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Lacrosse Can Change a Community
by Sean Bester
Confidence, Character and Community
These three “C” phrases resonate as essential necessities in our nation, but can also be described as scarce when viewed through the eyes of elementary, middle, and high school kids. Cyber-bullying is prevalent and destroys a child’s character and confidence, and the decline in school enrollment coupled with the resurgence of gang activity only hinders the development of a positive communal change.
Homegrown Lacrosse is looking to reverse the present course by taking the initiative to implement these three “C’s” into their everyday activities; and it starts with helping the kids.
Homegrown was created in 2003 to encourage positive change in the lives of youth lacrosse players and support the growth of the sport in Minnesota. The non-profit company strives to, “build a community that inspires and empowers players to excel in life and lacrosse.”
“We really want to make a positive impact in the lives of kids, and we believe we can do that through introducing them to the sport of lacrosse,” said Aron Lipkin, co-founder and executive director Homegrown Lacrosse. “We want to give these kids values and ethics that transcend the lacrosse field into their daily lives.”
It Started with Phy-Ed
"Teaching kids how to feed themselves and how to live in a community responsibly is the center of an education."
- Alice Waters
It all started with a visit to a local phy-ed class.
At the time, Lipkin and the other co-founders of Homegrown (Daniel Lipkin, Colin Achenbach, Jesse Brown) operated from nothing more than a small office in their home.
“Let me put it this way: This small bookshelf behind me took up one-quarter of the office. Four guys in an office that size…it made for some cramped times,” Lipkin says.
But their determination to bring change to the community through lacrosse made something like office space seem trivial. They knew that if kids were merely introduced to lacrosse, it would positively impact the world around them.
“We knew we wanted kids to have the opportunity to play lacrosse, so we figured the best thing to do would be to visit schools and teach them how to play during phy-ed,” said Lipkin.
So the group started to bring that message to phy-ed classes across the Twin Cities. They would come in for a week and teach the history of the game, the evolution of the game, and lacrosse basics with both boy’s and girl’s lacrosse sticks.
Lipkin said, “Lacrosse is a great sport because it not only affects the physical health of a person, but also teaches things like discipline, a good work ethic, communication skills, and, above all, respect for others.”
What followed could only be considered nothing short of success. Students were excited to come to phy-ed each day, and teachers talked about how students were more excited in class.
One student wrote, “Homegrown Lacrosse was one of the best programs ever in South High School. The coaches that came in really taught us a lot of about the game and how it’s played that it made me want to play for the Minneapolis girl’s team. I'm on the team now and love every minute of it.”
Another wrote, “You guys do an awesome job! So thanks so much, I had a lot of fun! And you should take that as a big complement from someone like me because sports are not my favorite! So that’s how
Since 2006, Homegrown Lacrosse's In-School PE Program which has helped introduce the sport of lacrosse to over 15,000 K-12 students across the state.
An Opportunity Arises
Many students were so taken in by the sport they started looking for after-school lacrosse organizations. There were none at the time, so the team at Homegrown saw this as an opportunity to make a difference.
This led to the development of the Inner-City programming, which is tailored to the needs the students asked for; a place to go after school where they can enjoy more lacrosse. The program is still in the beginning stages, so the team meets once a week at two different schools.
“Right now we run the program at Lucy Laney and Wise Charter School,” says Lipkin. “We chose these schools because they have difficulty maintaining attendance, and we found that, by offering lacrosse as an after-school program, it helps bring kids to school. Our goal is to eventually visit two or three times per week, bring in other schools, and then have matches between each after-school program. This way it would act as a unifier of kids and cultures.”
One of the biggest challenges that the staff at Homegrown faces is being able to provide enough equipment for players. They buy used equipment from various places, and receive donations from players that outgrow their equipment. Yet the need for equipment never stops as the demand for more lacrosse increases.
The Perfect Circle
With so much focus being placed on attracting and developing new players, Homegrown decided they needed to provide experienced players the chance to hone their skills, as well as give them a chance to impact the community. This led to the Leadership Development Program, which allows high school volunteers an opportunity to work along-side the Homegrown staff at their Fall and Summer Youth and Middle School Programs.
These high school players have the unique opportunity to develop coaching skills, their own understanding of the game, and lasting mentoring relationships with our great youth players.
“This is huge for high school players because it gives them the very large responsibility of coaching new-comers to the sport. The way they handle that responsibility is a good indicator on how they will handle the responsibilities in their lives,” Lipkin said.
This is where the program becomes full circle, and the vision of the company is in its best form. On one side of the spectrum, new kids have an outlet to have fun, learn about lacrosse, and cultivate skills and lifestyles that will help them on and off the field. On the other end of the spectrum, experienced players can hone their coaching skills and, in turn, understand what it is to lead, manage, and connect with others.
A perfect circle.
