One of the most quickly growing sports in the South is lacrosse. Here at The City, we have both boys and girls lacrosse teams. All of our lacrosse teams are searching for more players. In fact, on the girls lacrosse team, we have students from other schools playing on our team. Hope Juneau, a senior lacrosse player, explains that girls’ lacrosse practice has already begun, she states “Practices have already started but the deadline to sign up is around November. Practices are Tuesday and Thursday at Holy Nativity Church on Southern Loop.”

Moreover, because of The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA), lacrosse is considered a “club sport”; but our lacrosse teams have to schedule their own games from the Arkansas league, causing it to be difficult to schedule games.

The lacrosse season at Byrd hasn’t officially kicked off yet. Games start around February and anyone can join with no experience needed. Freshman lacrosse player Cole Rice has faith in the upcoming lacrosse season stating, “I think we will win most of our games. Our season starts in October, but we need boys and lots of girls to join. It’s a very physically demanding sport and fun to play.” Then, another freshman, Kylee Ducote, who is new to lacrosse, explains how she got interested in playing, claiming “We had two people come to CMM last year and thought it was really fun. I’m hoping to make the team.” When asked about the environment of lacrosse, Hope Juneau explains, “We try to make everyone feel comfortable enough to be confident on the field whether that’s saying something to each other or taking a shot”.

Over the years, lacrosse in Louisiana has grown significantly. The number of youth lacrosse athletes has increased recently, the Red River Youth Lacrosse Association states “What began with 60 youngsters in the summer of 2012 has grown into hundreds of players on more than a dozen youth boys & girls teams. Lacrosse is becoming a very popular sport around the country including Louisiana, and Shreveport-Bossier is no exception.” In addition, many lacrosse teams and opportunities have been created for boys and girls in our area.

Furthermore, lacrosse has actually been around for hundreds of years. Native American tribes used to play lacrosse, but back then it was called “stickball”. These games served as major cultural events and could go on for days. So, if you’re looking to get involved in a sport here at C.E. Byrd, consider lacrosse. We look forward to seeing our Yellow Jackets have an incredible lacrosse season!