Dear Cambridge Youth Lacrosse Community,
Welcome to the 2024 season!
This spring we celebrate CYL's 10th year of organized league play! That's 10 amazing years of Cambridge Youth Lacrosse representing Cambridge throughout Massachusetts. Bring out the tin and aluminum!
We have gone from a shared idea over lunch to a vibrant growing Cambridge community. I couldn't be prouder of all of our athletes, families, and volunteers, both past and present, for making things possible!
Call for athletes - continue to spread the word! In 2023, we had ~250 registered CYL athletes. This total is amazing and worthy of praise, but actually down from our pre-COVID highs. With your help, we can continue to increase program awareness and exceed our participation records. All it takes is for everyone to share their experiences with friends, neighbors, and social networks. Whether it's active word-of-mouth and classmate recommendations or passive CYL-branded sartorial choices and social media mentions, we appreciate everything you do to raise awareness in our program.
Call for multi-sport athletics - play different sports every season! We are strong believers in multi-sport athletics. Your athletes should play as many sports as they can, for as long as they can. Before you know it, they'll have to make sports commitments at the high school level. Until then, there are very few advantages to early sport specialization. We encourage everyone to continue ensuring that their athletes are playing different sports, every season. It is healthier for growing athletic bodies and minds and your teams across sporting seasons will reap benefits!
Call for volunteers - if you can do it, we can benefit from it! Cambridge Youth Lacrosse is 100% enthusiastic volunteer run. We are powered by the passion and magic of our community. Please consider volunteering your skill set to keep CYL always moving forward. We appreciate any way you can contribute!
Call for support - include CYL in your annual giving! If volunteering your skills and time are not in the cards, please consider sponsoring a team or including CYL in your annual giving. It is our mission to make sure that everyone that wants to play lacrosse, gets to play. With the support of our donors and sponsors, we have been able to provide equipment, insure players, and cover league fees for many families in need.
As we look to the next decade, our goal is to continue to offer the best inclusive, inexpensive, and rewarding youth sports experience possible. One of the greatest feelings for us is seeing our athletes not only develop on the lacrosse field, but mature into valued members of our Cambridge community volunteering, mentoring, and pursuing educational and employment opportunities locally.
The last ten years have been beyond amazing with each new season better than the last. Let's keep the streak going in 2024!
Our website is information rich. Use it. Share it.
http://www.cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org
We have a social presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Help grow CYL by following us and sharing your experiences/media.
Feel free to contact us anytime with questions or concerns via email at play @ cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org. We will get back to you promptly!
Cambridge Youth Lacrosse only exists for the betterment of our athletes. The goal of CYL is to enable any child wishing to play lacrosse in Cambridge to do so regardless of experience or resources. We believe in hard work, team camaraderie, sportsmanship, and having fun! If any of these beliefs do not come naturally to your athlete, that's OK, we will learn their value together. This is the beauty of using sport for not only fun and health reasons, but also to teach life lessons and social dynamics.
Our coaches are made up of parents, teachers, students, former players, and new fans that love lacrosse. Most importantly though, our coaches are ALL passionate volunteers. Please recognize their efforts and support them as much as possible.
It is well known that teams accomplish more than individuals. You DO NOT need experience with lacrosse to be invaluable! Here are some ways that you can join our team to strengthen Cambridge Youth Lacrosse:
If you are interested in volunteering, check out our listing of needs here:
http://cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org/volunteer.html
Or better yet, let us know your time availability and skill set and we will work with you to find a mutually beneficial match given your real life constraints.
Drop us a line here: volunteer @ cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org.
Spring 2024 registration is open from November 6th through February 10th, 2024.
You can register for the 2024 spring season here:
www.cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org/registration.html
Teams are filled on a first come, first served basis. Please note that we unfortunately had to turn away a number of late registrants last season, so register early to guarantee yourself a roster spot!
Weather permitting, our first outdoor practices will begin Saturday, March 25th with league games starting on Sunday, April 7th.
Danehy Park serves as the primary practice field space for all of our players and the home gameday field for our girls teams. Parking is most easily accessed via New Street or Fern Street entrances.
Boys play their home games at Russell Field by Alewife.
Girls play their home games at Danehy Park Field #3.
Until then, work hard during your winter seasons and if you have extra time, spend 10min cradling with both hands or working toward your wall ball challenge goals.
We want everyone in Cambridge interested in playing lacrosse, playing! Through generous donations, we are able to offer scholarships, financial assistance, and payment plans to those in need. Don't hesitate to apply. All requests and awards are private.
You can apply today here:
http://www.cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org/financialAid.html
If you have the means to purchase equipment for your son or daughter, please do so. We recommend purchasing new equipment at a dedicated lacrosse store or the DICK'S Sporting Goods store in Medford, MA. They run special 20% off days for Cambridge Youth Lacrosse on weekends closer to the season. Also, if you go to our DICK'S Sporting Goods sponsor page and click on the lower left hand banner, there are a number of additional 10% off coupons.
If you do not have the means to purchase equipment for your athlete, don't worry. There will be equipment available for loan for the season during our Equipment Swap Week scheduled for the first week of outdoor practices.
A tax-deductible donation to Cambridge Youth Lacrosse can really help us in our mission to promote the growth of both boys and girls lacrosse right here in Cambridge! Through your generous contribution, you will be partnering with us in providing financial assistance to our players in need, keeping our out-of-season fall and summer programs FREE to the community, and acquiring game and protective equipment.
Give what you can. Give what you feel! We appreciate ALL levels of support!
You can donate online here:
www.cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org/donate.html
If you ever have questions or feedback, don't hesitate to reach out to me personally! I can be reached here:
heyworth @ cambridgeyouthlacrosse.org
Again, welcome new and returning families and we're excited to share this special 10th Anniversary Season with you!
Continue to spread the word about Cambridge Youth Lacrosse in-person and online and GO FALCONS!
Alejandro
Cambridge Youth Lacrosse is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to growing both boys and girls lacrosse in Cambridge through a combination of skill development, mini-games, and competitive play.
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2024 © Cambridge Youth Lacrosse, Inc. ALL Rights Reserved.
Printed on March 25th, 2024 9:11 PM
