A Look at Lacrosse in Southern Maryland

Story by Laurie Coyle and Photography by Mike Stringfellow

"Is that that sport with the net on the end of the stick?"

That was the question Chopticon High School boys' lacrosse coach Mike Boyle, often received when he moved to St. Mary's County from Central New York in 1996. Having picked up his first lacrosse stick when he was five years old, Boyle was shocked to find most people in Southern Maryland knew very little about this sport dating back to the American Indians.

It's a big thing in my hometown," he said. Boyle grew up near Syracuse, one of the hotbeds for lacrosse in the United States, along with Long Island, New York, and Baltimore.

Boyle pushed to get a lacrosse program started in the St. Mary's County Public Schools and went from leading teams to state championships and even spending time in Europe coaching the German National Team, to working with students who had never picked up a lacrosse stick before. Since then, he has seen a few students go on to play lacrosse in college.

Lenny Casalino of Huntingtown played high school lacrosse in Long Island and was an All American player on the University of Maryland's national championship team in 1967. He started a youth league in Calvert County in 1986 and 15 years later, got a program approved in the public schools. Casalino is now president of the Southern Maryland Youth Lacrosse Association (SMYLA).

"In Southern Maryland, as well as throughout the U.S., statistics show that lacrosse is the fastest growing sport," Casalino said. "Each year, we struggle to find more coaches, more practice sites, and more finances to suit the kids up."

Casalino was recently inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse, Potomac Chapter, Hall of Fame, for his efforts to promote the sport in this area.

With an extensive background in playing, coaching and officiating lacrosse in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, Mike Hyland got involved in the Calvert Lacrosse Club soon after moving to Huntingtown in 1999. Hyland now sits on the Board of Directors for the U.S. Lacrosse, Potomac Chapter, representing Southern Maryland.

"I'm a lacrosse nut," he said. "I have wrestled, played football, baseball, basketball, softball, and anything else my six brothers wanted me to play. Lacrosse is hands down the best of them all."

Hyland said many people believe lacrosse is "hockey in the air," but in his opinion, it combines aspects of many sports. "It combines the speed/running of soccer, the hitting of hockey and football, the defenses and offenses seen in basketball, and the hand-eye (coordination) of baseball," he said.

Hyland said lacrosse is booming in Southern Maryland, but he'd like to see Charles County get on board.

Jeremy Hebb of La Plata, who played lacrosse for two years at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, said he would consider getting involved in a youth league in Charles County. He became interested in lacrosse after being told he was too small to play football.

"I still have a scar," he said, smiling and pointing to his rib cage. "It was a lot of fun."

Colleen Bonnel of Mechanicsville, an assistant coach for the St. Mary's Girls' Lacrosse League (SMGLL), said several kids from Charles County travel to St. Mary's to play and the number of players in the girls' league is increasing every year.

"We're excited to see the growth that's happening," she said.

Bonnel, who grew up in Baltimore County and played lacrosse at St. Mary's College of Maryland, said she helped start the SMGLL when her daughter took an interest in playing. Bonnel hopes in time, the youth teams will become good feeder programs for the high schools, making the players more competitive with other jurisdictions.

"We do it for the kids and the youth in the county," she said. "The more diversification (in local sports), the more opportunities there are for kids to get involved."

To learn more about the SMYLA, visit the U.S. Lacrosse web site at www.uslacrossepotomac.org.

Whot to Contact:

Calvert County - Boys
Mike Hyland: mhyland@appanet.org
Lenny Casalino: lcasalaw@comcast.net

Calvert County - Girls
Elizabeth Erhardt: (410) 394-2772 or berhardt@comcast.net

St. Mary's County - Boys
Peter Nelson: (301) 536-3693 or
ajax@brandes-assoc.com

St. Mary's County - Girls
Pam Hageman: (301) 373-3443 or smglaxl@yahoo.com

Information about the Southern Maryland Youth Lacrosse Association (SMYLA) can be found on the U.S. Lacrosse, Potomac Chapter, web site at www.uslacrossepotomac.org. Information about youth leagues can also be obtained by contacting the Calvert County Parks and Recreation office at (410) 535-1600, ext. 2229 or 2227, or the St. Mary's County Recreation, Parks and Community Services office at (301) 475-4200, ext. 1800.