Background:

Manchester is the UK’s lacrosse hotbed, due in no small part to local clubs having a presence in schools across the area.

However, since the closure of the LDO programme five years ago, it has become more difficult to get coaches into schools – a lack of funding making it less appealing to both coaches and schools alike. As a result, the number of children playing lacrosse in schools has dropped, and recruiting children to local clubs has become far more difficult.

The Application:

Cheadle Hulme LC has been using a self-employed coach in an attempt to replicate the success of the former LDO programme. They approached The Lacrosse Foundation with a large-scale plan to quadruple the number of children taught lacrosse each week.

The proposal was twofold: offer local schools subsidised coaching; and purchase more robust, modern equipment to make sure the children enjoy the highest quality of lacrosse from the outset.

The Result:

The results have been immediate. Since January, Cheadle Hulme’s community coach, Chris Peacock, has introduced 150 new children to the sport and the club is starting to reap the rewards with youngsters joining the club ahead of the new season. Here’s what Chris had to say:

“I'm now teaching 350 children each week in schools. This is a rise of 150 children each week directly because of the funding and the new equipment I have received from The Lacrosse Foundation. Also because of the funding I've now got contracts with all the schools I'm in, until the end of the school year instead of just a term here and there. 

“The sticks I have bought with the money from the Foundation are the Warrior Wrap Jr which are fantastic. The transferable skills from school lacrosse to club lacrosse is now paralleled and the children are so much better prepared when they to come and play at the club level. 

“At Cheadle Hulme we now have 6 new U12's getting ready for next season and I expect at least 10 more before the summer holidays start which will give us a full team going forward into 2019/20 season.”

And here are some of the comments from the youngsters at Lane End Primary School:

“the sticks deliver a perfect, clean throw" (Liam)

"the sticks are hard-wearing - better than the old plastic ones" (Hannah)

"Mr Peacock makes each session fun, and motivates everyone" (Sam)

"Mr Peacock helped me with my aim" (Harry) 

Background:

King’s College London has one of the UK’s fastest growing lacrosse clubs. Since being formed just five years ago, the club gone from 50 members to fielding six teams this season.

The Application:

The club had just set up a new women’s team when a large amount of their equipment was stolen. Having put most of their resources behind the formation of the new team, it looked like King’s would be unable to replace the equipment, which would severely damage recruitment for the year, and possibly lead to a team folding. They turned to The Lacrosse Foundation for help, hoping we would be able to support them through this period of financial difficulty.

The Result:

After reviewing the application, The Lacrosse Foundation was able to cover the cost of the stolen equipment, making sure that a stroke of bad luck didn’t badly affect a club with a healthy business plan and a desire to grow. Here’s what club captain Tristan Fraser had to say following the donation:

“The Lacrosse Foundation were generous enough to help us out in a time of need by donating 30 men's and women's sticks. Without their help our season and recruitment would have been severely affected, but instead we've had our most successful year to date with recruitment of over 100 members, fantastic performances across all six of our teams and even starting to get involved with some charity work, using The Lacrosse Foundation's sticks to teach local children how to play via the university. Their prompt and kind help was truly invaluable to us this year. Thank you!”

The Lacrosse Foundation is looking for a Communications Manager to join the team as a volunteer.

The Lacrosse Foundation is a newly formed charity with a mission to champion the growth and development of lacrosse in Great Britain. The Foundation is looking for someone with excellent social media, writing and editing skills, who is a good communicator and has a passion to help grow the game of lacrosse.

The volunteer Communications Manager will work closely with Rob Arnott, the trustee leading on marketing and communications for The Foundation.

About the Lacrosse Foundation

The Lacrosse Foundation is the only charity dedicated to supporting and growing the game of lacrosse across Great Britain.

Launched in September 2018, we are a registered charity aiming to promote community participation, assist in the provision of facilities and advance the education of young people in the sport of lacrosse.

We believe lacrosse is a fantastic game and we want to help more people enjoy our great sport, whether that be through playing, coaching, officiating or volunteering.

While we are an independent charity, to help us deliver our vision and mission we work closely with a range of stakeholders across the lacrosse community in England, Scotland and Wales.

Full Role Description

The Lacrosse Foundation is looking for a volunteer Communications Manager to lead the organisation’s day to day communications. Working with the trustee responsible for leading the charity’s marketing and communications, the Communications Manager should have strong writing and editing skills and be comfortable using popular social media channels within a business context.

It is expected that the role will require a commitment of around two hours per week.

In return, we will provide an opportunity for the successful candidate to be an integral part of an exciting, dynamic charity. You will also have the chance to work closely with the board of trustees and shape the future direction of the charity’s communications strategy. This is a great opportunity for an ambitious individual looking to develop their communications experience and skills.

 Essential Skills

• A good writer and editor, able to produce compelling news articles for publication on The Foundation’s website

• Proficient in using social media channels (particularly Facebook and Twitter) to grow the profile of the organisation

• A working knowledge of Mailchimp and ability to craft engaging newsletter content

• Ability to manage a simple CMS

The Role

• Manage day to day social media communications

• Keep The Foundation website up to date

• Work with recipients of grant funding to create engaging news articles and case studies for the website

• Development of regular newsletter

• Prepare reports on comms activity ahead of Trustee meetings

Ways of Working

We are looking for someone who has the time, passion, and skills to play a major role in the development of lacrosse in Great Britain. It is envisaged that this role can be largely delivered remotely at evenings and weekends if required.

Further Information

Please visit The Foundation’s website (https://www.thelacrossefoundation.co.uk) for further information about the charity. If you would like an informal chat about the role, please contact Rob Arnott (rarnott@sportandrecreation.org.uk)

Application

To apply, please send your CV and a Cover Letter outlining your skills and experience to rarnott@sportandrecreation.org.uk by 30 November 2018.