Freehold Recreation to bring lacrosse to area

By tim morris


MARIE ORTIZ Bill Menzel, 12, of Freehold, takes off with his lacrosse stick during a clinic held at Liberty Oak Park in Freehold Township on Sunday. MARIE ORTIZ Bill Menzel, 12, of Freehold, takes off with his lacrosse stick during a clinic held at Liberty Oak Park in Freehold Township on Sunday.

Lacrosse, one of the fastest games in sport and certainly one of the fastest growing, is coming to Freehold Township.

Next spring, lacrosse will be a varsity sport for the both the Patriot boys and girls. To help prepare for the 2001 debut as well as the future, Freehold Township Recreation is sponsoring introductory basic skills lacrosse clinics for boys and girls in grades four to 12 on Sunday evenings throughout the summer at Liberty Oak Park. The response has been very encouraging.

Steve Gibbs, who was the activities director for the Patriot Lacrosse Club which spawned the varsity programs that will debut in 2001, runs the boys’ clinics.

"We’ve had a marvelous turnout," said Gibbs. "Everyone is so enthusiastic. The sport is exploding in the Shore. We’re looking to establish a feeder program for the high school."

Erin Odegard, who runs the girls’ clinic, also sees the sport taking off quickly.

"It’s going to explode in this area," she pointed out. "Lacrosse is big in New England, on Long Island and in Maryland and Delaware. Somehow it missed New Jersey, but it’s starting to get exposure now. The clinics have been wonderful. Everyone comes wanting to learn."

Both Gibbs and Odegard agree that the sport is very unique and sells itself.

"Lacrosse is unlike any sport I’ve been involved with," Gibbs remarked. "It has elements of football, basketball and soccer. Once kids get the stick in their hands they see how exciting the sport is. It’s such a fast game."

Gibbs, who also coaches football at Freehold Township, thinks that the two sports have a lot in common and that is one of the reasons there is a lot of interest in it.

"Kids need something to do in the spring," he explained. "Just working out in the weight room can get stale after a while.

"Football and lacrosse are a perfect match," he added. "We’re getting quite a few football players out. The contact and the running are a natural for running backs, wide receivers and defensive backs. It works out great for them."

Odegard pointed out that lacrosse creates new possibilities for the girls. She sees it being popular with the field hockey, soccer and basketball players.

"For the girls it’s the opportunity to play another sport," she said. "In the spring you only have track and field or softball. Lacrosse is totally new and they are willing to try something new. It’s going to become the main sport for some."

Odegard is a Middletown North High School grad and plays lacrosse at Castleton State College in Vermont where she will be a senior in the fall. The lacrosse clinics, she noted, are touching all bases from the basic fundamentals to the rules of the game.

"We’re starting from the ground level step-by-step," she explained. "We want to teach them the right way to do things like cradling the ball and throwing it. It’s such a fast-paced game."

Once lacrosse gets its footing in the Freehold area, it should take-off. Howell is in the club stage at the moment and is expected to go varsity the year after next. The groundswell will likely not stop there. The New Jersey Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse has gone from 5,000 to 15,000 in two years.

The clinics are open to non-Freehold Township residents and run from 6-9 p.m. each Sunday. For more information on the lacrosse clinics which will continue through Aug. 27, call the recreation department at 294-2193.