Lacrosse Program in the Works for Meadowcreek

While the 2012-2013 year is ending for Gwinnett County Public Schools, it's only the beginning for one sport at Meadowcreek High. 

The Norcross-area school is looking to start a lacrosse program, and it's one of the last schools in the county to do so.

The initiative to start a lacrosse team began with a student-led petition last school year. Nealy 90 students signed the petition saying they were interested in playing. Principal Tommy Welch became enthusiastic about the program, too, but it wasn't until 2013 when Meadowcreek's Athletic Director Don Einolf sought the staff for a coach to kickstart the program.

Einolf asked U.S. history teacher David Jaramillo if he wanted to take the challenge, and he accepted.

Jaramillo, who just started teaching this school year, comes from a triathlon and running background, but he also played lacrosse on the club level in his college days. He believes he can build a lacrosse team from scratch not only because he has a sports background, but because he comes from a military background and has organization and team-building skills.

The new coach is excited to get the ball rolling, and he hopes to establish both boys and girls teams before training officially begins in the fall.

"The lacrosse program would give Meadowcreek another opportunity for another sport," said Jaramillo. "For those students who don't want to play your traditional team sports, they can play something that's basically on the same level."

For the past month, Jaramillo has been doing everything in his power to get himself and Meadowcreek started with lacrosse. He's attended other Gwinnett schools' lacrosse practices and has asked other coaches about budgets, he's looking for fundraising opportunities, and he's seeking grants to finance the program.

Getting the funds to start a Mustangs lacrosse team has been one of the biggest challenges so far. Some grants have been approved already, but the Title I school is still a long way from its $10,000 goal, which is a huge amount for any sport at Meadowcreek. Jaramillo said they need those funds because lacrosse is almost as equipment-heavy as football.

Aside from grants, fundraising events are in the works, and the team is looking for sponsors, too.

"The bottom line is, we have to get [the funds], and the only way we can get that is if we get community support," said Jaramillo, adding that spreading the word about the lacrosse team is essential.

But getting that community backing will be a struggle. Jaramillo believes many in the area aren't familiar with the lacrosse sport since Meadowcreek has a very transient population, with 90 different nationalities and a high Hispanic and African-American student body. So getting support from those who have never even heard of lacrosse will be a challenge.

Another issue is that many students only attend for a semester or two before moving away to another school district, therefore making it hard to keep consistent players year after year. It's one of the reasons why many of the school's sports teams, including football, haven't been able to climb the ladder of athletic success.

"We're all suffering from the same issue, and it's going to be the same issue with lacrosse," Jaramillo said. "Our sports teams have a hard time keeping skills from one year to the next and naturally building on them. We can't take a freshman football star, build him up during his freshman and sophomore years, and have him continue all the way through senior [year] because more often than not, he's going to be gone."

With the right funds and the support from the community and the school, though, Jaramillo hopes Meadowcreek will have a well-established, competitive and challenging lacrosse program where students not only train in the fall and compete in the spring, but they also play year-round with pre-conditioning and summer leagues.

"We want to establish the culture of lacrosse at our school," he said. "If everything falls into place, I think we'd be able to have a girls and a boys team, and come out strong. Put ourselves on that lacrosse map for the county and just build from there."

If you would like to help Meadowcreek with establishing its lacrosse team, contact Coach David Jaramillo at (803) 447-2762 or dejay187@gmail.com

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