Youth Sports

Nothing lax about town sports clinic

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Children took part in the Town of Hempstead’s Lacrosse Academy at Seaman’s Neck Park last week, the first session of the summer.
Children took part in the Town of Hempstead’s Lacrosse Academy at Seaman’s Neck Park last week, the first session of the summer.
Andrew Hackmack/Herald

About 130 children and teenagers grabbed their lacrosse sticks and traveled to Seaman’s Neck Park in Seaford last week for the first session of the Town of Hempstead’s annual Lacrosse Academy.

With school still open, the program was held in the evening. Close to 300 participants are taking part in the morning session this week, and about 1,300 children will receive lacrosse instruction this summer as the program visits five other town parks through early August.

It is the 12th year the town has hosted the academy. “The kids love it,” said Barbara Simms, the town’s recreation director. “They want to come back.”

She explained that many children come year after year for lacrosse instruction, learning more advanced skills as they get older. Some also attend all of the clinics each summer, not just the one at the park closest to their home.

Town officials tout the fact that the instructors are accomplished lacrosse players. Among them are Olivia Murray, who went through the academy as a teenager, and has been a coach for the past six years. She is a senior on the lacrosse team at Southern Connecticut State University.

“A lot of these kids are beginners,” said Murray, who works with 8-year-old girls. “I want them to just enjoy lacrosse as a whole. It’s a fun sport to play and watch.”

Murray said that the first half hour of each session is warm-up and stretching drills, before they move on to skill development. The first day of the week focuses on lacrosse basics, and there are also days devoted to offensive and defensive skills, before ending the week with scrimmage games.

Jim Durso, the boys’ lacrosse coordinator, played in high school and for a club team at SUNY Cortland, and now coaches for Oyster Bay High School. He explained that having an experienced staff is what has made the academy a success for more than a decade.

“They like to learn for people who have played the game,” he said of the children who participate. “They want to learn from the best, and they have the opportunity to do that here.”

At the academy, the boys and girls receive separate instruction. That’s because boys’ and girls’ lacrosse is vastly different, even if it is the same concept. Boys’ lacrosse is considered a contact sport, and the players wear helmets. Girls’ lacrosse is non-contact, and the players only wear goggles.

Simms added that participation among girls in the camp has grown over the past several years, and is closer to an even split than ever before.

Sara Rodman and Jessica Grzeaczyk, both 9 and of Seaford, were among the first-time participants. Sara said that she plays with a PAL lacrosse team, and wants to learn more about the sport and how to be more aggressive. Jessica said she signed up “so I could be better at lacrosse and learn more about it, and so I could play on good teams.”

Joe Carri, 13, of Wantagh, wants to play for his high school team, so he is taking part in the clinic for the second year to prepare himself for the next level. “I just heard about it and thought it would be a good idea,” he said of the academy. “I’m learning how to play better than before.”

Murray explained that many of the players come to the academy not knowing much about the sport, and don’t know what position they want to the play. The hope is, she said, that they can find their niche by the end of the week. “They have the opportunity to be exposed to all of the different positions,” she said.

“Out of everything we do,” Durso added, “the idea is that the kids are having fun.”