In Summer 2024, as part of the Cumbria lacrosse expansion project, Vics Law delivered an introductory training course in Carlisle to a group of school teachers.  The purpose of the course was to provide initial CPD to those attending the day, so they could then introduce the sport to their pupils at their own school.  And one of the better outcomes would be if they could also then in turn support the roll-out the sport to other schools in their surrounding area.

Bianca Cousin, a Teacher & PE Lead at Bolton Primary School (located between Appleby & Penrith) was one who did just that.  In September 2024, TLF approved a grant of £750 to provide the school with a set of 36 Pop-Lacrosse sticks and balls & 4 goals, which would initially enable Bianca to self-deliver lacrosse to Y3-Y6 pupils at Bolton Primary within the curriculum and as an after-school activity. 

Back in 2022, Bolton Primary and seven other local primary schools had formed the Eden Valley Alliance (EVA), as a way of more effectively spending the Government Sports Premium funding, and to offer the children from these rural school communities the chance to mix, compete and engage in physical and sporting activities.

Lacrosse was an ideal sport for this – and six of the eight schools came together to take part in a Lacrosse Festival in May 2025 with 90 pupils enjoying the day.  CPD was given to staff as part of this Festival and some of these designated adults then delivered some of the activities using Lacrosse skills cards, and the teachers being given some planning/lesson ideas to take back to their schools.  The great news is that Lacrosse is now part of the sporting calendar within the EVA, as well as each school's curriculum plans.

Challenges & how does TLF and the lacrosse community overcome them?
The challenge now, as in other locations remote from an established lacrosse club, is how does this initiative continue to develop?  

Q1: How can the EVA establish a network with other schools outside their catchment, to maybe establish a wider inter-school 'competition'?
A: Jo Racle (former player & coach) is voluntarily leading on the ‘Cumbria Expansion’ project. She is in contact with Bianca to look to support her initiative as part of looking to grow lacrosse in and around Penrith. Tournaments in both North & South Lakes are being scheduled & funded by TLF. Jo is supported by both Mike Orme (ex-Heaton Mersey LC), and Vics Law for the coaching.

Q2: How do we ensure lacrosse continues in the EVA schools, accepting that teachers move on from jobs to new employment elsewhere?
A: Providing CPD to more teachers & involving them at the schools can hopefully ensure there is continuity of engagement in lacrosse.   

Q3: What outlet is there for these pupils, if they wanted to continue with lacrosse after Y6? [Border City LC & Kendal both a 50-min drive away].
A: This is a key challenge, for how TLF ‘evolves’ the various projects we have supported in Cumbria, so that it is sustainable. Without a solution, we risk having given the children a taste of lacrosse, and then having to accept their involvement in the sport ends there.   

Since its formation in 1983, Sheffield Steelers has been the leading men’s lacrosse club in Yorkshire, competing in the North’s top division, and providing a number of players for the national team.  It also now has a women’s section in the club, which has helped to broaden the playing opportunities as well as expand the volunteer base.

From its early days, the club ran a junior programme involving local schools - and was until recently the only club in the North outside Greater Manchester running such a scheme.  This has successfully introduced many youngsters to the sport, but the levels of activity had begun to decline for a variety of reasons.

In 2023 The Lacrosse Foundation approved a grant of £4,250 to help the club reinvigorate their junior programme, providing playing equipment (junior sticks, helmets & gloves; and junior rage cage goals) plus coaching provision (training courses, including First Aid course, & costs for 100 hours coaching time).  This enabled the club to go into schools in the local S10/S11 area, focusing on boys & girls aged 9-11, and ensuring that those transitioning to field lacrosse could do so with kit of good quality and in a safe environment.

Junior development (as all those active within it will recognise) is an ongoing effort to introduce and recruit new players - and in an area away from the traditional heartland of the game, to also raise the profile and awareness of the sport.

Over the last twelve months, the Steelers club has introduced the following initiatives:

After-school club
Towards the end of last year, some club members went into Morning Assembly at some of their local primary schools to introduce the club, the sport of lacrosse, and how the children could get involved.  Some of the students from these schools joined the after-school club set up by the club, which is open to children aged 8 to 12.  With 10 juniors now part of this group, some of them had the chance to play their first match as part of the Richmond LC's team at the National U12's Lacrosse Tournament in May. 

Busy in June
During June 2025 the club has been particularly active, and has:

• worked along with the “4 Sheffield School Sports Partnerships” as part of city-wide lacrosse event held at the Olympic Legacy Park under the ‘Sheffield Schools Get Active’ initiative.  Attended by over 100 children from 6 primary schools with their PE teachers, nine volunteer coaches from the club led the skills sessions & pop games; and following positive feedback, further events will be run & CPD offered to teachers.

• attended the 4th annual “Olympic Legacy in Action” community day at the Legacy Park.  This time lacrosse shared the main pitch with the two Sheffield football clubs (Wednesday & United) and rugby league – with over 3,000 youngsters attending the event.  Led by club volunteers, lots of children as well as parents had a go with sticks & enjoyed taking shots a club goalie.  Once again, great feedback received from the event organisers who confirmed lacrosse would be invited back next year.

