A sport embedded in indigenous roots that has been around for centuries, lacrosse is continuing to grow in popularity and a group at Cal Poly Humboldt is helping that cause. The Cal Poly Humboldt men’s lacrosse team has been hosting free clinics for local youth where they are coached through a variety of drills. Assisted by Anthony Silvaggio, a longtime lacrosse player, a Cal Poly Humboldt sociology professor, and the club’s faculty adviser, he’s been ramping up his efforts to help develop a local youth lacrosse scene.
“Knowing that there’s no youth lacrosse here, over the last 20 years I’ve been doing little clinics on and off but now I’ve got a 6-year-old. So now I’m putting forth like the heavy effort to actually get youth lacrosse developed here in Humboldt County,” Silvaggio said.
Some reasons why they’ve been able to host these clinics for free include the collective coaching efforts from the team’s current players and alumni as well as grants used for equipment courtesy of USA Lacrosse.
“It’s a club effort to bring lacrosse to the North Coast and youth lacrosse. So, this is our second time in the last 5 years that we’ve done these free sessions for the community and we’re hoping to do another sessions, five more sessions in the spring. So, we want to really make the sport accessible to folks up here. We don’t have youth lacrosse. The closest programs are four hours away. It’s one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. It gives folks up here in this area, youth, another opportunity to get involved in athletics,” Silvaggio added.
Along with the return of the camps in the spring, the hope is to host a camp in the summer much like the other sports on campus. And it’s high hopes all around as the men’s lacrosse team is set to embark on their new season in the new year.
“I’m trying to get that all-conference second team. I’ve gotten third-team twice, so I’m trying to get second or first. So I have teammates that make me want to do better every time I go to practice,” Alec Vargas, Cal Poly Humboldt junior face-off specialist, said.
Story by John Farley of Redwood News