Boardman & Eccles Junior LC, based in North-West Manchester, have enjoyed another strong year of development across the girls and boys sections. 

Like any club, this has been enabled by the support and hard work, on and off the field, by a group of volunteers – in particular Dave Griffiths, Rob McGowan & Patrick Buckley on the admin side; and Andy Fallone, Rick Hall & Matt Anderton (plus their three young coaches Dylan McGowan, Ethan Hatcher & Archie Brown) on the player development side.  Alongside this, the commitment of the players and their parents, all working as a team in the re-building of the Boardman & Eccles Junior section.

The Lacrosse Foundation has been pleased to provide grant funding in two staged payments to enable the club to run curriculum & afterschool provision (led by club coach Dave Elwood), initially to Yr5 & Yr6 pupils at a number of primary schools, followed by Yr3 & Yr4 during this most recent school year.  CPD sessions have also been run in targeted schools.

Having a club setting for the young children to go to, led to an increased number attending practice with over 30 girls regularly playing at the club – with this year, both the U-11 & U-13 teams competing in league lacrosse for the first time in Boardman’s history.  Next season, the plan is to add an additional U-13 team, to enable more girls to experience competitive lacrosse.

As Dave Elwood told us:
“The U-13 girls showed excellent improvement through their first year at this level, only narrowly losing to a strong Stockport side in the Cup semi-final – having earlier in their season being well beaten against the same side.   Seven of this Boardman team were selected to represent Lancashire, with five playing in the 1st team which won the Northern Counties Tournament. The girls have been outstanding all year, led by a strong coaching group including Phil Reader, Jim Bloomfield, Georgia White, & Matt Drake.  A remarkable achievement for a section that only started 3 seasons ago, all supported by a strong volunteer/parent’s group”.

“On the boys’ side, our practice numbers have steadily grown, with around 15 to 20 U-12s regularly attending sessions, and a similar number in the ‘Pee-Wee U-8’ group.  This enabled an U-10 team to compete throughout this season, in all the development tournaments organised by the NEMLA junior programme, as well as a number of individual games against other club sides.  The young players, who are all new to the sport, have really enjoyed these tournaments and our next step is to progress into playing regular competitive lacrosse with an U-12 team next season.   Three of the older Boardman boys have represented Lancashire, and are also on the England Academy pathway.”

The Boardman club hosts the annual Salford Pop-Lacrosse Tournament, and this year 16 teams competed for the trophy with a marked improvement in the standard of play across the schools.  Our TLF funding has enabled coaching in more schools across a wider age range.  A shout-out to Monton Green Primary, one of the B&E schools, who represented Salford at a very competitive Greater Manchester Pop Tournament, seeing them end as winners of the Plate competition.

And during May, the club hosted a development tournament for 14 schools – where between games the club’s coaches worked with groups of players and teachers on development of fundamental skills.

It is great to see the progress being made, and long may it continue with the ongoing commitment from volunteers, and the new lacrosse players helping to make it ‘their’ club.

The London Borough of Bromley in SE London covers an area with a long lacrosse heritage – an area which includes Crystal Palace Park (site of the first-ever demonstration games of lacrosse in UK by Native Americans in 1867), and Beckenham (whose lacrosse club merged to become Spencer LC in 2000).

• Local coach Mike Barrett is leading a lacrosse revival in Bromley through the ‘Bromley School Games Programme’.  With support from TLF, Mike has so far introduced the sport into 30 of its 63 primary schools, and set up a ‘Bromley Junior Lacrosse Club’ to provide a progression for youngsters out of school. 

• To help to generate local competition, the proposed model is to split Bromley into four geographical sections (i.e. creating four ‘teams’) giving the kids an outlet to play regular age-group matches, against nearby teams thereby overcoming the problem of time-consuming travel to other parts of London. 

Amongst the second wave of schools receiving coaching in early 2023, was Poverest Primary School in Orpington, where its Head of PE (Andy Duffin) has enthusiastically embraced the sport.  That year, after lacrosse had been introduced to Yr5 & Yr6 pupils, they performed well enough at the London Pop Lacrosse finals in Battersea, and qualified for the national Pop finals at Keele University.   As Andy says: “In a relatively short period of time, we have gone from never playing lacrosse to loving Lacrosse”

In August 2023, Poverest Primary received a grant of £800 from TLF which provided them with a new set of sticks, balls & goals to replace their old second-hand kit, plus funding to enable all KS2 school staff to attend CPD sessions so they could deliver lacrosse to more pupils.  The grant also provided a one-off payment to support the creation of an after-school club, covering the cost of coaching for the Autumn Term to help get this club off the ground.    

