Lewis County will have a new addition to the local sports scene when youth sports competitions open back up. Twin Cities Lacrosse, a brand-new youth program for kids in first through eighth grade, is just getting its start here in Centralia.
Founder Brad Coulter, who has garnered local support and involvement, is joined by lifelong county resident Anthony Smith, Adna teacher Ryan Brumbaugh and Riley Wood in starting the area’s first youth lacrosse program.
The organization had its first free clinic on Nov. 12 at the Northwest Sports Hub, with 15 local kids coming out to try their hand at lacrosse. The clinic introduced the kids to the fundamentals of the game, such as cradling, throwing, catching, shooting and ground balls.
“I had it in my head, ‘If we have more than five kids, that’s a success for the first clinic we’ve ever done,’” Coulter said. “I was happy to see that many kids.”
The recent state health guidelines for COVID-19 has shut down operations for the time being, but Coulter plans to host more clinics this winter with the goal of fielding teams in spring 2021 in the South Sound Youth Lacrosse League.
“The goal at this point is to garner enough interest to field some teams this spring,” Coulter said.
The league has 17 teams from the South Puget Sound area, with Olympia being the closest team to Lewis County, and teams running all the way up to Tacoma.
Long being regarded as the fastest game on two legs, lacrosse is a high-speed sport, similar to hockey and soccer, where players run around a field with lacrosse sticks and one ball, looking to score a goal in the opposing team’s net. Sticks are made of fiberglass and are at least three feet long with a mesh basket on top, while the game ball is made from firm sponge rubber and about the same size as a tennis ball.
It may be North America’s oldest organized sport, with roots tracing back to 1636 when a Jesuit missionary observed the Huron Indians in Southern Ontario, Canada, playing the game with a curved stick and a hide-covered ball. The game was adopted by French settlers in Canada in the 1800s.
The first collegiate game was played in 1877, featuring Manhattan College and New York University. The game has seen tremendous growth over the last 20 years, regularly ranking among the fastest-growing team sports in the U.S., with a steady rise each year in youth players since U.S. Lacrosse started tracking numbers in 2001. Over 441,000 youth participated in lacrosse in 2018, according to a report by the U.S. Lacrosse. Most colleges field varsity or club teams and there are currently three professional leagues.
The closest youth lacrosse programs to Lewis County are to the north in Olympia and to the south in Vancouver, so Coulter is hoping to fill the gap inbetween.
The free upcoming clinics, which will open once Lewis County is allowed to resume sports practices inside facilities, will be open to all kids, grades first through eighth, in all of Lewis County. The Northwest Sports Hub has hosted select lacrosse tournaments in the past, but Coulter said this would be Lewis County’s first youth lacrosse program ever.
Coulter’s background with lacrosse began in high school in 1989, after playing mostly traditional U.S. youth sports, such as baseball, basketball and football. He went on to play Division-I lacrosse for the University of Denver and played club lacrosse until about five years ago. He’s coached every level of youth lacrosse, including high school, junior high and grade school teams.
Coulter notes that lacrosse is perfect for multi-sport athletes who want to try another sport while prospects are looking dire for most high school sports’ playing opportunities this spring. Lacrosse combines attributes from several other sports, the offense of basketball, the hand-eye coordination of baseball, the physicality of hockey and football and the endurance of soccer. He stressed that lacrosse remains one of the few sports where size is not the determining factor for success. Field sense and stick skills can level the playing field, similar to skating ability in hockey.
Twin Cities Lacrosse provides all the equipment needed for the upcoming free clinics, such as sticks, balls and a couple goals. There’s no contact in the clinics, just fundamental exposure to the game.
“Kids can literally show up with nothing other than water,” Coulter said.
For more information, contact Brad Coulter by phone at 206-391-1271 or by email at brad@concordis.net. Check the Twin Cities Lacrosse website for dates and instructions on how to sign up at www.tclax.org.
