"The Line-Up"
A Message from Editor-in-Chief, Joey Picard
Welcome to the 25th Anniversary season of Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse! And welcome to the spring issue of The Scoop: Digital Magazine of MBYLL.
We’ve had a busy off-season getting ready for a significant year for the league. There are big plans to make this the most memorable and exciting year in our history. We’ve experienced some major changes, such as player registration and new additions to our all-volunteer board of directors. We also introduced and awarded two scholarships: one for a graduating 8th grader and another for a high-school aged Associate Official. We look forward to profiling the two
outstanding young recipients in the next issue of the magazine.
For this issue of the magazine, we’re highlighting an extraordinary group of young athletes who came together for one weekend last summer to participate in a local tournament. They trickled into Providence as quiet, shy strangers from town programs all over the league. They took on tried-and-true club teams from all over New England and proved that with strong fundamentals and a love for the game, unity in the form of character, camaraderie, and community can develop very quickly and very efficiently. We hope you enjoy the story of the Mass Bay Stars.
Also in this issue is a dissection of “Chumash” lacrosse, which is a unique 3-on-3 version of this game which is great for indoor spaces, outdoor fields, and my personal favorite: the beach! I think you’ll find its history and application very interesting and useful.
There are roughly 18,000 boys between 1st and 8th grade playing town lacrosse with us this spring. They are part of a collective group of lacrosse players numbering well over 100,000 who’ve played town lacrosse in Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse over the last 25 years.
This is a special sport with a fascinating history and sacred traditions. Perhaps none is as powerful and meaningful as the communities this sport created, starting with Native American tribes in the 15th Century.
Be proud of playing for your town this spring and being a part of your local community through this sport: “The Creator’s Game”. There’s nothing like playing with your friends and classmates, wearing your town’s name on your jersey with honor, and taking your rightful place on the fields where thousands of youth athletes learned this game. Spring is for beginnings. And now we begin the next chapter of Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse, with you, our shining stars.
Hoping you have a fun, safe, and productive season of lacrosse with many victories (on-and-off the field).
Joey Picard, Editor-in-Chief
4 The Scoop / Spring '17