Lacrosse program growing up

Alex Alviar, program director and founder of 10Sticks Lacrosse, began the team with a single thought.

“I needed to find ten kids,” he said. “All I need is ten.”

Now after three years in existence, 10Sticks beat the number-one team in the league, the Hellgate Knights. They took third at state and second in the 6 Nations Invitational Tournament on the 6 Nations Reservation in Ontario, Canada. They have garnered the support of US Lacrosse and a community who sees them as ambassadors of a culture. The program has grown from a group of kids wearing borrowed hockey gear from the local ice rink, to one with a winning team with sponsors and grant money.

With graduation, 10Sticks is losing the original members who have grown into the strongest players on the team and is at risk of losing everything they have worked for.

Alviar is not worried. He is looking to the future.

Focus on the youth

Alviar said most sports have a feeder program, that teaches athletes the basics of the game at a younger age to prepare them for competition at the high school level. So far, 10Sticks doesn’t have a youth team in place. Alviar said this is the new direction they need to go, because without a solid youth program, the high school team will struggle.

Missoula has had a youth league in place for the past four years and the bulk of their 500 to 600 participants come directly from that program. Alviar is working to create a program comparable to Missoula’s, and he is calling it Next Nation Lacrosse.

As of right now, the program resembles an intramural sports league, keeping all the action in-house. Kids play against one another on smaller teams of four to six.

But even that has its limitations. Alviar said it is harder for parents to get younger children to practices than it is for high school athletes. On top of transportation, the group struggles to find both indoor and outdoor practice space. Alviar has a plan though. He plans to rotate practices between Pablo and St. Ignatius so kids from both sides of the reservation get a chance to play.

Alviar acknowledges the departure of the outgoing seniors will be a setback for the team. However, 10Sticks will not be alone. Every team will be losing their most experienced players. It will be a rebuilding year for 10Sticks, but it will be a rebuiling year for everybody, Alviar said.

“Who has the new athletes remains to be seen,” he said.

Stepping away

This year’s graduating seniors aren’t the only ones leaving 10Sticks. Alviar is passing the reins to the next generation of leaders in the organization, and assuming his new position as the President of Montana Lacrosse. He has decided to assume a much smaller role within 10Sticks, which has yet to be determined.

“How I measure leadership is stepping away,” he said.

Alviar said healthy non-profits don’t have the founder stick around. He would like to see the organization take on a life of its own, independent of him as its founder.

His goal for the next year is to redefine the roles of the board of directors.

The organization is now designated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, which means the board will be deciding on policies and the internal arrangement of the organization. Alviar would like to hold the Creator’s Game Lacrosse camp again in 2014, which could attract fresh young players to the game.

For the older 10Sticks team, he wants them to return to the 6 Nations tournament. But this time, he wants to win it.