The start of something in Lincoln
Sisters Emma and Laura Brearley always enjoyed being active & trying out new sports when they were growing up in a village 20 mins south of Lincoln - but they only got the opportunity to try lacrosse when they went away to University [Emma at Leeds Uni, and Laura at Lincoln Uni, where she subsequently became club captain and coached the first team].
After graduating, they both found themselves back in Lincoln, but with no club in or around Lincoln and their lacrosse fell by the wayside. Emma played a few months of lacrosse last summer (2023), when her job took her to Switzerland [who knew there was a ladies lacrosse club in Basel?!] which reignited her love for the sport. With Laura also missing the game, they decided to try and set up a ladies lacrosse team in Lincoln.
“We knew that very few people in Lincoln had played lacrosse before, so we positioned it as a beginners’ club, with our first session being a ‘taster’ to encourage people to try a new sport.
A strong motivation for us to set up the club was for the social & community aspect. When you graduate and move to a new city, it can be hard to find friends and meet new people, so this was one of the main things we pushed when promoting the club. We generated interest through Facebook and Instagram, encouraging friends of friends to share and invite, and did some targeted Instagram advertising, which proved very successful and was a great return on the investment”.
The girls approached England Lacrosse and the Centurion LC - who donated a stock of sticks, as well as the Yorkshire County Lacrosse Association who covered the cost of the pitch for the taster session. The Lincoln University team also brought along some of their women’s sticks too.
[NB. TLF only learned about the new club after seeing their Instagram post following the ‘taster session’ , but their example helps to demonstrate that there are a number of potential sources of support within the lacrosse community for anyone wanting to start a new club].
The first ‘taster session’ had a great response, with fifty people coming along and exceeding the sisters’ wildest expectations. Since that positive start, the momentum has been maintained, with approximately 35-40 people attending each session over the last few weeks, and with new beginners joining each week. After three weeks they held their first club social, and the club is looking to arrange matches with Derby and Nuneaton for this summer, and in due course hopes to take part in a Midlands league.
For now, it is just a Ladies-only team, although once the club becomes more established, they may expand the club to include a mixed team.
If anyone is interested in joining the club, their weekly practice sessions are every Monday 7-8pm at Yarborough Leisure Centre, LN1 3SP.
For more information: contact Emma at emmabrearley@hotmail.co.uk , or catch them on Instagram @lincolnladieslacrosse