As Scott Breier found out quickly, if you build a lacrosse program, the athletes will come. Breier, one of the parent organizers for the Sussex Hamilton Lacrosse Club, is in the middle of a grassroots effort to create a program for his son and his fellow Chargers, who were left without a squad when Brookfield became a school-sponsored sport.
Today, Sussex Hamilton might be starting out small, but things are looking up. The Chargers have more boys than Breier and his fellow organizers expected and the program expects to double in size for 2018, and launching a girls’ program is not out of the question.
“If you have a few motivated, experienced players, they will market the program to their friends – and word-of-mouth is the best advertising,” Breier said. “It seems like a lot of work to create a club from scratch, but many area clubs have been great in helping us along in this process, including Brookfield and Lake Country/Arrowhead.”
There are many programs throughout Wisconsin that have sprouted up as lacrosse gains popularity throughout the Dairy State. The one constant, however, is that there are many ways to get a program off the ground.
Success in Sussex
As Brookfield’s lacrosse players moved toward a school-sponsor team, the other school districts involved in the co-op had to figure out where their student-athletes would play in 2017. Three parents – Tracy Dow, Patrick Jauquet and Breier – stepped up to launch the Sussex Hamilton Lacrosse Club this year, which is fielding a junior varsity team for boys from the Sussex Hamilton, Pewaukee and Menomonee Falls school districts.
According to Breier, the club has 18 boys on its roster, which is more than expected. For 2018, the Chargers hope to double the size of their roster and add a girls’ program.
“Our goal for the first year of the program was to get enough boys to field a team,” Breier said. “We certainly met that goal and are looking to market lacrosse in our school districts to more boys and girls. Our hope is that all of our current players stick with the sport into next season and that we recruit more players for 2018.”
School Sponsored from the Start
While many programs start as co-ops between multiple high schools to make sure there are enough players to field a team, Oak Creek formed its own squad right away. Oak Creek coach David Swenson said the numbers were there from the start – after numerous surveys and daily announcements at the high school, the Knights had 50 students interested in playing lacrosse. Athletic Director Scott Holler gave Swenson the go-ahead, and a program was born in 2016.
Although Oak Creek had a youth program, Swenson – who played lacrosse at Stoughton High School – said the most important thing for his fledgling program was for the inexperienced players to learn the ins and outs of the sport.
“After our first scrimmage, one of the officials noted that my team looked like they were playing football, but with lacrosse sticks,” Swenson said. “At the end of the season, the same official said that we looked like we were actually playing lacrosse.”
The Knights struggled as a junior varsity team taking on the established programs in the Classic 8 Conference, yet they still won a regular season game and two more in the JV conference tournament.
For 2017, Swenson hopes to earn the program’s first regular-season win on the varsity level and score a goal in every game. He has been impressed with how many of the Knights have learned how to play the sport in just a year’s time, especially sophomore Brendan Weber, who is converting to goalie this season.
“I am very surprised at how fast some of the catching on to the sport and how well they are doing,” Swenson said. “[Weber] is doing amazing making the switch from a left-side middie last year on JV to a starting varsity goaltender.”
At Home in Homestead
The Homestead boys’ lacrosse program may only have two years under its belt, but considering it spun off from the mighty Ozaukee Lacrosse Club (OZLAX), it’s no surprise that the Highlanders were quite competitive on the field. They finished with a 13-6 record and had five players earn All-Classic 8 Conference honors. Also, senior goalie Anthony Kennin was named Wisconsin Player of the Year.
Behind the scenes, however, the campaign to start a school-affiliated program for Homestead was at least three years in the making. According to coach Mike LaValle, student-athletes from the Mequon-Thiensville School District already made up a large percentage of the OZLAX roster, which was a major selling point for the school board. For 2016, the boys’ and girls’ programs combined for over 120 athletes across the varsity and junior varsity levels.
“Starting a new program at any school must have the supporting cast of players to achieve this goal, as well as being able to offer the sport to both genders,” LaValle said. “Having the numbers for both boys’ and girls’ teams was one of the main reasons that Homestead was able to start their lacrosse programs in 2016.”
Student participation wasn’t going to be a problem, so Homestead had to go about setting up the infrastructure to support its program. Speaking specifically about his boys’ team, LaValle tracked down experienced coaches by reaching out to Michael Fahey, the head coach of Concordia University’s men’s lacrosse team.
“They have been a major factor in our success, and their knowledge and experience has proven to be great assets to the lacrosse program,” LaValle said.
LaValle and his staff also had to design and buy uniforms as well as purchase equipment like balls, goals and nets. The program held several fundraisers within the community to help cover costs associated with operating the program.
On the field, the Highlanders had to “create a brand” of lacrosse that would prove to be as successful as Homestead’s other athletic programs.
“The only negative that we experienced was falling short of our goal of a state championship,” LaValle said. “New program or not, we set our goals high and we strive to reach each goal we set – unfortunately, we lost in the second round of the playoffs. All in all, our first season was a complete success when said and done, and the players set the foundation for future teams.”
