Signing In, Starting Up

So, here we are! SE Lacrosse Development exists as more than just an idea in the founders' heads, to the point where the company has it's first employee - Me!

I'm Sam, and I've come on board to take the role of 'Lacrosse Director' - a fancy title for 'guy who delivers lots of lacrosse sessions in a coherent, joined up way'. Myself and the directors are going to use this blog as a means of documenting the work of the organisation, as well as a means to talk more widely about the challenges facing lacrosse development.

To get the ball rolling, I thought I might use this opportunity to answer some basic questions about the organisation and about my role. Could be useful context for future posts!

What is SE Lacrosse Development?

A collaborative company made up of 3 Lacrosse clubs in the South East: East Grinstead Lacrosse Club

Richmond Lacrosse Club

Spencer Lacrosse Club

What are you here to do?

Good question. The ultiamte vision of SE Lacrosse Development, is to create a sustainable Junior League in the South East. Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of sports development should understand why this is so important for Lacrosse in the UK, so I won't spend to much time going into why this is the goal!

In the short-to-medium term, my job is to deliver as much outreach as possible, and aid in growing (and even establishing!) junior lacrosse sections at the founding clubs.

Why a league?

Junior Lacrosse in the South isn't in the best of shapes at time of writing. While there has been a rich history during the days of direct England Lacrosse support (through the long-gone LDO system), many of the old power-house producers of junior talent have closed down. For example, Welwyn, Hitchin and Blues all have produced generations of players in the past, but none of them opperate junior clubs today. While new clubs have cropped up over the years, none have really been able to be sustainable for more than a few years. This isn't for a lack of trying, talent or desire. The biggest single issue that faces junior programs is competition. I.e - who are your team going to play. The geographically broad nature of SEMLA means that local competition for prospective junior teams has always required long travel times to even play a friendly. Compare this to the abundance of nearby and convenient games that are available to junior football/rugby/hockey clubs, and it's not hard to see why Lacrosse is a tough sell to parents.

So - SE Lax Dev directors came to the conclusion that what is needed is the similtaneous growth of junior sections in proximity to each other.

Rather than waiting for lightening to strike (several clubs independantly growing healthy junior succesfully at the same time), SE Lax Dev wants to have the 3 founding clubs all grow together, with inter-club competition baked into the very core of this growth.

Why you, Sam?

I'm still asking myself the same question...

But I think the directors would say they hired me because:

• I came through a successful junior program at Welwyn - I know what a good setup looks like! 20 years later and I'm still playing, so my coaches must have done something right.
  

• I've got a professional background in Sports Development - I've worked for about 7 years now within Sport/Education, doing everything from running the full portfolio of University Sports teams, to contributing to the persistent growth of Box Lacrosse since 2018.
  

• Coaching history - I've been a qualified coach since I was 16 (no comment on how long ago that was), and I've done more than my fair share in delivering sessions up-and-down the age range. Most recently I had been working with Richmond LC directly to run their U10 section.

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That should about do it for a first post! If you have any questions about the project, or about my work please do get in touch: sam@selacrossedevelopment.com

Sam