US Lacrosse grant benefiting local middle school program

A grant provided by the national governing body of lacrosse to a Fallbrook club program for middle-school students is serving its purpose.

In early 2006 Warrior Lacrosse Club received a grant from US Lacrosse for new equipment. “We felt we would give it a shot, and we were very fortunate to get it,” said Frank Rotunda, who runs Warrior Lacrosse Club.

Rotunda is in the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame; he was a college coach for more than 20 years at the Stevens Institute of Technology and also served as that school’s athletic director before his retirement. Rotunda moved to Fallbrook in 1999, before lacrosse had status as a CIF high school sport in the San Diego Section, and began officiating the sport in San Diego County once he learned of the existence of local high school lacrosse.

Rotunda, who played high school lacrosse in Long Island, also coached Fallbrook High School’s boys team for four years as the varsity head coach before serving as the junior varsity coach during his fifth year with the high school program. “Most of the teams that play in the North County League are long-standing programs with a lot of youth lacrosse in their community,” he said.

Rotunda found another coach to take over the high school program and began focusing on the feeder program he felt necessary for a high school team to be successful. Two years ago the program was initiated with weekly clinics at Potter Junior High School and Sullivan Middle School to gage interest. The majority of children involved were from Potter, and that school’s proximity to Zion Lutheran School and St. Peter’s made Potter the best choice for the program to practice and hold home games against visiting San Diego County Lacrosse Association teams.

“It made more sense to run a program out of Potter,” Rotunda said. “So that’s what we did last year.”

Sullivan students are still welcome, as are Zion Lutheran, St. Peter’s, and Vallecitos School students. “Anybody could really be involved if they’re in town,” Rotunda said.

Rotunda applied for the US Lacrosse grant in summer 2005. “I knew about the US Lacrosse equipment grant program and knew it would be worthwhile to apply,” he said.

The equipment grant provides a full set of equipment for 24 field players and one goaltender and includes pads, helmets, balls, and nets. “That’s pretty much what you need to get going,” Rotunda said.

Without the grant, the participation cost would have been raised by at least $300 to purchase the equipment. “That would eliminate a lot of people in this community,” Rotunda said. “That’s a lot of money for some of the kids in this community.”

The US Lacrosse grant reduces participant cost to $100 dues plus $20 for US Lacrosse membership. The Warrior Lacrosse Club has approximately 25 committed players for the 2007 season which begins in spring and has games twice a week. Two of the players are sixth-graders while the rest are approximately evenly split between seventh-grade and eighth-grade students.