Minorities in lacrosse?

[Anonymous]

Participation in youth sports has been declining for some time. It's unfortunate as most kids don't play pick up on playgrounds either. Lax suffers because travel teams have decimated rec programs (I'm still not sure why local rec leagues couldn't find a solution) and because the sport struggles to train & retain refs (thanks obnoxious parents for being rude & crazy).

The PP is correct that there are very few kids of color in lax. I hope that changes as US Lacrosse continues to support the growth and expansion of the game.

[Anonymous]

Everyone is making generalizations to support their arguments from their POV. There are opportunities for kids to play lacrosse at many different levels starting at rec. One day walking from the tennis court to watch part of a lacrosse game (probably not the entire lacrosse tournament) does not provide the OP the opportunity to see all players in that tournament. Every team's makeup is different, every level is different. Kids that play any sport have to work to improve to move up. Parents have to be supportive and help to provide opportunities to play. Most kids play a sport because they love to play. Some kids don't even play sports - their talents lie elsewhere. If you are interested in providing more opportunities, then volunteer to coach rec teams. Give more kids the opportunity to learn the game and grow.

[Anonymous]

My DD, who is Asian, plays college lacrosse. While there are POC playing lacrosse at the rec level, in high schools and in college, they are relatively few. This is due in part to the expense of the game, but also to implicit bias. If a parent or coach or travel team manager's image of a lacrosse player is a white person, then it's less likely that they'll encourage POC to play the sport. And, that, in turn, means that fewer POC will want to play the sport because they don't see many people who look like them playing it. It's a non-virtuous circle. Interestingly, my DD was strongly encouraged to play tennis -- in part because she's good at the sport, yes, but also, no doubt also because there are more young Asian girls and women playing tennis than playing lacrosse. That stereotype isn't really any different from the stereotype that Asians are good at math, but aren't creative, so they should major in STEM subjects rather than in the humanities.

[Anonymous]

Tons of great players that are Asian and black. Most of the best athletes gravitate towards sports with future earning potential — if you are going to devote your youth career to something and you are a dominant athlete, are you picking lacrosse or basketball? Lacrosse or golf? Lacrosse or tennis? Anyone can play whatever sport they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone can play any sport they want. The choice is theirs.

If you have money for equipment and access to instruction, coaches, a team. That is not true for every child.

It is not true for thousands and thousands of kids. For youth sports...

From 2008 to 2018, the participation rate of kids between the ages of 6 and 12 dropped from 45 to 38 percent, due largely to the increasing costs, time commitments, and competitive nature of organized sports leagues.Jan 27, 2021

Last I checked USA is a Capitalist country. Would you rather switch to socialism?

[Anonymous]

Not many white basketball players either. Racism for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LAX has traditionally been expensive and elitist but that has changed and you see more diversity on the field these days.

Not really, look at the good high school programs- there is a definite correlation to wealth

[Anonymous]

DD was on a rec league in PGC and most of the girls in the team were POC, including DD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD was on a rec league in PGC and most of the girls in the team were POC, including DD.

But you recognize that is rare.

Can you post a D1roster that is diverse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not many white basketball players either. Racism for sure.

We aren’t talking about professional sports. We’re talking about kids.

[Anonymous]

There are 36 women lacrosse players at UVA with 3 POC players listed on the web site. At VA Tech, there is only one. That’s not a lot.

[Anonymous]

Lacrosse is a niche sport that takes specialized skills that are lacrosse specific. Most kids who play have a parent/relative/friend who played and introduced them to the sport. So the barrier to entry of the sport keep it a predominately white sport. It’s very hard to just decide to try playing lacrosse and to be successful compared to football or basketball. Coaches, admin, directors, youth sport organizations are predominantly white as well.

[Anonymous]

I'm AA and my brother played lacrosse in the 80s/90s. We lived in NY and he wasn't the only POC on the team.

[Anonymous]

At 12.6% of the population, 3 out of a 36 roster is fairly close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you are correct. It’s mostly a rich white sport.

White kids can’t compete in football and basketball so they do country club sports like lacrosse.

You can look at every roster in college or “pro” and it’s 95+% white.

The only “diversity” you might find on a team is Native Americans.

OP here. I find that lacrosse to be a rich and country club sport is very hard to believe. I thought tennis and golf are CC sports, no? I am Chinese and I see so many Asians in golf and tennis because I am a member at Riverbend CC. There were so many minorities at the tennis tournament, Asians and East Indians, I would say a very diverse group. Looking at across the lacrosse field, I didn’t see any. I don’t know, maybe my perception of lacrosse is wrong.