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Lacrosse in Newberg? Introduction to the game begins Monday |
Glen Foster is excited.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t help it.”
Foster is excited at the notion that Newberg will soon get a taste
of one of the country’s fastest growing sports — lacrosse.
Foster will be one of three instructors at the first lacrosse camp
to take place in Newberg. The camp, for players in grades 5 through
12, will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday at the Newberg
High School soccer field.
While Sherwood High School head coach Mark Dominguez and assistant
coach Bill Butterfield will be instructing the boys portion of the
camp, Foster, the girls lacrosse coach at Sherwood last season, will
guide the girls camp.
Foster said the reason he’s coaching at the camp is simple.
“I’m just trying to get the program up and running at Newberg,” he
said.
Foster became involved with lacrosse a few years ago when his two
children expressed an interest. After learning the nuances of the
game, he became a devout fan, even spending four years as president
of the Sherwood Lacrosse Association.
In that role, he saw the program at Sherwood blossom. At the high
school level, it went from 17 kids four years ago to 105 this year.
At the youth level in Sherwood, the program started with 20 boys
four years ago; now 225 are involved in the sport.
“I’m thinking we’re going to have 285 youth kids playing lacrosse
this year,” he said. “That’s the kind of thing Newberg can have,
too. I think this will grow and explode.”
One of the selling points of lacrosse, Foster said, is that it’s
billed as the “fastest game on two feet.” He said the games are
higher scoring than soccer and athletes don’t stand around as much
as in baseball. Plus, athletes complaining about a lack of playing
time is something he’s never encountered.
“If I were trying to tell a parent that every kid is going to play
at least 25 percent of the game, I think they’d be for it,” he said.
“You need nine or 10 kids playing midfield, so you need them running
as hard as they can and you just never have kids complaining about
playing time.”
Foster can’t wait to get started Monday when he, along with
Dominguez and Butterfield, will teach the fundamentals of the game.
Foster said he’s hoping for a big turnout at the camp.
“If you just try it, 98 percent of the kids will stick with it just
because they love it,” he said. “This is the game of the future.
It’s a great game.” |
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From July 18, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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