Lacrosse League Enjoys Growth
Observer Dispatch (printed July 2001)
by AARON CHRISTIANA
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MARCY- A sport that took root in the Mohawk Valley area two decades ago is really starting to bear fruit. The Bull East youth lacrosse league has doubled in size in each of its three seasons. The league - which consists of four organizations, from Rome, Whitesboro, New Hartford and Clinton, and conducts games in two divisions, 6th grade-and-under and 7-8th grade - saw its participation go from 45 youths in it inaugural season, to 90 last year and 190 this year.
"This is the first time this age level has had organized lacrosse," said Bull East founder and SUNY Utica/Rome assistant coach Jeff Schneider. "It's purely a developmental league - we don't worry about scores."
Schneider expects the league to double in size again next year when 3-4th grade and 9-10th grade divisions are added. There have been youth lacrosse clinics offered in various communities over the years, but the apparently robust health of the Bull East League is a sign that the efforts of area lacrosse advocates are paying off.
There are four varsity lacrosse programs among area schools - at Rome Free Academy, Whitesboro, New Hartford and, most recently, Clinton. All of those programs include junior varsity and modified teams, and now all have substantial feeder programs in their respective communities. A junior varsity lacrosse program is planned at Proctor High School, and Schneider hopes in the next several years to see the game picked up at other area schools whose enrollments are large enough to accommodate it.
Schneider, who played lacrosse at Jordan-Elbridge and Onondaga Community College and coached at Utica College, sat down with area varsity coaches a few years ago with the purpose of making inter-scholastic lacrosse in the Mohawk Valley more competitive. It was decided that the time had come for a youth league modeled after the 120 team-strong Bull League of greater Syracuse.
"I saw how lacrosse took off there," Schneider said. Football and hockey players are the most likely prospects for filling lacrosse rosters, Schneider said. "It's another sport where they can have the physical contact," said Schneider, adding that opportunities for playing college lacrosse are plentiful compared to most other sports.
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LACROSSE CLINIC
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What: Wildcat Summer Lacrosse Clinic at SUNY Utica/Rome, directed by Wildcat lacrosse coach Bob Leary and staffed by other college coaches and players. Activities will include instruction on position fundamentals and team concepts, scrimmages, games and guest speakers.
Who: Youths ages 8-16
Where: SUNY Utica/Rome campus
When: July 30-Aug. 3, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (Friday, 9-moon)
Cost: $130 per participant
Contact: SUNY Utica/Rome Athlectics Dept., 792-7520
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The Bull East League got underway around mid-June, with games held Tuesday and Thursday evenings at SUNY Utica-Rome. The adult Tri-City Lacrosse League - which expanded to five teams this year - now plays its games on an adjacent field on the same nights. With the new juxtaposition, Tri-City players serve as coaches and referees in the Bull East League.
"A lot more of our guys are helping and aware of this league," said Tri-City co-founder and SUNY Utica/Rome coach Bob Leary. Nine-year-old Joey Schoen, playing attack for Whitesboro, had a pair of goals against New Hartford in a Bull East game Thursday. Schoen also plays football and basketball and wrestles, but the fearless fourth grader comes from lacrosse stock - two older brothers play the game - and says he wants to play in the pros.
If Thursdays's performance was any indication lacrosse just might prove to be Joey's game. "You get to score goals and stuff," he said. "There's a lot of positions, and they're fun."
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