Ridgewood, Harlem Lax Players Take the Field Together

Sixty girls took the field at Ridgewood High School Saturday morning with their lacrosse gear in hand, but playing the sport was only part of the plan.

Half of the sixth to eight grade players were from Ridgewood’s recreation program, and half from Sojourner Truth School in Harlem, a “sister school” of the village in an innovative program that links the spread of the sport in the New York City neighborhood to an effort to build academic and leadership skills.

Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership has been organizing lacrosse programs for Harlem middle school students since 2008, according to Eric Bachmann, a village resident and member of HLL’s executive board. In a sport relatively new to the mainstream and eager to expand, he said, the organization is unique in incorporating a rigorous academic program for its players.

HLL has seen a measurable increase in GPA, standardized test scores and high school matriculation rates among its students, who are often recruited from the special education population, Bachmann said.

“We want the kids to have new experiences, we want the kids to have leadership opportunities, and we want the kids to bridge gaps,” he said.

Part of that effort has been holding clinics beyond the urban neighborhood. Boys lacrosse players in Ridgewood hosted the program last year, and will again on Nov. 16. On Saturday the village was the host of a clinic with a new Harlem girls program.

“The purpose is to bring people together who wouldn’t ordinarily be together,” Bachmann said. “The girls learn how to be a shot, learn how to give and share the love in their sport.”

Bachmann said the Harlem players, all of whom began playing the sport just this past September, benefited from the experience of their Ridgewood peers, as well as RHS Varsity Coach Karla Mixon, college coaches, and high school and college players in attendance, who all acted as instructors for the day.

“We had 23 coaches for 60 players,” Bachmann said. “So the level of instruction has been fantastic.”

But the fundamentals of the sport, for HLL participants, are meant to spur the fundamentals of school, with playtime contingent on the students’ continued academic work and attendance in daily study halls.