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Youth sports

Group is closer to introducing the sport

By DAVID MURPHY
Published October 6, 2005

SPRING HILL - Instead of a stable, there was a sweaty second-floor meeting room. Instead of a pack of wise men, there was a gaggle of kids twirling sticks and hurling balls. And instead of a star, there was Greg Longo and Harry Johnson pointing the way.

The birth of lacrosse in Hernando County began Tuesday night at Veterans Memorial Park as a group of interested parents and kids took part in an information session that laid the groundwork for the introduction of a sport to an area that has yet to embrace the country's fastest-growing sports.

"We're starting at zero," said Longo, a former collegiate player and high school coach who has spearheaded the movement to start a youth program. "We want to do it right."

Longo and Johnson, Hernando County's recreation manager, spent 45 minutes explaining to interested parents the basics of the program they are attempting to build. Meanwhile, outside, their kids - numbering close to 20 - took turns racing around a grass field with lacrosse sticks and balls.

The make-up was a diverse one. There were several native Floridians, such as Powell middle schooler Cory Bemis, but there also was a heavy influence of people with ties to New York, a state where lacrosse has early roots.

In many cases, it was like playing six degrees of Grand Central Station.

Carmine Ruffa, an assistant principal at Powell Middle School, is from upstate New York and played collegiately at Cortland State. Mario Littman grew up on Long Island and helped bring lacrosse to the Wesley Chapel area. Sean Arnold is from the Buffalo area and played in high school. All three will coach.

Josh Peterson, an 11-year-old from Spring Hill, has an uncle from New York that introduced him to the sport. Alexa Hornbeck, the only girl in attendance, has family from New York and first saw people playing when she visited a prep school in northern New Jersey.

"I didn't know what it was at first," said Hornbeck, an eighth-grader at Gulf Coast Academy.

The plan is to have registration in November, after a few free clinics designed to introduce kids to the sport. The first game likely would be in mid-February.

The biggest aspect that was discussed at the meeting was cost.

Longo and Johnson are attempting to attain a grant from United States Lacrosse that would provide 25 sets of equipment. But until then, the cost for equipment is $200, which includes a helmet, armpads, shoulder pads, a stick, a mouthpiece and a ball.

Registration likely would cost $70, which would cover uniforms, the cost of joining the West Florida Lacrosse league, and other incidentals.

Still, they said they don't want fees to be an issue. They are looking for businesses or individuals to sponsor teams or players.

Interested parties should contact the Hernando County Recreation Department, 754-4031; or hernandolacrosseclub@yahoo.com

[Last modified October 6, 2005, 01:14:18]