AUBURN - When Jeff Hanno, the YMCA youth sports director, took over the position in January, he came to the position with a lot of ideas he has been hard at work implementing over the past few months.
High on that list from the get go has been a youth lacrosse program.
“When I talked to my bosses for the job, we talked about it,” Hanno said. “For years the Y has wanted to do something with lacrosse, but for one reason or another it never came together. And I love lacrosse, so this is something I definitely wanted to do.”
Hanno's program is geared toward exposing young players - between first and sixth grades - to the game.
“When I came here I talked to coach Crosby at the high school,” Hanno said. “He starts with kids at seventh grade. So we didn't want to interfere with what he was doing. But we figured if we did something with younger kids it would be a good opportunity to work with them and build up a program.”
The Y's program has attracted a good mix of long-time and new players.
“This is the first time I've really played,” Alex Fudo said. “A lot of my friends play and my cousins and I thought it would be fun. We play together sometimes, but this is the first time I've really played. I like it a lot and I know I want to play it a lot.”
Others have been playing for as long as they could hold a stick, but said there is always something new to learn.
“I go to a lot of clinics and play a lot,” Brendan Entenmann said. “And it is still a lot of fun. You get to keep in shape and learn more and really get ready to play.”
Hanno said lacrosse has become increasingly popular in recent years, which has contributed to the need to have a program built for young children much the same way football and baseball have developed programs for all ages.
“More and more kids are getting into it, absolutely,” Hanno said. “There is a lot of action; it is sort of the fastest game on two feet and I think that gets a lot of kids excited and into the game.”
Young players like Dan Entenmann said the constant motion of the game makes it all the more fun.
“You run a lot,” he said. “And passing and shooting, scoring goals is the best. But you get to run a lot and that makes it a lot of fun.”
Almost as soon as he put the idea out there, Hanno said there was immediate response from both kids eager to play and parents ready to lend some help.
“It is just getting started,” Hanno said. “But the response from the kids has been great and we are lucky to have a great coaching staff that wants to help out and get this going.”
Lending their knowledge of the game are coaches Ken Entenmann and Sean Lattimore.
Entenmann played lacrosse for Cornell where he was an all-American and has been coaching locally for 15 years. Lattimore also grew up playing and will be coaching the high school freshman team this year.
Entenmann said this is the perfect time of year for this type of clinic.
“Hockey is ending and baseball won't be starting for another month or so,” Entenmann said. “This is a real open period for youth sports and it is fantastic to give kids the chance to learn about the game.”
Both Entenmann and Lattimore being committed to the sport like they are, they said they were excited to promote it.
“We're just happy to help any way we can,” Lattimore said. “I think this is a great resource for the kids. Most of us didn't start playing until we were 12 or 13, and now kids are starting when they are 5 or 6. I'm just happy to help that any way I can.”
Entenmann said in this program they are seriously stressing the basics to create a solid foundation that these young players can take with them through their entire career.
“We're stressing the fundamentals,” Entenmann said. “The basic skills of running, throwing, cradling the ball. It is more challenging to learn how to do things the right way, but the sooner they learn the easier it is going to be for them and the more fun they are going to have.”
For many players fun has to come first, but they agree that the more they learn the more fun the entire game becomes.
“I used to play with my dad,” Sean Lattimore said. “And I practice a lot and here you get to learn more skills, and that gets you more into it and makes it more fun.”
Right now the lacrosse program is slated to run for seven weeks. Encouraged by the great response, Hanno has already started planning expansion.
“I'd like to get a girls program going,” Hanno said. “Girls lacrosse is getting pretty popular so I'd like to get that started. Right now the major concern is the usage of the facilities, but we'll figure something out. I think from this we could build some leagues and get the kids playing games with other Y's and maybe takes the kids to see some college games and pro games. I think we can really build something good with this here.”
“When I talked to my bosses for the job, we talked about it,” Hanno said. “For years the Y has wanted to do something with lacrosse, but for one reason or another it never came together. And I love lacrosse, so this is something I definitely wanted to do.”
Hanno's program is geared toward exposing young players - between first and sixth grades - to the game.
“When I came here I talked to coach Crosby at the high school,” Hanno said. “He starts with kids at seventh grade. So we didn't want to interfere with what he was doing. But we figured if we did something with younger kids it would be a good opportunity to work with them and build up a program.”
The Y's program has attracted a good mix of long-time and new players.
“This is the first time I've really played,” Alex Fudo said. “A lot of my friends play and my cousins and I thought it would be fun. We play together sometimes, but this is the first time I've really played. I like it a lot and I know I want to play it a lot.”
Others have been playing for as long as they could hold a stick, but said there is always something new to learn.
“I go to a lot of clinics and play a lot,” Brendan Entenmann said. “And it is still a lot of fun. You get to keep in shape and learn more and really get ready to play.”
Hanno said lacrosse has become increasingly popular in recent years, which has contributed to the need to have a program built for young children much the same way football and baseball have developed programs for all ages.
“More and more kids are getting into it, absolutely,” Hanno said. “There is a lot of action; it is sort of the fastest game on two feet and I think that gets a lot of kids excited and into the game.”
Young players like Dan Entenmann said the constant motion of the game makes it all the more fun.
“You run a lot,” he said. “And passing and shooting, scoring goals is the best. But you get to run a lot and that makes it a lot of fun.”
Almost as soon as he put the idea out there, Hanno said there was immediate response from both kids eager to play and parents ready to lend some help.
“It is just getting started,” Hanno said. “But the response from the kids has been great and we are lucky to have a great coaching staff that wants to help out and get this going.”
Lending their knowledge of the game are coaches Ken Entenmann and Sean Lattimore.
Entenmann played lacrosse for Cornell where he was an all-American and has been coaching locally for 15 years. Lattimore also grew up playing and will be coaching the high school freshman team this year.
Entenmann said this is the perfect time of year for this type of clinic.
“Hockey is ending and baseball won't be starting for another month or so,” Entenmann said. “This is a real open period for youth sports and it is fantastic to give kids the chance to learn about the game.”
Both Entenmann and Lattimore being committed to the sport like they are, they said they were excited to promote it.
“We're just happy to help any way we can,” Lattimore said. “I think this is a great resource for the kids. Most of us didn't start playing until we were 12 or 13, and now kids are starting when they are 5 or 6. I'm just happy to help that any way I can.”
Entenmann said in this program they are seriously stressing the basics to create a solid foundation that these young players can take with them through their entire career.
“We're stressing the fundamentals,” Entenmann said. “The basic skills of running, throwing, cradling the ball. It is more challenging to learn how to do things the right way, but the sooner they learn the easier it is going to be for them and the more fun they are going to have.”
For many players fun has to come first, but they agree that the more they learn the more fun the entire game becomes.
“I used to play with my dad,” Sean Lattimore said. “And I practice a lot and here you get to learn more skills, and that gets you more into it and makes it more fun.”
Right now the lacrosse program is slated to run for seven weeks. Encouraged by the great response, Hanno has already started planning expansion.
“I'd like to get a girls program going,” Hanno said. “Girls lacrosse is getting pretty popular so I'd like to get that started. Right now the major concern is the usage of the facilities, but we'll figure something out. I think from this we could build some leagues and get the kids playing games with other Y's and maybe takes the kids to see some college games and pro games. I think we can really build something good with this here.”
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