Pass, Shoot, SCORE!

By Stacy Case

When people say the word ‘cradle’, it’s generally associated with the cuteness of a baby. But not in this case, that’s for sure! Grasping the concept of cradling is paramount to more than 300 area athletes when lacrosse is in season.

Nearly 200 youths are hailed from Parkland to participate in the 2003-established Red Hawks city program from February through May. And although it is under the regulations of a recreational sanctioned sport, they do often travel to play their away opponents. Playing home games at Pine Trails Park, when they represent their league on the road, they venture as far north as Martin County and as far south as Dade. But regardless of the venue in which they play, these athletes learn something at each game.

“Lacrosse is a great team sport, especially because it allows players from all different sizes and speeds to play the game,” says Rob Windesheim, who is in his fourth year as the Red Hawks president. “When kids play here, it gives them the ability to have that camaraderie while incorporating so many different life lessons through the game of lacrosse.”

The Red Hawks have participation in both their boys and girls programs, including players on U7, U9, U11, U13 and U15 teams.

“We have full rosters for all boys and girls, which is considerably a lot because of Parkland not being as big as some other cities,” Windensheim adds. “I think we’ve developed into a great feeder program for the local high schools as well as some colleges too.”

Supporting the sport just outside of the Parkland city limits is the Coral Springs Chiefs program out of North Community Park. At not even a decade old, the Chiefs have attracted nearly 130 athletes to their lacrosse program, mirroring the same age divisions for boys and girls as the Red Hawks, in which both programs are under the umbrella of the South Florida Youth Lacrosse League. The Coral Springs contingent has had a consistent following since the league’s 2009 inception, and the games can be rather captivating for both its participants and spectators. Like the Redhawks, the Chiefs also play teams from Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties both as hosts and guests.

“Lacrosse is the fastest game on two feet, and I love the family-friendly atmosphere that we have at all of our games,” says Anthony LoFurno, enjoying his third year as the Chiefs president. “These players bond so well, and there are plenty of them who come back from season to season.”

The Chiefs have players of varying abilities, something that LoFurno not only embraces but encourages.

“I love when kids love this sport, and we hope we’re doing our part to make them want to go further with it,” he adds. “It’s a game that’s pretty easy to fall in love with, and we’d like to see these families stay in our program as long as possible.”

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