Rockford Razorbacks Lacrosse Club trying to grow the sport in our area

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF)–When we think spring sports around Rockford, we think baseball, softball, soccer, track and field, but there’s one Rockford Club that wants us to also think lacrosse.

That’s the Rockford Razorbacks Lacrosse Club. The guys can generally be found practicing and playing at Sportscore Two either outside or inside the ISC.

“It’s super-fast paced,” said Razorbacks head coach Bob White. “Goals are normally up in the dozens if not more.”

Goaltender Coleman Groh has been part of the Razorbacks for seven or eight years.

“I think it’s a sport that anyone can learn, and it doesn’t take long to learn. It’s fun. There’s some physicality to it, but it’s not body-to-body. It’s more stick-to-body, but I think that’s part of the fun.”

Razorbacks assistant coach Dan McGee is a Boylan graduate. He got hooked on Lacrosse and played four years of it at NCAA Division III Carroll University in Wisconsin.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to play baseball again. I came and gave lacrosse a try with the Razorbacks, went on to play in college for four years. I got to get some college coaching experience, meet a lot of great coaches and people.”

The goal of the Razorbacks is simply to introduce as many people as possible to the sport. They have four club teams of different age groups starting with third and fourth graders, right up to a high school club team. They’re happy to work with youngsters who have zero experience with the sport.

“One hundred percent,” said White. “Every kid behind us right now, and every kid that you saw practice today had never played the sport before they got here.”

“We’ve found that once kids come out and give it a shot, we don’t typically lose them. It’s just getting them out here to try it.”

(The Razorbacks hope to get enough kids interested in the sport that local high schools will start to field actual IHSA teams. Boylan is considering starting one up next spring. Public Schools in the area have the option of forming co-op teams if they don’t have enough participants to go it alone. White says the Razorbacks are more than willing to help out.

“We’ve offered to start intramural programs at their schools, basically to get as many kids at the school to try to play the game. We’ve done this free of charge to any of the schools that have asked us to come out.”

“Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing college sports across the nation, and there’s a lot of college opportunities,” said Groh. “Me personally, I’m pursuing college scholarships right now. I’d like to play Division One lacrosse. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time.”

The Razorbacks will let kids try the sport for free. They’ll provide sticks and equipment. If you or someone you know is interested, go to Facebook and type in Rockford Lacrosse or go to www.rockfordlax.net. Kids who decide to stick with the sport pay a club dues. Scholarships are available for some kids who lack the money to afford the dues.