Lacrosse program aims to grow interest in sport among Chicago students
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two of the top Division I men's lacrosse teams in the country went head-to-head in a special exhibition game in Chicago last weekend in hopes of inspiring the next generation of players.
The game aimed to support a local program that's been helping kids using the sport of lacrosse.
On Sunday, the defending men's lacrosse national champion Notre Dame faced off against Harvard in an exhibition game at Lane Stadium. It was headline event of "Playing for Peace" weekend, which was part of Notre Dame's decade-long partnership with the O.W.L.S.
"I think it's huge," said Bryce Woodson, O.W.L.S. chief program officer. "I think for the city of Chicago alone to have high-level lacrosse in the city to see, for students who haven't been able to see even a high school lacrosse game, for them to go get to see some of the best players in the world is unparalleled."
O.W.L.S. stands for "Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools." The program was started in 2011 by Sam Angellota, a former club lacrosse player at Indiana University who got his master's degree from DePaul University. The program has been around for over a decade now, bringing the sport to underserved communities in Chicago, including at Hamline Elementary in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.
"Using lacrosse as a tool to get them interested in something at school, that gets them interested in the academic side," said Matt Weigh, O.W.L.S. program manager. "And so I saw the power of it through my own experience and the ability to pass that on to future kids. I'm an educator, that's what I do and to be able to do it in this specific way I thought was really powerful."
And the kids, including Aleem Waheed and Marcus Tucker, who are in their third year with O.W.L.S., seem to really be embracing the sport.
"I like the sport because it's good for me and the teammates are good and it's just the right sport for me and I like playing it, to have fun," said Waheed.
Tucker said, "I saw others playing it and I was very interested and plus it was the last sport that was on the paper, so I just gave it a shot, and then after I started playing it more, I started to like it. And I think it's something that I would do for a long time."
The coaches were enjoying it, too, even if sometimes the job can require a certain amount of patience.
"They push you, but they push you so that they know that you will continue to come back," said Weigh. "So it does require a good amount of patience day over day to even continue showing up and continue being your best self."
The O.W.L.S. coaches have seen their patience pay off with their players showing improvement on the field and more kids getting interested in joining the program.
"We have the largest amount of girls in our program," said Woodson. "I would love to see us have like a realized girls team, have that be the first one in the O.W.L.S. program, and from there, I would love to see some of these students go on and become leaders at their high schools."
Woodson and Weigh said they were both excited to go with the kids on their journey with lacrosse and wherever it takes them.