The after-school club has been well attended, and has continued into 2024 with parents paying a small sub for their children’s participation – with a model that helps to build sustainability for the sport.  Children in Yr2 have now been introduced to the basics of lacrosse, so their skills can develop as they progress through the school – with Poverest hosting another pop tournament at the end of November 2023, with multiple teams from the school taking part as well as other local schools in the two age-groups.

TLF has also funded equipment at four other schools in the Bromley borough, including three other primary schools (Worsley Bridge and St Davids Prep in Beckenham, as well as Warren Road in Orpington), and a local secondary Chislehurst School for Girls.      

A couple of months ago in March, the 2024 Bromley Pop Tournament was held at The Ravensbourne School in central Bromley, with 18 schools, and over 170 Year 5/6 pupils taking part.  This was a local qualifier for the Regional and National Pop Lacrosse Tournaments – with Perry Hall school finishing first and receiving a straight entry to the Nationals.  Poverest and St James Catholic primary schools, being successful in securing their place at the regional finals at the University of Surrey on May 22nd.  Since then, they have both qualified for the Nationals at the University of Birmingham on June 26th 2024. 
[The Bromley Pop event has grown from just 3 schools providing 5 teams between them in July 2022; to 7 schools and 9 teams in 2023 (with 2 qualifying via regionals for the national finals); and now in 2024, eighteen (18) schools taking part, providing 21 teams].   And the aim for March 2025 is for 28+ teams.

By July 2024, there are plans for the secondary schools to hold tournaments for their Yrs 7/8 and 9/10, with 5 to 7 schools involved (separate boys and girls, as some schools are single gender).
Poverest Primary school will also host the Year 3/4 Bromley Primary Schools tournament on June 20th.

Whilst it is recognised that Pop Lacrosse only introduces the concept of the sport, the key part of the Bromley model is that the structure should facilitate a pathway to the after-school clubs, and the 4 ‘local groups’ teams, as well as the Bromley Junior Club.  The engagement of the kids, and the participation of the parents is an important part of sustaining this progress – with Bromley LC getting 35 kids to their weekly Tuesday pm training sessions, which is being driven by a parent’s committee. 

 To hear more about Mike Barrett’s plans for Bromley, why not have a listen to the recent episode where he was the subject of the ‘At The Face’ podcast.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1051561/14416469-mike-barrett-bromley-lacrosse-jr-s

The Royal Agricultural University, based in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, may be the oldest agricultural college in the English-speaking world, but its lacrosse team are still saplings!

The University started its lacrosse team over a decade ago, and has since sprouted from sixteen members last year into a bumper squad of over forty - thanks to promotional events and social media. But the mushrooming of lacrosse at the University (& the increase in player numbers) has brought with it some issues, namely the provision of equipment.

Enter The Lacrosse Foundation. A TLF grant of £1,044 provided the University with enough sticks for a group of over forty players, a coaching board to assist new players in understanding session objectives and concepts, and a goal target. As a result, the club can now offer its novice players the equipment to be able to experience and learn the game safely, offering every member an equal opportunity to develop, excel and discover the joys of lacrosse.

So what do the budding players think of the sport?

Tilly Goldsworthy (3rd Year): 
“The new sticks have really helped us all to practice our stick skills and get a good game going”

Robin Scanlan (2nd Year, Social Secretary):
“Lacrosse is great to make friends through all the years at RAU, and a good social team. The new sticks have improved our team from being beginners to good players in less than a year”

Neha Walker (2nd Year, Captain):
“The Lacrosse Foundation supplied us with 30 brand new sticks as well as a goal target. This has allowed the captains to coach the team without having to stand in goal. The new sticks have allowed the players to learn more quickly and pick up new skills which has allowed the team to be more competitive at BUCS matches.”

And what does the future hold for lacrosse at the Royal Agricultural University?
The club’s project mission is to open its lacrosse team up to new opportunities for playing, officiating and coaching lacrosse in the UK.

Luke Overthrow (RAU Sports Development Manager) told TLF:
“With your help, our lacrosse team will thrive and have a real opportunity to be competitive in the BUCS league. We anticipate that many of those who come to training will develop a strong interest in the sport and continue playing it beyond their university years. Our team has some members who were previously part of the England Academy, as well as a few who play for the local Cirencester Lacrosse Club.  And our 2023-24 captain, Robyn Barcham, was part of the Scotland U-20 team.”

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