Sports fields in Nebraska could soon be filled with a new kind of sport. The state is working toward adding boys’ and girls’ lacrosse to its list of available varsity sports. If successful, Nebraska would become the 28th state to include boy’s lacrosse and the 29th state to include girl’s lacrosse.
To begin the process, the state must first approve the proposal to make lacrosse an emerging sport activity. At that point, schools have three years to gauge interest before full adoption. The proposal will go through several rounds of voting, meaning approval could still be several months away.
The leader of this movement is Mel Meier. Meier is passionate about lacrosse and wants to see it become a varsity high school sport in Nebraska. Meier said to 3 News Now, “It’s a 24/7 thing. Even if I’m not actively in meetings, I’m thinking about things. I probably send about at least 50 emails a week. I would say at least 10 hours a week, and sometimes over 40.”
Key to the upcoming vote is that athletic directors who vote ‘yes’ on labeling lacrosse as an emerging sport are not required to offer it at their own school. They are simply giving other school’s the opportunity to offer lacrosse.
Brook Hempel, a high school student in Nebraska who plays club lacrosse, said, “For it to be an actually known sport — I didn’t know it until I was in seventh grade. So, it’d be really fun to see it grow more.” Hempel has considered playing lacrosse in college, but right now she is focused on growing interest in lacrosse in her community.
While Nebraska works towards building interest in lacrosse, the athletic directors are also considering a proposal that would allow student-athletes to play two school sports in a single season, which is currently not allowed. The two-sport rule could also increase student interest in lacrosse.
