By Susan Manning

Staff writer

Natick parent Pam Ahern’s daughter plays lacrosse and learns more than just the rules of the sport.

Under the tutelage of Natick Youth Lacrosse coach Lyman Phillips Jr., Ahern said her daughter has learned the ins and outs of the popular sport, as well as life skills.

“Lyman … collects vintage lacrosse sticks. After each game, Coach Lyman awards a stick to one of the players to keep for a week. The stick goes to the girl who has put in the most effort that week at practices and games. 

“His focus is not the player who has scored the most goals or exhibited the flashiest playing. Instead, it is on the girl who has tried harder and pushed herself to be better. 

“My daughter was the recipient of one of these sticks, and she displayed it (in her room for a week) proudly! In addition to the stick “award,” Coach Lyman’s continuous enthusiasm and encouragement motivates his players–including my daughter who was new to the sport–to keep at it,” she said.

The Natick parent said Phillips was critical to the kids getting through the pandemic, as well. 

“Coach Lyman also kept players motivated and moving in 2020 when lacrosse season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ahern said.

Let’s hear a little more from Coach Phillips about the program and his dedication to it.

1. What is Natick Youth Lacrosse?

Natick Youth lacrosse (NYL) is a non-profit organization that provides boys and girls in Natick the opportunity to learn about and play lacrosse. Like other youth sports, we use town facilities and we’re in contact with the NHS coaches, but we are independent from the town.

NYL offers children in Natick the opportunity to play lacrosse in a supportive atmosphere. Our general travel teams are not ranked - they are set up to be as even as possible. We try to provide even playing time for all players. For the players that want a more competitive experience, we also have select teams that place a higher emphasis on skills and competitiveness, but players on select also have to practice/play on their age level rec teams.

All our teams play against other towns.

2. What age children can participate?

For the travel teams, both the boys and girls are essentially grouped by grade:

1st/2nd; 3rd/4th; 5th/6th and 7th/8th grades. Lacrosse is a spring sport. These teams usually have two practices a week and a game on the weekend. Select teams add another practice during the week and have another game during the week.

We also have a non-traveling practice for pre-K and kindergartners called Little Laxers. They meet Sunday mornings for 5 or 6 Sunday at the Cole Center. In fact, we’re still taking registrations for that on the Natick Lacrosse website - https://naticklacrosse.com

Unfortunately, registration for the travel leagues is already closed and we’ve already got a few games under our belts.

3. Why do you think kids like playing lacrosse?

Growing up in Texas, I had never seen lacrosse, much less played lacrosse, so I don’t have experience playing, but my son and daughter both played NYL. For the boys, the appeal is pretty obvious - you run around a field with a stick hitting each other while wearing cool equipment that makes you look like a knight! Seriously, there’s the physical aspect of the game. It’s challenging to play with that little ball in a net on the end of a stick. You sprint around and the ball goes really fast and you get to shoot on a goal. Plus you get to get all dirty and smelly with your buddies - what’s not to like?

Same for the girls - minus the padding and knight helmet. You get cool goggles, you have a fancy stick - many of them in very appealing colors and you get to hang out and get messy with your friends - and meet new friends. And the girls’ sticks are even harder to play with because the pocket is not as deep.

Seriously, the joy from catching a pass on the run, making a cool shot, defending or dodging and enjoying a day roughhousing with your friends in the beautiful New England Spring just can’t be beat. Especially after the year we’ve had so inwardly focused, the kids get a real pleasure in getting outside and seeing other kids.

The fun that the players have and the impact that playing lacrosse has on their life is reflected in the wonderful high school players who have come back - on their own time - to help  coach the younger kids. And we have some girls who have taken additional training to allow them to become junior referees - which is an incalculably valuable contribution - without refs you can’t play games and that impacts the sport’s growth. Plus all these returning players are very inspiring and our players really look up to them. Plus nothing beats learning from “a real lacrosse player.”

4. Anything else?

You know, I think that some of the kids get a real kick out of doing something that mom and dad can’t / didn’t do and might not even know about. Although we do see parents who’ve played lacrosse - and we’re seeing more and more of that recently, the majority of parents whose kids are playing have never played before - the kids are teaching their parents about lacrosse; that has to be a treat for the kids.

The downside is that mom and dad might not know how to practice with them, but then again kids and their parents and siblings can all learn together.

Additionally, NYL is a relatively small program. So it’s easy to get to know entire teams, and the players will probably get to know everyone in their levels. You’re not going to get lost here. And we have great rapport with the high school programs.

5. So what do you do for NYL?

This season, I’m the Girls’ Director; I’m filling an unexpected vacancy. I guess I was too slow putting my finger beside my nose when they asked for a volunteer! I’m also on the Board of Directors, I’m the Registrar and I usually coordinate the 3rd/4th grade teams, although this year I’m letting someone else do that since I’m a little busy with other NYL responsibilities.

Oh yeah, I’ve also been coaching 3rd/4th grade girls for 14 years. So there’s that. In case you’re doing the math, the girls I’m coaching now weren’t born until I was already coaching at least 4 years, and the first girls I coached graduate college this year - and I’m proud to say that a few of them continued playing lacrosse all the way through high school.

You know, I think the next questions should be “What does lacrosse do for you?”

6. OK, I’ll bite. To put it another way, “what do you get from volunteering with NYL?”

That’s easy. I get to be outside participating in a sport I love. I get away from the office. I’ve met some great people - both other coaches and parents - that have become friends.

When my kids were part of the program (and that was many years ago - they’re 27 and 23 now), it was great for us to have something to share. We’d go out and toss the ball around - all of us - and have a great time together. I got to see them become more skilled and to overcome challenges - because lacrosse requires skills that aren’t everyday skills, like carrying around a ball in a little net on the end of a long stick and win games and sometimes lose games.

And now, I get to experience a little bit of that still, while coaching. It’s pretty heady stuff to see the joy of a child when they make a great catch, score their first goal or do a great play with their friends and know that you had a small part in that achievement.

Also, they inspire me to try to stay in shape. I joke that I have to keep doing those laps around the Cole Center path because each year I’m another year older, and each year, they’re still 8 or 9 years old.

7. OK... question number 7 and I’m throwing you an easy pass. What’s the final thing you want to tell our readers about lacrosse?

First of all, if you have any questions, there’s a contact form on our website at https://naticklacrosse.com. I’m pretty sure that goes to me and I’ll answer them myself or route your questions to the right person. You can also find games listed there on the scheduler.

Second, if you’re a parent whose kid is in lacrosse, don’t be afraid to join in. I mean, I’m the last person you’d picture being a girls coach - I mean first, I’m a guy; second, I never played lacrosse; third, I use a wheelchair. If I can do it, you probably can too. It takes commitment, and I checked in with the family before I took on more responsibilities, but the rewards are worth it. The rewards of an activity with your kids and the benefit to the community.

Lastly, seriously give lacrosse consideration when your son or daughter are thinking about a Spring sport. We have lots of opportunities to give it a try. Like I said, we have little laxers in the Spring, and registrations are still open. We have a free clinic in the fall and if you like that, the boys always have a winter clinic and the girls are trying to get more Winter activities rolling as well.

It’s a lot of fun for the kids, and it’s pretty fun for moms and dads as well.