IRVINE, Calif. – Every field at Great Park in Irvine, California, was filled.
Dozens of games unfolded as whistles echoed across the sports complex. Players carrying netted sticks hurried from one field to another while parents searched for shade underneath their pop-up tents.
Lacrosse, long viewed as an East Coast sport, has quietly and quickly established itself across the western United States.
Colorado and California lead the way with deeply entrenched high school programs and the highest concentration of NCAA and club talent in the region. Utah has experienced some of the fastest growth in the country over the last several years, driven largely by the Utah High School Activities Association officially sanctioning the sport.
The Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington have strong, dedicated high school leagues that have traditionally operated as club-varsity hybrids outside the main state athletic associations.
In Arizona, participation is heavily concentrated in the major Phoenix metro area, but organizers hope the sport can take another step via strong grassroots efforts, potential sanctioning by the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) and the return of the sport to the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles.
Arizona Lacrosse League commissioner Bryan Petillo believes that the issue isn’t convincing kids to play lacrosse. It’s making sure they know it exists.
“One of our biggest challenges is introducing the sport to communities where there currently aren’t any programs,” Petillo said. “If you’re a student in Buckeye, Queen Creek or another rapidly growing area without a lacrosse program, it’s difficult to even discover the sport.”
California leading the charge
The Pacific Lacrosse Festival, held June 20-21, was organized by Buku Events, a lacrosse event company dedicated to growing the sport.
“We’ve seen the growth of lacrosse on the West Coast firsthand, especially in Southern California,” said Austen Lison, sales and field operations manager for Buku. “When I first started, the company hosted around 10 events. Now we’re up to about 17 events throughout Northern and Southern California, along with an event in Las Vegas.”
In the 2024-25 school year, 20,016 high school students participated in lacrosse according to the California Interscholastic Federation. By comparison, 15,259 students participated during the 2014-15 school year.
Parents who have watched the game evolve say the difference is hard to miss.
“I grew up on the East Coast, and obviously it’s more popular over there,” said Chris Pretto, whose kid plays for the Huntsmen Lacrosse club program in Irvine. “But out here it’s really grown a lot. The skill level has improved, the kids are getting better and the sport is getting more recognition here in California.”
For coaches, the growth has been just as dramatic.
“I feel like over the last five years, the sport has really boomed,” said Leann Rosales, a girls coach with Harlem Lacrosse at Compton High School. “Growing up, I didn’t even know what lacrosse was until I got to high school, which is when I started playing.”
Now children are beginning to play at a younger age.
“I’m seeing kids start as young as third grade and continue playing year-round,” Rosales said. “We’ve seen so much talent come through our programs.”
The scene in Irvine shows just how far the sport has come in California.
Arizona is still trying to reach that point.
Arizona’s ambitions
The Arizona Lacrosse League has overseen high school competition since 2000, while operating independently through a partnership with USA Lacrosse.
Petillo, originally from Long Island, New York, played lacrosse at Tufts University outside of Boston before moving to Arizona in 2019.
“Coming from New York, where lacrosse is such a major sport, I saw what I thought was tremendous potential for growth here in Arizona,” Petillo said.
That growth hasn’t come as quickly as he initially thought.
“Unfortunately, I think the sport’s growth has stalled a little over the last several years out here,” Petillo said. “There is still a lot of enthusiasm in communities where lacrosse has traditionally been established and where schools have strong support systems around their programs.
“However, overall we haven’t seen the growth in terms of new teams and player participation that I would like to see.”
Last season, the Arizona Lacrosse League featured 28 varsity and junior varsity teams, with more than 550 players participating, but the sport still is not sanctioned by the AIA.
Petillo believes that supporters need to rebuild the connection between youth and high school programs.
“If your youth leagues aren’t thriving, your high school programs won’t thrive either,” Petillo said. “At some point, I think those two levels became disconnected.”
There are other independent lacrosse leagues in Arizona such as the Ahwatukee Lightning, Arizona Girls Lacrosse Association and Youth Lacrosse of Arizona, but the most recent statistics show that in 2023, about 1,000 high school students were registered with USA Lacrosse in Arizona.
When it comes to collegiate lacrosse, Arizona has just one NCAA Division I program: Arizona State’s women’s lacrosse team.
ASU, the University of Arizona, Grand Canyon University and Northern Arizona University all field men’s and women’s club lacrosse teams.
Relatability
Supporters say the appeal of lacrosse comes from it having similar elements to other sports.
“I think lacrosse takes the best parts of several different sports and combines them into one,” Petillo said. “You mix elements of football, basketball, soccer and hockey together, and I think you end up with a really exciting game.”
Huntsman coach Nick Henry sees the same appeal.
“It’s easy for families to find a commonality between the sports that they already play,” Henry said.
The climate out west also helps. Blake Wozniak, a California native, left home to play lacrosse at Southern New Hampshire University. He believes the weather may create an advantage for West Coast teams over those on the East Coast.
“With the sunshine, you’ll always be able to play,” Wozniak said. “You can keep the stick in your hand and continue to work and get better over time.
“Soon we’ll be miles ahead of them.”
Sanctioning
Seth Polansky, the AIA Director of Sports Information, said that the sport was close to being sanctioned more than a decade ago.
“About 11 years ago, one of the executive board members planned to bring forward an action item to have lacrosse added under the AIA umbrella,” Polansky said.
The proposal never reached a vote however, as the board member passed away the week of the meeting.
“As a result, what was supposed to be an action item became a discussion item, and eventually the entire issue was tabled and never came back before the board again,” Polansky said.
Despite this, interest remains.
“Has there been discussion about lacrosse? Yes,” Polansky said. “Has the AIA been approached about adding lacrosse since that effort 11 years ago? Also yes.”
Still, getting a sport sanctioned is a lengthy process.
“We don’t just decide to add a sport,” Polansky said, “It has to go through the proper channels, which is either an athletic director at a member school proposes it through their conference rep on the board or a board member decides to do it on their own.
“Basically it has to come about when a majority of schools are on board with it all together.”
Looking ahead
Petillo believes that lacrosse in Arizona is poised for a period of growth, especially with the return of the sport to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles after a 120-year absence.
“Our partners at USA Lacrosse have a lot of plans to take advantage of the Olympics and the exposure it will bring,” Petillo said. “Any time people get to watch something that’s exciting and compelling on that big of a stage, they’re naturally going to ask, ‘How can I do that?’”
The issue will be making sure interested kids have somewhere to play.
“That’s where we come in,” Petillo said. “We need to make sure those kids have opportunities to play on a team in their neighborhood and with their friends.”
In the short term, Petillo said organizers will focus on creating a more competitive environment while helping new programs develop.
“We’re continuing to evaluate our conference structure to make sure competition is as balanced as possible,” Petillo said. “We also want newer programs to have opportunities to grow without immediately facing the strongest teams and getting blown out.”
Long term, Petillo said his goal is simple.
“We want to introduce lacrosse to new communities and continue growing in areas that don’t currently have many opportunities,” Petillo said. “Right now, we have three teams in Tucson. I’d love to see even more teams develop there so we can create a stronger regional schedule instead of requiring schools to travel long distances.
“I’d also like to see lacrosse expand into other parts of Arizona where there currently aren’t any programs. If we accomplish this, I think that the sport will continue to grow throughout the state.”
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