As lacrosse comes West, sport gains popularity with club team at
Hollister’s Rancho San Justo Middle School
The sport of lacrosse perhaps needed to find its foothold in
Hollister, and seventh-grader Patrick Ippolito properly provided
one.
The 12-year-old from Rancho San Justo followed up with the
school’s lacrosse unit during P.E. earlier this year and approached
teacher Bill Parcell.
As lacrosse comes West, sport gains popularity with club team at Hollister’s Rancho San Justo Middle School
The sport of lacrosse perhaps needed to find its foothold in Hollister, and seventh-grader Patrick Ippolito properly provided one.
The 12-year-old from Rancho San Justo followed up with the school’s lacrosse unit during P.E. earlier this year and approached teacher Bill Parcell.
“I just wanted to play it more often,” Ippolito said. “It was just fun the first time I played it.”
Sometimes, that’s all it takes.
“Parcell was really into it, too,” Ippolito added, “and it seemed fun to me.”
Parcell, who played lacrosse for two years while attending Chico State in 1989, figured the sport would have caught on by now. He’s not shocked, however, by the excitement it brings to those who play it for the first time.
A mixture of soccer, hockey and football, among other sports, lacrosse has been wildly popular on the East Coast for years, and has been slowly moving West with increased visibility on television through collegiate national championships as well as start-up professional leagues, including the recently formed San Jose Stealth, which is part of the National Lacrosse League.
The sport has caught on a little faster at Rancho, though.
“Patrick went out and recruited people,” Parcell said. “He was whispering in people’s ears. He was instrumental in this and the reason why this took off.”
At the start of the school year, Parcell told Ippolito in order to field a club sport, at least three to five individuals would be needed. But following an announcement over the school’s P.A. system, some 23 students showed up and Parcell said 16 come to practice regularly.
“Once the kids started playing it, they loved it,” Parcell said. “I’m not surprised by that at all.”
“Love” may not be the right word, though. Perhaps something stronger is necessary.
Speaking with some of the lacrosse players Tuesday at Rancho, few could find any faults with the sport, including sixth-grader Quinn Mendoza.
“Everything. I like everything [about lacrosse],” he said. “Lacrosse is a fun sport. Everything about it is fun. Hitting people is fun.”
Hitting, of course, is not allowed. But lacrosse is certainly physical, and proper equipment is certainly pricey, just like any other sport. Parcell said the club currently has lacrosse sticks and a ball, while approximately four players have gloves.
Still needed? Cleats, shoulder pads, arm pads and helmets.
The lack of equipment, however, hasn’t stifled the lacrosse spirits of those at Rancho just yet.
“We want to see it at the high school,” said Conner Starke, 12. “I like how it’s physical and how you always have to be doing something.
“I don’t think too many people know about lacrosse.”
The sport, which is said to have Native American origins, is very much like hockey, but instead of using an open-faced stick, players pass and catch with a lacrosse stick, which at first glance would appear to be a modified fishing net. Using the lacrosse stick to pass, catch and carry a solid rubber ball around an open field, players position themselves before slinging the rubber ball toward the goal.
“I think having it for P.E. is making it more popular,” said Tyler Scibuola, 13.
“I like keeping active and having another sport to go to other than just baseball or football,” said Dylan Yamasaki, also 13.
While interest appears high at Rancho, getting lacrosse at San Benito High School would probably mean starting it as a club sport as well, said Athletic Director Tod Thatcher.
Operating under the ASB, the sport would need to show interest among the students, as well as portray longevity. Equipment, coaches and facilities, among other factors, would need to be discussed before board approval.
“There are so many variables that it is difficult to start a sport,” Thatcher said.
“But if there is a will, there is a way.”
A handful of high schools in the area have added the sport, including Aptos, San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley, Harbor, Soquel, Santa Cruz, Stevenson, York, Carmel, Watsonville, Pacific Grove and Pacific Collegiate.
Former Balers Anthony Parcell and Matt Leal are even playing for lacrosse teams at the collegiate level. Leal is at Cal Poly and Parcell is at Cal State Fullerton, which will be competing in the upcoming Division II national championship in Denver.
“It’s definitely a great sport,” Thatcher said.
“It’s catching on as it moves West. I think it’s just a matter of time.”
For sixth-grader Garret Kelly, playing lacrosse may have almost been a given.
“My dad played in college,” said Kelly of his father, Mike, who attended San Diego State. “He was pretty excited, just telling me that the butt of the stick is pointing at my target and to follow through. I’ve been working on the cradling.”
Paulo Iacuitti, meanwhile, recently moved to Hollister from San Jose, where he played lacrosse at Schallenberger Elementary.
“I loved to play it at my old school and I like to play it here,” said Iacuitti, 13. “The kids liked it [in San Jose], but they didn’t start a team or anything.”
Although the players at Rancho aren’t competing against other schools just yet, they certainly want to. And Ippolito is quite certain this isn’t just a phase.
“It’s not because it’s new,” he said. “It’s been six months since we started it.
“We actually like it.”
Sometimes, that’s all it takes.
