Recently, we met with a club lacrosse team in the growing hotbed of Minnesota called 36 Lacrosse as part of their partnership with BSN Lacrosse. The great thing about this club is that these guys get it. Their club slogan is, “Every kid leaves with a sweat and a smile.” Considering that there are probably a ton of people looking to exploit a growing market, I thought it was great that this team is putting a priority on their kids having fun, while getting helping grow the game by teaching young players the skills necessary to be successful.
INSIDER CONTENT: I had the chance to speak to 36 Lacrosse at one of their training sessions on behalf of BSN Lacrosse. I shared a speech I called ‘Four Things Every Young Lacrosse Player Should Know. Check it out here.
36 Lacrosse was started in the Land of 10,000 Lakes before there were really any other club teams on the scene. They were concerned that players from the Minnesota area weren’t having an opportunity to develop their skills while playing the sport they loved.
“There wasn’t a place anything for players to really train and develop their tactical skills,” said Ted Sperides, owner of 36 Lacrosse.
They saw a need in the community.
“Based on the growth of the business early on, it seems like there was a need for it as many kids outside of that original group started signing up for our training,” Sperides said.
From there, the club took off.
The business started in the summer of 2013. That first summer, they started with a group of 12 boys that trained twice per week. They were then hired by a local town program to come in and help with player and coaching development.
In 2015, they opened their indoor facility. They started working with about 100 kids in the area on-and-off throughout the year doing training sessions. In 2016, they launched Team36 and had two teams — one boys high school team and one girls high school team.
Now in 2019, they have six boys teams and two girls teams for Team36 and continue to work on a contract basis with many local association and high school teams. They have three full-time employees and 12 part-time coaches.
They have been a large part as to why lacrosse in Minnesota has exploded.
“Lacrosse is booming in Minnesota, not only in participation at the youth and high school level, but also the talent level with how many kids are going on to play in college. We have two mens and three womens NCAA programs now, which allows players to play college lacrosse here in Minnesota. Combined with the college club teams there is more exposure to high level lacrosse. People are becoming more educated in the game and in turn wanting to do more with the game. I think 36 Lacrosse and our counterparts are providing opportunities for players to play year-round, and receive high-level coaching in order to compete at the regional and national level against better lacrosse teams. That helps bring the talent level up and those unique experiences are attractive to younger players looking to get into the sport, so they start playing at an earlier and earlier age,” explained Sperides.
Even with all of the growth and success that 36 Lacrosse and the lacrosse scene in Minnesota has had, the club still puts a priority on doing things the right way. That’s why we at BSN Lacrosse are proud to partner with them.
