walks of life, from military families to Natives. We do not want to turn anyone away.”

The first season of the East Bay Adaptive Lacrosse program in Rhode Island wrapped up last month, and by all accounts, it proved to be a big success.

Through the efforts of 40 volunteers, including high school lacrosse players from five area schools, 20 adaptive students, ranging from kindergarten through ninth grade, took part in the four-week program at Barrington Middle School.