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Piedmont Helps Local Kids Try a New Sport
Piedmont Orthopaedic Complex partners with Macon Youth Lacrosse to make the sport more affordable for local families
Macon Youth Lacrosse, a non-profit organization started by a group of Middle Georgia parents, is giving more young athletes the chance to play lacrosse through an equipment rental program. Lacrosse, which was the fastest growing NCAA sport in 2014, has previously been inaccessible for many families due to the high cost of equipment, which can be upwards of $250. Kids who are interested in trying the sport can now rent the equipment for an entire season for just $50. If the child decides he or she likes lacrosse and wants to continue playing, he or she can purchase the equipment at the end of the season for just $180.
Macon Youth Lacrosse is Middle Georgia’s first competitive youth lacrosse program and was created in 2010 by area parents whose children were interested in learning the sport of lacrosse. “The Grizzlies” now compete in the Metro Atlanta Youth Lacrosse Association, which is comprised of 40 teams in the Atlanta area and Macon. Macon Youth Lacrosse accepts kids in grades first through fifth, but when the organization started they accepted sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Now three local schools – Stratford, FPD and Mount de Sales – offer middle school lacrosse programs of their own. If a student attends a school that does not offer a lacrosse program, he or she can join the school team of their choosing.
The Macon Youth Lacrosse team experienced a surge in participation last year due to the equipment rental program, which was made possible through a donation from Piedmont Orthopaedic Complex. Piedmont has always been a big supporter of youth athletics in Middle Georgia and the organization was thrilled for the opportunity to have such a direct impact on kids through the equipment donation.
"We have seen kids from all walks of life come to lacrosse and really gravitate to it, we want to make sure that any kid out there who wants to try the sport can do it...and not have money be the barrier to getting them to do it," Dr. Kevin Stevenson told a WGXA reporter. Dr. Stevenson is involved on the Board of Directors for Macon Youth Lacrosse and is also a surgeon at Piedmont Orthopaedic.
Dr. Kevin Stevenson was recently interviewed by a WGXA reporter. See the full story here.
Parents and athletes who are interested in learning more about lacrosse in Middle Georgia can learn more at www.maconlacrosse.org.
posted 05/01/2017 in News
Tags: lacrosse, sports medicine,
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