Taking a step forward for the future of lacrosse in the Gretna community, the Gretna Boys lacrosse team announced a new varsity team in addition to their current junior varsity team in their second year as an organization. The varsity and JV teams’ first games will be on Wednesday against Elkhorn North at Elkhorn High School.
“I feel like we have some preparation to do [for the game, but I’m feeling pretty good about where are as a newer team,” sophomore Quinn Bera said.
The team takes anyone who wants to start playing or learning lacrosse.
“We have a lot of kids that have played lacrosse for a while, and we have some kids just starting to play this year,” Assistant Coach Matthew Shrader said. “We will take anyone that wants to give it a shot and teach them the game.”
The more that the sport can grow in Nebraska the higher the chance of lacrosse being recognized under the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA), because it currently is not. This is why lacrosse teams across the state do not officially belong to any schools. Instead, they play under the Nebraska High School Lacrosse Association (NELAX).
“It [not being under the NSAA] is definitely a disadvantage,” junior Wyatt Estee said. “We are very fortunate to have coach Matt Shrader on our staff to provide facilities like the weight room, gym and a turf field to have us practice on.”
While being grateful for the school giving the team access to its facilities, the team wants to officially belong in Gretna Public Schools.
“The school still lets us use the gym and field, which is nice of them, but I think we should be a part of the school instead of being a club team,” Bera said.
To be sanctioned under NSAA, they need not only more players but also more people watching the games to help bring attention to the fact that Nebraska has lacrosse teams available.
“I hope attendance will be higher to gain more interest in the city, but since we still have to play out-of-state teams, that is not a good sign for sanction,” Estee said.
The more support the better for these athletes, and the season is quickly approaching but the players have been practicing all winter to help be the most ready they could be.
“The thing that I couldn’t be more proud of is all of the work that the guys have put in this offseason, that is true for everyone involved,” Shrader said.
The Gretna Boys hope that the more people watch and gain an understanding of what lacrosse is, the more the sport will grow in Nebraska, hopefully leading to being under the NSAA.
“I think that [people not understanding lacrosse] has something to do with it [stopping it from being sanctioned under NSAA],” said Shrader. “I also think outside of Omaha and Lincoln, students participating in the sport is slim to none. So both of those things affect the thoughts of all voting school districts.”
In the most simple terms, boys’ lacrosse is a game of 10 players versus 10 players from each team. They play on a field the same length as a football field but slightly wider. For positions, three midfielders who play both defense and offense, three defensive players, three offensive attackmen, and finally the goalie.
“Lacrosse is a mix of many sports like hockey, soccer, and basketball,” Estee said. “A fast-paced, physical, contact sport that requires a lot of teamwork to get the ball in the back of the net.”
Both the JV and varsity team’s full schedule can be found on the NELAX site, along with the scores and where the games will be played.
