OUR IMPACT
Who we serve
Each year, MetroLacrosse offers free, year-round sports-based youth development and education programs to more
than 700 youth and teens in Boston's urban communities.
Starting in 3rd grade and continuing through 12th grade with an active Alumni community, MetroLacrosse serves youth and teens throughout the cities of Boston, Chelsea and Brockton.
Our Community
MetroLacrosse is proud that its programs reflect the racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of Boston’s
neighborhoods as a whole. A common interest in lacrosse and sports-based learning brings players, families,
volunteers, donors and staff together in powerful and intentional ways. Since the sport of lacrosse has not
traditionally been played in urban areas, MetroLacrosse has seized an opportunity to provide access to a sport
that would otherwise be unavailable to its participants. Today, MetroLacrosse is the largest and most comprehensive urban lacrosse and
youth development program in the United States.
The demographics of MetroLacrosse participants reflect the diversity of their communities (36% African-American,
21% Latino, 24% Caucasian, 3% Asian, and 16% bi-racial/other). Unlike typical lacrosse programs, MetroLacrosse
draws participants from low-income neighborhoods and more than 91% of participants attend public schools. While
most MetroLacrosse youth speak English, more than 24% speak another language at home including Arabic, Chinese, Creole,
French, Spanish, Somali, Portuguese, and Vietnamese.
Why MetroLacrosse?
Since its origin, MetroLacrosse has been focused on providing youth development and educational opportunities through sports.
This concept addresses a number of significant community-wide needs including the rise in childhood obesity, teen
violence, and a shortage of affordable opportunities for youth and teens.
The Team Environment
The team sports environment provides a unique opportunity to address cultural differences and to bridge social gaps.
For example, during the spring season, participants engage in community-based settings and team competition allows for play
between neighborhoods. During the summer, however, participants are intentionally divided into groups where 2-3 youth from
each neighborhood are combined together on a single team.
Not only does this intentional integration provide ample opportunity for kids from different neighborhoods to get to
know one another, it creates a citywide MetroLacrosse community that links youth, families, volunteers and donors in ways
that they may not encounter elsewhere. Each year, when the neighborhood based teams play each other in the spring season,
the players greet each other with exclamations like, “Hey! I remember you from camp!” It is a unique sense of camaraderie
in Boston that spans across neighborhood affiliations, race, gender, age and socio-economic status.
