This article appears in the Southeast version of the May/June edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

Lacrosse transplant Rachel Hillhouse has a plan for growing the girls’ game in her adopted hometown of Asheville, N.C., a city in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Having played lacrosse throughout her youth in Victor, N.Y., she realized upon her arrival here 10 years ago that opportunities for girls were pretty scarce. 

“I know all the benefits of being involved with the game, and in this area, the girls’ game is anywhere from five to 10 years behind the development of the boys’ game,” Hillhouse said.

Hillhouse began by joining the local board for the Western North Carolina Chapter of US Lacrosse. She also serves as a USL Coach Development Program Level 1 and Level 2 trainer, helping to support the certification of coaches.

Three years ago, when her then 4-year-old daughter Sophie wanted to start playing lacrosse, Hillhouse established Asheville Edge Lacrosse. Serving girls ages 4-18, Asheville Edge is dedicated to providing a fun environment for players through club teams and events.  

About 50 girls currently participate in the program. 

“We’re still trying to find out what works best, but we are committed to sticking to the Lacrosse Athlete Development Model,” she said. “It’s about empowering girls and helping them to develop their skills in a positive environment.”

As an extension of the Asheville Edge program, Hillhouse also helps operate a grassroots project aimed at bringing both boys’ and girls’ lacrosse into local schools. She’s convinced that introducing the game to kids in school is the first step before connecting them to a community program.

Hillhouse initially partnered with another local lacrosse leader, Melissa Ciocian of the Asheville Empire Lacrosse Club, to leverage their contacts and conduct after-school lacrosse clinics and occasional physical education class lessons. Given the challenges to the sustainability of that model — Hillhouse and Ciocian also have full-time jobs — they now work with US Lacrosse to host workshops for local P.E. teachers.

Lou Corsetti, Southeast region manager for US Lacrosse, recently joined Hillhouse as a workshop trainer. The two-hour clinic, the first step in Hillhouse’s growth blueprint, included 54 teachers from the Buncombe County (N.C.) School District.

Hillhouse has targeted schools in Asheville city and in adjacent Henderson County as the next locations.

“Rachel is the Pied Piper going around the region to introduce lacrosse in schools,” Corsetti said. “She is very well connected in the area.”

With US Lacrosse funding, four schools represented at the recent P.E. workshop were awarded soft stick grants, providing sticks and balls for use in physical education classes. Teachers also are provided with lesson plans to help teach the unit.

Debbie Bryant, coordinator of healthful living for Buncombe County Schools, oversees the K-12 physical education curriculum and said lacrosse is a welcome addition.

“It’s been really popular, and girls especially are taking to it,” Bryant said. “We try to broaden horizons with new sports, so it has been very beneficial.”

Corsetti noted that there’s only been one drawback to the soft stick initiative in his region.

“Our budget has been depleted,” Corsetti said. “Right now, we’re having to turn people away or put them on a waiting list.”

Corsetti has coordinated more than 75 US Lacrosse soft stick grants to schools and organizations in the Southeast region over the past 18 months, with recipients in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

“We’re hoping to find more money because we can use all of it,” he said. “Even $10,000 goes a long way. This is the right strategy to grow the game.”

There’s no dispute from Hillhouse on that point.

“The key is to teach the P.E. teachers the game,” she said. “I know the kids get excited about trying something new. We then try to follow up to let them know that if they like it, there are opportunities to get more involved." 

Locally Grown

Georgia

US Lacrosse Coach Development Program trainers helped train 40 coaches for the Gwinnett Youth Lacrosse Association and 14 coaches for the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Lacrosse Association in the Lacrosse Athlete Development Model as part of Level 1 CDP clinics.

North Carolina

The Eastern and Western North Carolina chapters of US Lacrosse will induct John Danowski, John Hayden, Michelle Hood, Geoff Miller, Duke Whelan and Ron Wilson into the North Carolina Lacrosse Hall of Fame on June 9 in Greensboro.

North Florida

The local US Lacrosse chapter and the First Coast Lacrosse Officials Association hosted an officiating clinic Jan. 27 at Jacksonville. More than 40 officials from across the state attended the event, which featured Kevin O’Leary (NILOA executive director), David Seidman (NFHS rules committee) and Gordon Corsetti (USL manager of officials development) as presenters.

South Carolina

US Lacrosse awarded six Soft Stick and two First Stick program grants and held P.E. clinics in several communities throughout the state.

Tennessee

The Northeast Tennessee Sports Association, a US Lacrosse First Stick Program grant recipient, has been the impetus of five new high schools adding lacrosse in the area. Chucky Doke, Science Hill, Tennessee High, Virginia High and Sullivan County all now sponsor teams.

Picture This
Hurricane Season

The Manatee (Fla.) girls’ lacrosse players pose for a celebratory team photo after a 15-11 victory Feb. 27 at Lakewood Ranch (Fla.), the Hurricanes’ first win as a varsity program. Previously a club team, Manatee received a US Lacrosse First Stick Program grant and became the first public school in Manatee County to start lacrosse.

My USL Rep
Lou Corsetti, Southeast

Corsetti, a Long Island native living in Atlanta, has been around lacrosse for more than 40 years as a player and coach. He was a four-time all-league attackman at Marist, where he also played football and set an NCAA single-game record for punt return touchdowns. He is a US Lacrosse Level 3-certified coach for the Atlanta Coyotes, past president of the Georgia Chapter and a Georgia Lacrosse Hall of Fame member. His son, Gordon, is the manager of men’s officials development at US Lacrosse.

How can US Lacrosse help grow the sport in your area? Contact Lou at lcorsetti@uslacrosse.org or 410-235-6882, extension 190.