It’s tough to find ways in which the pandemic was positive for kids. But on a bright, sunny, and windy April Sunday at the turf field at Stephen Hand’s Path, a group of elementary school girls with goggles and lacrosse sticks was proof that our community created something good in the wake of Covid. The young athletes — in kindergarten through sixth grade — are part of East End Lacrosse, a program for boys and girls from Montauk, Amagansett, East Hampton, Springs, and Sag Harbor that began in 2021.
“It started with a family that moved out here during Covid. Ricky and Meredith Smith started East End Lacrosse. Before that, it was hit or miss with teams,” said Bill Boscarino, a former Air Force lacrosse captain who, along with his wife, Susan, coaches the fourth-grade girls team. “The goal is for this program to feed the junior highs and the high schools, so that when they get there we’re giving the junior high coaches a good running start with skills and making their programs a little better.”
Watching the Boscarinos’ team, there was no question that these girls would eventually be prepared to play junior high school lacrosse. While the league doesn’t officially keep score at this age, East End appeared to beat Sachem 9-7, thanks to some great passing plays. The teams follow Suffolk County Girls Lacrosse League rules, which are designed to be instructional and require that athletes at this age attempt a pass and complete a pass before they can shoot on net.
“I think the best part is how the league has them passing,” Susan Boscarino said. “It’s a rule to teach them the flow of the game instead of just running to the goal. And they play almost a full field here, which is why we remind them to pass the ball. It goes a lot faster than their feet do.”
Georgia Hulke, a fourth grader at Springs School, had one draw control, two forced turnovers, two ground balls, and two goals in the game, before getting sidelined with a minor injury. The second she stopped crying, she asked her coaches to go back in the game. “I love working together with my teammates and having fun,” she said. “I think I’m getting good at cradling and passing and shooting. At practice my coach helps me with shooting a little more, too.”
Noah Falkenhan also plays on the fourth-grade team and had two forced turnovers, two ground balls, and scored the two goals that led to the win over Sachem. “It was really fun. I thought we were losing because that team was really good and a lot of girls were scoring, but when Lucy got in goal we made a really good comeback and with everybody’s goals, we won,” she said.
Neil Falkenhan, Noah’s father, heads up the girls program and coaches the sixth-grade girls team. “It’s been great. We started out small and now we’ve gotten to where we have four teams — a second-and-third-grade, a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth. And I think we’ve got close to 100 girls in the program,” he said. “I started with our sixth graders when they were in third grade. In the first year, we won maybe a game. Last year we went undefeated and this year we’re already 2-0.”
Amy Reich’s third graders had a great day, too, moving the goals closer and playing on a slightly smaller field as they continue to learn the fundamentals. “They are doing such a good job learning the basic skills,” said Reich, their head coach. “They are learning how to position themselves on the field and show good sportsmanship. We have a lot of good athletes here. We have some speed and some good instincts and I think the more we continue to practice and refine it, we’re going to have some really good players.”
Reich’s own daughter, Reagan, 8, who goes to Montauk School, tried her hand at goaltending for the first time. “It was really fun, but also a little tricky. It’s a little scary when the balls are coming right at your face. It’s harder to catch because of the stick. It might look like it makes it easier to catch [with a wider head on the stick], but it’s not.”
Meanwhile, her teammates think they’re getting the hang of passing and communicating with one another. “I think that we did really good passing and we didn’t just go straight to the goal. We let each other have a chance to score. Not one of us was going straight and always scoring,” said Isabella Sachs, a student at Sag Harbor Elementary. Lucia Shreck, a 9-year-old at Springs School, agreed. “It was a lot of fun and I liked how my teammates were communicating before they passed. They were calling the name or number of the person they were passing to.”
Sign-up for the program and more information is at eastendlacrosseclub.com.