Lacrosse may never be as popular in the southern United States as it is in the Northeast, but it’s certainly on the come-up in Florida.
Need proof? Just go to Durant High School and ask around.
The school’s boys lacrosse program is barely four years old this year and already entering its second season as an officially-sanctioned HALAX (Hillsborough County Lacrosse Alliance) team. The girls team has spent its only two seasons in existence as a HALAX team and even made the playoffs in its first season. Thanks to talking points like this, those involved with the Cougars can honestly say that the sport’s future is looking far brighter around these parts than ever before.
“We had 39 guys come to try out this year,” boys head coach Andrew Madden says. “We had to cut 11 guys to get down to 28, to match the girls, which was amazing.”
For perspective, the Cougars had just enough kids try out in 2014 to meet the minimum roster requirements: 23 boys and girls.
Durant was a part of HALAX’s 2014 inception, which brought the Cougars’ program together with Alonso, Freedom, Jefferson, Newsome, Plant, Robinson, Steinbrenner, Tampa Bay Tech and Wharton high schools to create two districts: 15 and 16. This season, HALAX was able to add teams at Bloomingdale and Sickles high schools.
Durant’s program can be seen as a microcosm of what’s advancing in both Hillsborough County and at the school itself, with both of its teams offering different perspectives.
THE BOYS
The Durant boys team is set up to do well in the future, thanks to the word getting out about its program. According to Madden, the incoming freshman class has much more experience with the sport than the last one, and this class should yield some good talent.
The team also has a pair of sought-after seniors in Robert Seguin, who has committed to Hendrix College, in Arkansas, and Jordan Jolly, at whom Madden says is getting looked at by several schools. It’s players like these two who are creating the blueprint for the future, as far as recruiting and collegiate prospects are concerned.
Much like in football, a Florida lacrosse prospect’s best chance to be evaluated and recruited will come at a skills camp or showcase. Colleges aren’t clamoring to send scouts to any of the high schools just yet but, if everything goes according to plan, it’ll only be a matter of time before they start showing up at the HALAX schools, some of which have already gotten on collegiate radars.
“I’ve got to do a good job of setting the schedule up, before the season ends, getting us into games against teams that will be looked at,” Madden says. “This year, we’ve got Newsome on our schedule, and I think that was a big game that maybe, in the future, we’ll start getting some looks from.”
THE GIRLS
The girls really know what it’s like to start from nothing and fight for support.
Last year, first-time head coach Kiara Klingler took a team that featured only three girls with previous playing experience to the playoffs. This year, she’s once again working with a large number of girls that are new to the sport. Thanks to that playoff appearance, things are different.
“A lot of people know about it now,” Klingler says. “When I used to go to Durant — I graduated in 2011 — I played for Newsome. And, nobody knew anything about (lacrosse). They were like, ‘What is la-crotch?’ I would explain it, but nobody had any idea. Some boys played, but I was the only girl who played it.
“But, now, we have people showing up to the games, or coming out to practice to watch us, to see what’s going on. I’ve had a couple of girls say that they want to try out next year.”
Despite losing many players to graduation, jobs or whatever turns their lives took, the team is visibly growing. This year, Klingler has 30 girls on the squad.
And, around Durant, lacrosse spirit is at an all-time high, even if most are still learning about lacrosse itself.
“The school is very supportive,” Klingler says. “Anything we need, they’re more than happy to give us. It’s hard because they don’t really know all the rules, what’s required for games and all that stuff, so it’s kind of up to me and my coaching staff, and extra parents who just kind of help out. But, if we need anything, (Durant is) on it right away to get it done, and that means a lot.”
No one has seen the impact that the sport has made within the school like the coach has, and she couldn’t be happier that the people at her alma mater finally all know what lacrosse is.
“It went from nothing, to we’ve got a little something going on,” Klingler says.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
CHECK IT OUT
Want to catch lacrosse fever for yourself? If so, you have one more chance to catch a Durant home game before the end of the regular season.
Durant will host Robinson High School Monday, March 30, with the girls set for a 5 p.m. start and the boys set for a 7 p.m. start.