This article appears in the Pacific Northwest version of the November edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

Laura Jennings has a problem with her arm. She can’t stop raising it every time there is a call for volunteers.

That’s how Jennings got involved in youth coaching. That’s how she became girls’ director for Petaluma Youth Lacrosse. That’s how she joined the leadership team of the NorCal Chapter of US Lacrosse. And that’s how she became a board member for the Northern California Junior Lacrosse Association.

Jennings now serves as NCJLA’s executive director, overseeing an operation that includes 430 teams. Arm up. But it doesn’t stop there. For the past two years, Jennings has also served as director for the Lake Tahoe Women’s Adult Tournament, a post-collegiate event that draws an average of 14 teams each summer to the resort town that straddles the California-Nevada border.

“If there’s lacrosse happening, I have some involvement with it,” said Jennings, who moved to Northern California in 2012 when her husband, Matthew, was assigned to Travis Air Force Base.

Upon arriving in the area, Jennings joined the BayLax post-collegiate club, hoping to develop new friendships while also staying connected to the game she has played for over two decades.

A native of Delaware, Jennings played on the first girls’ team at Dover High School before moving on to Wesley College, where she was a three-time team MVP and the school’s female athlete of the year in 2003.

“BayLax is a great club because they take everybody,” she said. “There’s no tryout process. It’s very inclusive.”

It was through BayLax that Jennings first connected with the Lake Tahoe Tournament. The event’s original founder, who played for BayLax, was ready to hand off the organization of the tournament. Jennings’ arm problem reared its ugly head again, bringing with it her commitment to help run the tournament.

Explaining that decision, she said simply, “They needed help.”

As director, Jennings coordinates most of the logistics for the women’s division while working closely with the men’s director and the leadership of the High Sierra Lacrosse Foundation. The tournament is held annually on the third weekend in July.

“We have a core of teams that come every year, and a few others that are on an every-other-year cycle,” Jennings said.

Most participating clubs are from west of the Mississippi, but Jennings also welcomes free agents who are looking to join an established team that may need additional players. This past year, unaffiliated individuals from as far away as Georgia, Tennessee and Colorado came in search of a team.

Many post-collegiate players also serve as youth coaches and officials. Jennings said their love of the game drives them back onto the playing field.

“They don’t ask for much when they volunteer to coach or referee, so providing them the opportunity to stay in touch with the game through recreational play is the least we can do,” she said.

It also works in the other direction. The post-collegiate scene is fertile ground for identifying new youth volunteers.

“Since 2013, I have recruited 15 officials and eight coaches from this event. Getting the chance to play ignites this flame in people to be involved with the game again,” Jennings said. “I think that being on the field is very therapeutic.”

The Lake Tahoe Tournament offers two flights, dubbed by Jennings as the “recreational bracket and the competitive bracket.” She noted that there’s rarely any internal conflict on which bracket participants choose.

“Most teams are pretty up front about which level they are,” Jennings said. Regardless of the competition level, fun is the centerpiece for nearly all post-collegiate participants, who vary in age and experience.

“It’s pretty inspiring to see a recent college grad running against a player who has two kids cheering her on from the sidelines,” Jennings said. “Lacrosse is a lifelong sport to keep us healthy and connected.”

Locally Grown

Northern California

The Giving Games, a pilot event in the US Lacrosse Sanctioning Program, will be Nov. 10-11 on the Cal Poly campus in San Luis Obispo. It’s a competitive girls’ and women’s lacrosse tournament, with proceeds benefiting The McKinley Project, a fully sponsored girls’ lacrosse team in East San Jose and a US Lacrosse First Stick Program grant recipient.

Washington

WALOA has established the MBO (Mentor Bench Official) program in three youth districts in the state. Skilled youth officials receive tools to provide training and mentoring for less experienced officials during youth games. Rules knowledge and field mechanics are rapidly improved, and issues with coaches and fans diminish significantly. MBOs are able to rapidly transition into top-notch high school officials when they graduate from high school.

Idaho

The sixth-annual Hot Potato girls’ lacrosse tournament took place in Boise in October and featured teams from youth through post-collegiate divisions.

Montana

The University of Montana club men’s team hosted the annual Montana Lacrosse Fall shootout Oct. 20-21 — a great weekend of lacrosse bringing high school, college and adult teams to Dornblaser Fields at the foot of Mount Sentinel in Missoula.

Wyoming

Youth clubs are starting up in both Sheridan and Cheyenne, with introductory clinics held this past summer and fall. They join existing programs in Jackson, Cody, Gillette and Rock Springs.

Picture This

First Stick Winners

The inaugural Sonoma Thunder high school girls’ team, recipients of a US Lacrosse First Stick Program grant, took first place in the NCJLA high school championships in May. After going 5-8 in the regular season, the Thunder, coached by Lou Biaggi, fought their way through the playoffs to beat the Morgan Hill Clovers by one goal in the final.

My USL Rep

Lyn Porterfield, Pacific Northwest

Lyn Porterfield joined US Lacrosse in December 2016, after 20-plus years as a photo producer and a three-year stint as executive director of the Washington Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association.  She grew up riding horses in northern California, but was introduced to lacrosse by her kids, who played in high school and college. She has been a women’s official for seven years and tries to join her husband, Patrick, a fly-fishing guide, on the river as much as possible.

How can US Lacrosse help grow the sport in your area? Contact Lyn at lporterfield@uslacrosse.org or 410-235-6882, extension 114.