• spent a day at Abbey Lane Primary School as part of their sports week – to help the children learn the basics of catching and throwing.   Club coaches have also been invited to go into the nearby Totley School next term.

Summer skills
And over the school summer holidays, the ‘Steelers Summer Skills Sessions’ are being run on Saturday mornings 10:00 - 11:30 (26 July - 30 August), aimed at boys & girls aged 8 to 12, at Taptonville Field off Manchester Road, Sheffield.

Such junior development is key to the future of the club, and the continuing existence of the sport in the city of Sheffield. We wish the club every success in its efforts, along with the support it receives from the wider lacrosse community.

The Lacrosse Foundation first supported Oxford City Lacrosse Club’s junior development efforts back in April 2022, with a grant of £2520 to cover coaching hours for their outreach programme in the Blackbird Leys part of Oxford.  More recently in January 2025, we provided a second grant of £2700 for a number of pop-lacrosse sets of equipment (totaling 180 sticks & balls, and 20 mini goals), to extend the Club’s lacrosse offer.  As all involved in junior development will know, it is an ongoing effort which is dependent on a group of dedicated volunteers, who in this case have engaged local groups to expand the sport in the city.

On 11th June 2025, the Matthew Arnold School in Oxford hosted a Primary Schools Lacrosse Festival, with over 60 Yr5 + Yr6 pupils from the five local primary schools who have recently included Lacrosse as part of their PE curriculum.   This initiative was driven by the Lacrosse Club, who have continued to offer outreach coaching to local schools – with support from TLF, as well as from Centurion LC, and a CPD event run by England Lacrosse for primary school teachers in the West Oxfordshire Partnership.   This is the first time a lacrosse partnership between schools and a community club has taken place in Oxford.

Everyone had a lot of fun on the day of the Festival, and the Oxford City club signed up five new players as a result. Lacrosse received some great local coverage on BBC Oxfordshire which you can listen to here. 

Oxford is now a thriving lacrosse city.  The Oxford City club run Men’s, Mixed, Women’s and Junior sections – with the Mixed team having won the National Club Finals for the last two seasons; and both Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University have women's teams in BUCS Premier 1.  The West Oxford schools are now keen to ensure lacrosse becomes a permanent part of the KS2 PE curriculum.

Annabel Campbell (President, Oxford City LC) reflecting on the success of the Festival:
"What a fantastic sight to see over 60 children playing lacrosse. I could hear cheers and shouts of excitement all afternoon - it demonstrates that lacrosse is an exciting sport and accessible to all. There was some real talent on display and I'm hopeful we can develop a West Oxford team to participate in regional and national POP Lacrosse tournaments next year; as well as see our club Junior section at the Oxford Community Day (clubs & unis) in October”.

and

Jake East (Head of PE at Matthew Arnold School) who helped to run the event:
"Lacrosse has been our first sports partnership with a local community club and it's been a huge success. The children's enjoyment was obvious and I thank all the staff for introducing and coaching a new sport within their PE timetable.  We're now planning on creating similar festivals, introducing new sports to as many young people as possible, with the support of community clubs. Lacrosse has been a great sport to launch this initiative and we're keen continue and hold a festival every year."

In January 2025, The Lacrosse Foundation approved a grant of £2,500 for Deer Park Primary School in Twickenham.

Thanks to the grant, the school received 60 lacrosse sticks (STX Mini Power 2) and 4 goals (Forza ProFlex), which allowed the school to introduce lacrosse as a core part of their PE curriculum for Years 5 & 6.

Deer Park prides itself on providing all pupils with opportunities to play a variety of sports to encourage health and happiness while helping them discover a passion they can carry with them for life.  Lacrosse certainly seems to have found a warm welcome at the school. As Deer Park told us, “the sport has been growing in popularity at our school over the past few years. The journey began in 2021 when Richmond Lacrosse Club started an after-school lacrosse programme, and the club quickly gained popularity, and each year our pupils have had the opportunity to compete in matches and tournaments against other local primary schools.”

The sport was also promoted in the school by Veronica, a former pupil and player at Richmond Lacrosse Club who “shared her love for the sport” during a school assembly, which encouraged even more pupils to join the after-school club. 

Lacrosse at Deer Park also received a boost when Scotland Lacrosse players Isabella and Grace Penny visited the school in January 2025 to help kick-start its Year 5 lacrosse programme, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter. This was followed by Sam Perry from Richmond Lacrosse who taught the pupils over the course of six weeks. To the school’s delight this resulted in the children making great progress in mastering foundational skills such as passing, catching, scooping, and running with the ball. These efforts brought a new level of excitement to lacrosse at our school. The links between the school and the Richmond Junior Club will hopefully enable kids to continue to play the game after moving up from Deer Park.

Deer Park acknowledged TLF’s contribution telling us: “We are grateful for the Lacrosse Foundation's generous grant, which has made all this possible. We want to thank Isabella and Grace Penny, and Sam Perry for their support - and we hope many of our pupils will continue to play and enjoy lacrosse long into the future.”