History of Lacrosse
This is Lacrosse
Texas High School Lacrosse League
History of Westlake Lacrosse
Lacrosse, considered to be America's first sport, was born of the North American Indian, christened by the French, and adapted and raised by the Canadians. Modern lacrosse has been wooed by athletes and enthusiasts of the United States and the British Commonwealth for over a century.
The sport of lacrosse is a combination of basketball, soccer and hockey. Anyone can play lacrosse - the big or small. The game requires and rewards coordination and agility, not brawn. Quickness and speed are two highly prized qualities that frequently lead to excellence in lacrosse. An exhilarating sport, lacrosse is fast-paced and full of action. Long sprints up and down the field with abrupt starts and stops, precision passes and dodges are routine in men's and women's lacrosse. Lacrosse is played with a stick, the crosse, which must be mastered by the player to throw, catch and scoop the ball.
Today's lacrosse enthusiasts play this purely amateur sport for love rather than financial reward. Long after the more high profile collegiate athletes have used their skills to enter the professional sports arena, the finest men and women lacrosse players are using their talents in the dynamic amateur competition known as 'club' lacrosse.
Lacrosse is considered one of the fastest growing team sports in the United States. In the last decade, the number of high school and youth teams has increased by 65 percent and the number of college and club teams has risen by 62 percent. There is a growing interest in the game among European countries never before involved. Once a minor pastime played in the shadows of baseball stadiums in the Northeast of the United States, lacrosse has become a national sport with more than 200,000 active players. -USLacrosse
The Texas High School Lacrosse League (THSLL) is made up of more than 45 high school teams in Texas and Louisiana. Teams from Dallas and Louisiana make up the North District, Austin and San Antonio the Central District and Houston the South District. Central District schools are Westlake, Austin High, Anderson, Bowie, McCallum, St. Andrew's, St. Michael's, McNeil, Westwood and Cedar Park in Austin; St. Mary's Hall, Central Catholic and the Keystone School in San Antonio.
The level of competition in the League is exceptional and the Central District represents itself well with three-time defending Texas State Champions St. Mary's Hall and former champions Austin High and Westwood. The THSLL Final Four rotates between the three major cities in the league. The three District Playoff Champions and one at-large bid fill the Final Four slots. The at-large bid is one of the three District runners up, voted into the Final Four by the coaches of all playoff teams.
Westlake Lacrosse was conceived over a steak dinner at the Old Draught House in 1988. Three lacrosse enthusiasts, Lee Smith, Dave Lapin and Robert Tomaszewsky decided to start a high school lacrosse program but had no ties to any school in the Austin Area. After a brief discussion of the possibilities, they decided that Westlake High School was the perfect place to launch high school lacrosse in Texas. Smith took it upon himself to enlist parent support and after a few trips to football games and talking up the game of lacrosse, the Westlake program was born.
The first Westlake team took the field in 1988 as the first public high school lacrosse team in the state of Texas. Smith was also instrumental in starting the Texas High School Lacrosse League, which he then headed for several years. Tomaszewsky emerged as the first head coach of the Westlake Lacrosse team. He had played high school lacrosse in New Jersey (hence the nickname "Jersey") and three years at the University of Texas where he was an All-Conference midfielder.
From 1988 through 1993 Westlake experienced tremendous success on the game field. Practices were initially held at WHS until the use of the facility was restricted to sponsored activities. For several years the team practiced wherever it could and games were played at Zilker Park or any available field.
One player from the early years, Jason Richards, went on to play at Rice University. Jason Lightsey took over as head coach in 1993 and the next phase of Westlake Lacrosse was under way. Lightsey had been an All-District goalie for Austin High School and a midfielder with the Austin club team. During the 1993-94 season, Westlake had 18 players. This number grew to over 30 by the end of the 1997 season when Lightsey left to play NCAA lacrosse for Greensboro College in North Carolina. During Lightsey's tenure, All-District honors went to goalie Chris Thompson, midfielder Jeff Benson and defenseman Adam "Boo-Boo" Reardon, named in 1997 and 1998.
In 1997, the Westlake team went to the district playoffs for the first time. The Eanes Athletic Department began its support of the team during this period. This was an important step for Westlake Lacrosse.
The departure of Coach Lightsey left a void soon filled by the third coach Jeff Truscott. Coach Truscott was an All-State defenseman at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire and Defenseman of the Year his freshman season at Southwest Texas State University. With only three seniors Westlake rebuilt and recruited in 1998, fighting to a 6-8 record and went into the 1999 season with high expectations. The Chaps went 11-8 in 1999 and were maybe 10 goals away from being 15-4. The team advanced to the second round of the playoffs after beating McCallum High School before being stopped by St. Mary's Hall. Matt Kaspar earned a spot on the North squad in the Texas North-South game and sophomore Loren Albanese made the Team Texas Under-17 team and competed in the Vail Shootout in Colorado. Matt went on to play midfield for Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, a Division 3 NCAA school. Greg Frank, who earned All- District honors, won a Division 2 national championship at Limestone College his freshman year and played defense for Baylor. Matt and Greg were the first lacrosse players from Westlake to play NCAA lacrosse.
2000 showed Westlake's commitment to the lacrosse program with the inclusion of both boys and giris lacrosse as varsity club sports. Assistant coaches Greg Mcle, Sam Healey and Jason Damen joined Coach Truscott and helped guide the varsity team to the second round of the playoffs. Five players earned All-District honors and six participated in the THSLL All-Star Game for the South.
2001 saw Greg Mele becoming the first JV head coach. On the Varsity, Sam Healey brought in former teammate Peter Robinson to help Coach Truscott with the defense. A full schedule and an East Coast trip made 2001 an exciting season. Seniors Joe Halseth, Travis Sherrod and Brian Jensen captured All-District Honors while B.J Uyeno, Eric Tietz, and Loren Albanese made All-State. The Chaps reached the Central District finals and finished as the top Austin team. With 12 Seniors graduating in 2001, the Chaps reaped the benefits of the WLA Youth teams as 22 freshmen joined the team, many with a year or more experience under their young belts. The Central District moved to a home-and-home game format in 2002, enhancing area rivalries.
The 2003 season brought new hope to the Chaps. An experienced Senior class and a hungry group of talented underclassmen took the team to new heights. Sam took over the JV team on a full time basis. Westlake traveled to Texas A&M and Kingwood for tournaments and to Dallas to face Piano Sr. High. Houston's Kinkaid School came to Austin. For the first time, the team played three home games at Westlake High School, further showcasing lacrosse in the community. In the fall of 2003 the First Annual ChapsLax Clinic was held! This commitment brought top quality coaching talent to Austin exposing our players and coaches to a training experience equal to that found on the East Coast. We brought Don Zimmerman, head coach of The University of Maryland Baltimore Campus (UMBC), along with Bobby Benson and Brandon Testa, to teach and train not only local players from across Central Texas, but area coaches as well.
2004 brought even more changes to the program. With the enormous expansion of the program, Westlake fielded three teams, a Varsity and two Jr Varsity teams. As Jeff Truscott left the coaching staff, Chris Garland stepped in to take the lead.
2005 finds Westlake Lacrosse in hands of one of the 1988 "founding fathers" Coach Dave Lapin. Dave has organized an outstanding staff of coaches and has been driving a disciplined practice schedule starting in the summer of 2004.