Though we acknowledge that statistics most often don’t reflect the whole story (e.g., was there a rapid increase in participation numbers just prior to the national survey, thus the decrease merely reflects a standard normalization) – in this case our local observations are consistent with the national data.

 

So, this past Summer, our board, chairs, and coaches participated in numerous focused engagements to discuss opportunities to reverse the local trend. To revitalize girls lacrosse in our area, we selected two critical focus areas for Fall 2024 and beyond – enhancing the quality of our program and making our sport more appealing to a wider range of families and athletes. In support of these critical focus areas, we’ve increased the number of annual Learn To Play clinics; we’ve introduced Learn To Coach clinics; and we’ve hired marketing expertise to ensure we maintain the necessary balance of who, what, when, and where.

To increase quality, we studied the “Denver model” to better understand what drives their steady growth (as evidenced by the increase in the number of youth teams participating annually in the Arapahoe Youth League and the increase in the number of sustainable youth club programs). In parallel, we explored consumer behavior to better inform our solution opportunities. What we ultimately discovered is that families and athletes have a strong desire to be part of high quality, successful programs.

 

Before implementing our ‘United’ plan, we shared our goals, findings, and proposed strategy with the other local programs. Our proposed strategy was to create competitive 5th – 8th grade Fall and Spring travel teams that would practice and compete together. We believe that by combining athletes of similar age and experience, providing high-level leadership and coaching, and fostering a competitive environment, we can accelerate the girls’ athletic development and character growth, team success, and the overall appeal of lacrosse in our community. Though we didn’t receive endorsement from the other local programs, many families recognized these same local challenges and reached out to play as United. We appreciate your trust in our approach and hope that the United program exceeds your expectations. Until girls lacrosse is again thriving in the greater Colorado Springs area (and can support multiple competitive programs), we believe that the United path is a viable strategy for girls’ Fall and Spring lacrosse. We’ll continue to engage with the other local programs to garner their support in the hopes of uniting to deliver the highest quality program possible.

In parallel, we recognized that growth also requires appealing to a wider range of families and athletes. To obtain this goal, we studied the “i9 and YMCA models” to better understand what drives their continued stability in other youth sports. What we found is that we needed to make lacrosse more accessible via an affordable, local program with low commitment and weekday only events.

 

Whereas our ‘United’ competitive, travel program focuses on advanced skills and team concepts development, our ‘House’ program emphasizes fundamental skills without the pressure of competition. In addition to introducing new athletes to the game, our ‘House’ program and Learn To Coach clinics are also the perfect opportunity for those who may have contemplated volunteering but are apprehensive because of their (lack of) lacrosse knowledge. For example, this Fall we welcome two first time girls’ lacrosse head coaches – Dustin Lucito (Patriot Yellow, 3rd – 5th grades) and Megh Martinez (Patriot Red, K – 2nd grades), as well as several new assistant coaches – Gavin Montoya (Goalies), Bailey Huchison (Rampart HS), Ellie Ross (Doherty HS), and Emma Steen (Air Academy HS). Welcome, and thank you for everything that you do!

In Spring 2024, Patriot had 68 girls and fielded five competitive teams. Unfortunately, we knew that immediately following the season, 45% of those players would not return for Fall 2024 (due to many factors such as moving on to high school, families leaving the local area, trying other sports, and/or parent(s) and sibling(s) schedule conflicts). Despite those challenges, Patriot and Patriot – United have 75 girls for Fall 2024, to include three competitive teams, two non-competitive fundamentals focused teams (‘House’), and competitive practice only players (‘House +’). Though it’s way too early to assess a trend, the fact that we were able to (lose 31 athletes from Spring and) attract 38 new athletes to play this Fall is a giant step in the right direction – and a testament to the amount of effort that our board, chairs, and coaches invested this Summer.

To enable our continued growth, we need volunteers to fill key roles. Starting in May 2025, we’ll need a new Executive Administrator to replace Vicki Kallhoff who is responsible for registration, website management, and running our monthly board meetings. To ensure a smooth transition, we’d like to have Vicki’s successor shadow her this Spring (Jan – May 2025).

 

Similarly, I’ll be stepping down as Director in May 2026. Though my last Patriot – United athlete will move on to high school in Fall 2025, my plan is to stay on as Director and to help coach our current 7th graders through their last full year (Fall 2025 and Spring 2026).

If you are interested in either role, please reach out to me or any of our board members. We are grateful for your support of our players, coaches, and volunteers. Your commitment to our
program is invaluable and by working together we can achieve a thriving girls lacrosse community in Colorado Springs. We hope that you’ll consider playing with us again in Spring 2025!

 

 

 

*National participation trend data (2019-2022, children ages 6-12, 16 sports surveyed) from Project Play,
State of Play 2023 – swimming (-26.9%), lacrosse (-26.2%).