LIBERTY CITY, Fla. (WSVN) — The unique sport of lacrosse is changing the lives of children in Liberty City. A popular sport from the Northeastern region of the country is impacting the students of Belafonte Tacolcy Center.
Many children at the community center did not have any idea of the sport but since they got the hang of the rules and style of playing, the curious, young athletes couldn’t get enough.
“I thought it was something like hockey,” said Josiah Lopez. “When I came out here to play, I found out what it was.”
“At first I thought it was football or something. With a stick or something,” said Winston Gibson. “It was a little confusing but when I started playing, I started to really like it.”
Although lacrosse is the oldest organized sport in North America, it was not a sport that the coaches and athletes at the youth center thought would ever come to their neck of the woods.
“We didn’t expect it so when it finally came to us and was able to get it done,” said Cedric Cooper, the athletic director of Tacolcy Center. “It was just a surprise for us.”
Many at the community center did not even know the sport existed.
“Normally it’s always football, it’s always basketball, it’s always track,” said Cooper. “We said, ‘Let us do something else that our kids don’t normally do. Let’s introduce lacrosse.’ Last year we stepped out on faith just to see how it goes and now that it has grown, we know lacrosse is here to stay.”
Others in the community were surprised at how the sport has grown in a football-dominated neighborhood.
“The community has definitely embraced the sport financially,” said lacrosse coach Mike Appleton. “We came out with our first game in Liberty City last year and the whole park was filled.”
“I’m a huge football fan,” said one parent, Karla Torres. “It’s very refreshing that the kids are able to expand their mindset and to try a different sport. It’s not just about football and they have different opportunities. Lacrosse in Liberty City has brought that.”
The program is doing so well that the number of lacrosse players in the neighborhood has more than doubled in one year.
“I think it’s an alternative sport,” said head coach Charles Gibson. “It’s a sport that a lot of parents don’t know about and I felt like because of our skillset: a lot of running, passing and throwing, it would be a good fit for our kids.”
All three Tocolcy youth teams, which consist of 8U, 10U and 12U teams, have a combined record of 9-2 with the 8U team sitting 3-0.
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