Parkland’s Casey Roberts and Ava Yovino have seen firsthand what lacrosse has become in Florida.
Both high school juniors helped their teams win state championships in the spring and both are members of the highly successful Florida Select travel program. Gone are the days where college coaches would scour the Northeast for players. Florida is becoming a hotbed as well.
Casey, 16, a junior at American Heritage-Delray, helped the Stallions win their second state title with an 11-9 win against Lake Highland Prep.
“Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports,” said Casey, an Ohio State University commit. “It wasn’t very big in Florida, and I think our travel team for one is helping grow the sport. Our 2022 team, which me and Ava are on, is ranked No. 1 in the country last year.
“I think more kids are starting to play rec ball at a young age with the RedHawks, the Boca Jets, and the local leagues,” she said. “Our travel team goes to the Northeast to play in tournaments because that is where some of the top teams play. We normally go to Maryland and New Jersey and play the top teams in the country.”
Ava, 16, a two-time high school All-American and Academic All-American, recently helped St. Thomas Aquinas win their first girls FHSAA Class 2A state title with a 17-9 win over Vero Beach.
The high school junior comes from a lacrosse family as her father, Lou, plays lacrosse on a men’s league team (Buzzards) from Parkland. He coached with the RedHawks and travel teams.
Her brother Louis, a three-time U.S. Lacrosse All-American and state champion with the Raiders, played lacrosse at Furman, and Nick was a two-time US Lacrosse All-American and two-time state champion. Both brothers are at UCF.
“Having a family that plays has probably made the biggest impact in my life,” said Ava, who is committed to playing D1 at the U.S. Naval Academy. “They have been the best role models, and to have people like that to mimic has been a really great gift for me.
“We live in Maryland and New Jersey for like half the year,” Ava said. “We like to show the girls from up north who’s boss. To be a part of Florida becoming a hotbed is pretty cool, especially starting off with the RedHawks and trying different travel programs, and eventually Florida Select.”
Lacrosse was a club sport back in the early 1990s where it was not sanctioned by the Florida High School Athletic Association, so high schools combined and played as club teams. The sport was sanctioned in 2008.
Terry Crowley, who was a representative for U.S. Lacrosse at the time, got together with Jerry Kraus, who put together a team from area high schools, and they played in a tri-county club league. That morphed into the South Florida Youth Lacrosse League. Crowley, his wife Barbara, and Mike Shutowick then started the RedHawks with 300 players in 2000. They also drew from the Coral Springs Chiefs; then-Parkland Mayor Michael Udine arranged for field space.
“I think the growth of the youth really forced high schools to take a look at it because as the kids got older, they wanted to play for their school,” said Crowley, who won state championships in 2016 and 2017 with St. Thomas Aquinas’ boys’ team. “I think the push from the parents really did it. A lot of parents were transplants and played up north. The growth hasn’t really surprised me because people look for an alternative for football or something to compliment football and this is a perfect sport, and hockey players don’t have to pay for ice time because the sunshine is free.”
Andrew Edenbaum said both of his sons played when they were younger. Gabriel, 18, who recently graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD), played until eighth grade. Edenbaum said he told Gabriel in second grade that he had to make a choice, continue to play baseball or try lacrosse, and Darren, who was in preschool at the time, followed suit.
Darren just finished his freshman lacrosse season at MSD, where he scored a team-leading 39 goals and 15 assists to lead them to a district championship. He started with the RedHawks in Parkland at age 5 and now plays for the Stealth travel program.
“It was a new experience for me because I was a freshman and didn’t know what to expect,” said Darren, who will play on a summer travel team in the Northeast. “I really like high school lacrosse better because it was more competition. I always wanted to be a starter in my first year. In my first game, I scored seven goals, so I proved myself. My goal is to play Division 1 lacrosse.”
Two freshman brothers, who relocated from Long Island to Parkland, helped the Saint John Paul II Academy boys lacrosse team to a 9-5 record this year. Matt Evans made his mark with 17 goals, 7 assists, while Michael scored 16 goals and 6 assists for 22 points this season.
Michael Evans Sr. said the family moved here 5 years ago and got involved in the RedHawks initially. Now they play for Lax Mafia, where Evans is one of the coaches of the 2024s. He played at Long Island University and brought Team 91 to Florida.
Currently, the NCAA has 75 schools playing Division 1 men’s lacrosse and 75 teams playing Division 2. There are 238 schools playing Division 3. On the women’s side, there are even more schools offering scholarships with 550 schools playing lacrosse across all three divisions.
“The growth down here has been so fast,” Evans said. “[It] starts with the rec programs and Parkland has a very good rec program. The RedHawks are super strong.”
Michael, 16, gives the sport a “10.” He and 15-year-old brother Matt will represent Ireland internationally for the 19-Under Team Éire in the World Games in 2022.
“It is my favorite sport in the world,” Michael said. “My dad played in college and when I was in the first grade, I tried it and fell in love with the sport. I am set on playing in college and Division 1 is the goal.”
Matt is looking forward to representing Ireland next year. He has played for the past 3 years with Ireland Youth.
“I really like the sport because it is like a family. I also like scoring a lot of goals, playing with my friends, and making memories. I would like to play through college.”