The Neosho Freeman Family YMCA will be introducing a new sport to area residents next week — lacrosse.
A sport popular throughout the country and played at many Division I schools will be introduced June 22 and 24, part of at two-day camp that will run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for children ranging from middle school to 18 year olds.
The camp is set to introduce the fundamentals of lacrosse and will be held at the Neosho YMCA’s soccer fields and equipment will be provided.
And here is the kicker — the cost is only $2 for members and $3 for community participants.
“We run a program at the Northwest Arkansas YMCA and we decided to bring it here and try it here,” said Liz Scheurich, community relations director for the YMCA. “We weren’t sure how they will like it, but we will give them a taste of it. It is a very popular sport. It is a great sport for cross training for football, it really helps the football player.”
Coaches from the YMCA of Northwest Arkansas will drive up to serve as the clinicians of the camp. The program down there ended up starting a high school program called the Northwest Arkansas Knights.
There are only 18 states that currently sanction high school lacrosse, but many club teams are used.
For those that aren’t too familiar with the sport, here are a few pointers. It is usually written out as LAX for obvious reasons, much like Cross Country becomes XC.
Another is that each team has 10 players — a goalie, three attackmen, three midfielders and three defenders. As you can see, it is somewhat similar to soccer as far as positions used.
The sport uses a stick with a small netting to catch and pass the ball used. Helmets and pads are also used, similar to football. For a further and more accurate description visit www.simplylacrosse.com
“All they have to do is show and up and they can learn a new sport,” Scheurich said. “I’m excited to see the turnout. It’s a two-day class and it’s so cheap there is no reason no one could do it. We hope to introduce the sport and if there is interest, keep it around.”
- The YMCA is also hosting a golf clinic for children ages four to 12 on June 21-22 and 24 at the Neosho Municipal Golf Course. The equipment will be provided and the clinic will be used to teach the basic golf skills used in the sport. The cost is $25 for members and $50 for non-members.
