Mission Statement:

We are dedicated to the instruction of lacrosse, teamwork, sportsmanship, and competition in a safe and respectful environment, while promoting personal responsibility, and offering participants an opportunity to enjoy all that is best about youth sports.

Seacoast Lacrosse is an independent, all volunteer, non-profit organization committed to providing a high-quality youth lacrosse program for players aged 6-14 in grades K-8 who reside within the Portsmouth, NH High School Administrative Unit (SAU 50 & 52; Portsmouth, Greenland, Newington, Rye, New Castle).

Calendar:

The lacrosse season usually begins in late March and goes on through early June. We’ll get started when the weather cooperates and fields become available, usually around mid- to late-March. 

Age Levels:

K: Our Kindergarten (6U) program is for brand new players ranging from pre-school to 1st grade. This team usually meets twice during midweek for a combination of practices or in-house scrimmages, no travel required. The point of K lacrosse is to have lots of fun and let the kids experience the basics of the game.  Registration cost is $45.

8U & 10U: For players in 1-4th grade we practice twice during the week and play games on Saturday mornings in the Seacoast Area Youth Lacrosse League (SAYLL, SAYLL.net). Game locations are split between Portsmouth and the neighboring Seacoast area towns.  At this age we play a short field 6 vs 6 game with goalies at the discretion of the coaches, the younger girls teams often playing without goalies. The 8U and 10U program begins to build the fundamentals, focuses on skill development, safe and fair play, basics of game strategy, and of course having fun!  We aim to create balanced teams, ideally with friends/classmates on the same team.  Coaches here are typically parents with lacrosse experience. Registration cost is $145 for 8U and $160 for 10U.

12U & 14U: For players in 5-8th grade we practice twice during the week and play games on Sundays in the New Hampshire Youth Lacrosse Association (NHYLA, nhyla.org). The season includes eight games (four home/four away), a pre-season jamboree, and a season-ending jamboree. Away games require travel throughout NH. This program plays full field 9 vs 9 with a goalie and continues the focus on skill development but with a more competitive spirit.  We use pre-season evaluations with the goal of placing each player on the team that best suits their abilities and gives them the best chance to succeed during the season. Coaches typically include lacrosse-experienced parents supplemented with younger non-parent coaches who have high level high school or college playing experience.  Registration cost is $195.

Girls “Sixers”: This is a relatively new developmental in-house program for 5-8th grade girls with less playing experience.  The season includes two practices during the week and scrimmages against other local teams on weekends throughout the season.  Registration cost is $175.

Practices:

We match up coaching and field availability in the February timeframe each year and do our best to publish practice schedules in early March. In general, practices are 60-90 minutes and take place between 4-8pm on a weekday. Practices will likely be at one of the local fields including Portsmouth Community Campus, Dondero School, Greenland Central, or Rye Middle. 

Equipment:

https://www.seacoastlacrosse.org/equipment. We typically will post a coupon to Dick’s Sporting Goods on our website during the preseason.

Uniforms:

Kindergarten players will receive a reversible pinnie at the start of the season. Players in 8U-14U will need to purchase a uniform - reversible tank and black bottoms; that information will be on our website soon. Uniforms will typically last a player 2-3 seasons. 

Registration:

Registration typically opens in fall and continues until all spots are full or the beginning of the season.  We typically offer an early-bird discount to encourage early registration. https://seacoastlacrosse.sportngin.com/register/form/088798843 

Every player must be registered with USA Lacrosse to play; you can see more here: https://www.seacoastlacrosse.org/faqs. We attempt to have a roster spot for everyone who wants to play and are usually only limited by the volunteer coaching support we can find. 

Full Scholarships are available to players who qualify for The Key Collective #areunin card. Not sure if you qualify? Visit
https://www.keycollective.org/areuin-program or email registration@seacoastlacrosse.com for more information.

Rostering and Team Selection:

For 12U and 14U teams in the NHYLA league, we typically host evaluations in the fall for team placement. The purpose of evaluations is to place kids on a team with matched skill sets to foster an environment where all can succeed.  We do not cut any players.  Rosters are made available as soon as possible, with the older kids often going first.  For younger players, we usually select teams in the March timeframe. Please contact us if you have team placement requests for grades 4th or below. 

Weather:

Coaches do their best to announce any weather-related impacts to practices and game schedules in advance. Early season can be cold and wet, so dress accordingly. Bottom line, always do what is best for your player and if it’s not going to be fun, then maybe reconsider.  

Volunteers:

Seacoast Lacrosse is a volunteer run organization from the overall administration down to the coaches and team managers.  If you are interested in volunteering with Seacoast please reach out at president@seacoastlacrosse.org. 

Organization History:

Seacoast Lacrosse first began as an experimental neighborhood activity in the summer of 1997. We joined the New Hampshire Youth Lacrosse Association (NHYLA) with one U15 Boys team for the spring 1998 season and have continued to grow ever since. We are a self-governed non-profit organization co-sponsored by the City of Portsmouth Recreation Department.

Lacrosse is a fun sport that is fast-paced, has lots of action, high scoring, defensive play and running. The sport involves a nice blend of individual and team play and incorporates some of the best aspects of basketball, hockey, football and soccer.