Leaders4LAX levels the playing field for girls’ lacrosse in Orange County

A natural athlete, Grace Burke has played girls’ volleyball and basketball. But four years ago, when the Newport Beach resident discovered lacrosse, she found a new sport to be passionate about.

“When I started playing, I just fell in love with the sport. It was less of the sport itself and more of the people. The connections that you make with the girls that play lacrosse is just so different. I had never felt like that on a field or court before.”

Lacrosse is a team contact sport thought to be among the oldest organized sports played by North America’s indigenous population. Players use a lacrosse stick to catch and pass a ball to their teammates. Today, lacrosse is more of a collegiate sport associated with the East Coast. The five versions of the game include women’s lacrosse, also known as LAX.

As a varsity lacrosse player, Burke routinely travels to Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware to play competitively and has twice earned the title of All-American. The camaraderie Burke found on the lacrosse field is especially significant to the 17-year-old, who was adopted from Russia at 9 months old.

“Community has always been so important to me. I have had to build my own community, and I know that family isn’t who you are blood-related to,” said Burke. “It is what you make it and who you surround yourself with. That is how I feel when I play lacrosse.”

That special feeling Burke got from playing drove her to find a way to bring lacrosse to other girls in Orange County.

“It is just starting to grow on the West Coast, especially for males but slower-growing for females because there aren’t as many options.”

Burke learned to play using a boys’ stick and admits that early on she didn’t realize women’s lacrosse was its own sport. She recognized lacrosse was expensive to take up, and the price of admission was a barrier for many girls.

“Basic equipment alone for a beginner is $230, which is a lot of money for a lot of people,” she said.

Dedicated to removing those obstacles, Burke founded Leaders4LAX, a nonprofit that aims to level the playing field for girls’ lacrosse in Orange County.

Leaders4LAX founder Grace Burke said she hopes her free lacrosse camps will empower young girls and build communities.

(Courtesy of Leaders4LAX)

Sponsorships from USA Lacrosse, the Dragon Kim Foundation and the Mosely Grant Award have allowed Burke to organize four successful free lacrosse camps in the past year with Unidos, Boys & Girls Club and other participants.

Girls gathered at Stonefield Park in San Juan Capistrano last summer and again in January and February for the camps with Leaders4LAX. The grant money allowed Burke to provide each participant with a free lacrosse stick, goggles, a T-shirt and workbook.

“At the beginning of camp they all look a little bit nervous, but they are all excited too,” Burke said.

Leaders4LAX teaches the sport using four tenets that Burke said apply on and off the field: passion, commitment, teamwork and leadership. At the camps the girls practice basic skills and do relays.

“It is really fun to watch their hard work from throughout the day come together,” said Burke. “The smile on the campers’ faces once they realize they can do it, they are overcoming something they never thought they would try.”

Burke said she would like to get a yearly camp established and also grow Leaders4LAX’s outreach.

“I know there are so many other cities, towns and states that have this same problem. A dream of mine would be to have multiple headquarters around the West Coast for girls and continue to fund the equipment from USA Lacrosse and other organizations,” said Burke.

This summer Leaders4LAX is hosting camps on July 31 and Aug. 1 at Stonefield Park in San Juan Capistrano from 9 a.m. to noon. Each participant will receive a free lacrosse stick, goggles, mouthguard, T-shirt, stickers and workbook. Burke said she encourages girls to bring a friend.

“You are both going get the equipment to go home with and you can practice together,” Burke said. “I also think bringing a friend into this experience is a shoulder to lean on. We are going to build a community right off the bat and have fun.”