New Horizons was again asked by Miss Debbie’s Super Star class at the University of Texas Child Development Center to come and share a lacrosse experience during their “Sports Week”.  As well as a childcare specialist, Miss Debbie is a competative shot-putter and loves sports week. These pre-schoolers got a quick show-and-tell about the Native American heritage of this game and then, the “good stuff”. Trying on equipment and scoring goals is what gets their attention.

Girls got a choice; they could try the goggle or the helmets and gloves. Some chose both but the pink goggles were a big hit. The kids were rightfully a little bewildered looking out at the world.  The boys, of course, wanted the helmets. They bobbled their way around the play area getting used to the new sensory experience and tried hard to keep the helmets turned so they could actually see where they were going.  Oops, bonk!

Orderly lines, like those no high school team ever formed, suddenly appeared and everyone got a few shots on goal.

Most everyone got at least one goal. As you can imagine, some were naturals. Some were still working on “handedness” – at least the instructor was working to identify left/right tendencies so as to increase the chances of success. In the end, if they learned where lacrosse came from and where the ball goes, well, how cool is that!