The boys’ varsity lacrosse team that is playing this weekend for its third consecutive New York City public schools championship practices on a concrete handball court in a city park with no lights, no room for spectators and broken fencing. The team’s success on the field came almost by accident: The school is the birthplace of Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership, a nonprofit group that began as a way to entice middle school students to stay on track for graduating and going to college. Lacrosse, despite its roots as a Native American sport, struggles to be seen as something other than elite, suburban and mostly white. Their success comes as public school lacrosse has been transformed in a city in which there were once just six boys’ programs (including four on Staten Island). There are now 24, along with 27 varsity girls’ teams, with nonprofits like CityLax and Harlem Lacrosse driving the expansion.

Source: New York Times May 17, 2019 23:17 UTC