Monroe Lacrosse on the Rise

Last week I got the chance to chat with Brandon Fortier about the success and continued growth of the Issaquah Lacrosse Club.   But even Issaquah had to start somewhere and they went through the trials and tribulations of organizing a new program much like the team at the focus of my profile this week.

The Monroe Youth Lacrosse program is still in its infancy.  Started just two years ago, the club is working around the clock to promote the sport and expose its youngsters to the wonderful game that so many of us have grown to love.  I caught up with Ronnie Tippett, one of the men behind the organization, to find out more about how the Monroe Lacrosse Club is continuing its growth in the North Sound.


Tippett moved to the Great Northwest from Maryland in 2004.  His oldest son, who is now a freshman, started lacrosse back east and wanted to continue playing once the family moved to Washington.  Tippett enrolled his son in the Snohomish lacrosse program and joined the club himself as a coach.

But when wind got back to the folks in Monroe that a Monroe resident was partaking in this awesome, new sport elsewhere, talks began on how to start a program in the area itself.  Of course, being from a hotbed for lacrosse like Maryland and coaching in Snohomish, the people of Monroe turned to Tippett.  His response: “I don’t know anything about starting a lacrosse club.”  But he took on the task and has since brought awareness of our sport to a new area.


Aside from his self-proclaimed lack of knowledge on starting a lacrosse club, there were plenty of other obstacles for Tippett.  “Most people in Monroe are from Monroe,” he said.  “It is difficult to get people interested.  There isn’t much exposure to the sport and people really have no clue what they are getting into.”

Tippett has goals of getting a team at the high school level in the next three years, but for now he’s focusing on developing the game at the youth level.

A grant from U.S. Lacrosse last year allowed Monroe to purchase some sticks to get more kids involved.  They had children involved in the program as young as first grade, but last season, Monroe had a team participating in the BYLW at just the 5/6 level.

Relying on just word of mouth in the beginning, Tippett and Gary Hartzell, who is also an instrumental piece to the Monroe lacrosse puzzle, took a more active approach going into this season.  They have spread the word through the Monroe School District through newsletters.  They’ve even gone so far as to create election-style signs for front yards and business cards to be handed out to the community.  They’ve also run some fall clinics, with the benefits of their new tactics have been obvious.

“In our past clinics we have had as few as five to ten kids show up,” said Tippett.  “But in our two clinics in October, we had at least 30 kids of all ages come out and play.” 

A majority of the team’s players are also football players, as Hartzell, who coaches youth football in Monroe as well, recruits them for lacrosse in the spring.  Tippett estimates that about 60% of the club is football players, but as more kids try out the sport, more are coming from other sports.  “When we get the sticks in their hands, they like it and want to come back.”
With the returning 5/6 team from last year moving up, Tippett expects to have a 7/8 team and as numbers improve, there’s a possibility of having a 3/4 team as well.  “Far too often these days, kids are spending a lot of time playing video games or in front of the TV.  This is a great, active sport for kids to get involved in and we want to get more out playing.”

With lacrosse emerging at such a fast pace in Washington, Tippett has had the opportunity to learn from the many successful programs on the east side and his neighbors in the north.  “I’ve been able to talk to other coaches in the area,” said Tippett.  “The programs are doing so well on the east side and it’s spread north.  The emergence of Mukilteo, Snohomish and the others up north have helped us gain awareness, too.”

Just like the Issaquahs and Mercer Islands of the world had to get their start at some point, so does Monroe.  And thus starts another chapter in the growth of Washington Lacrosse.  The hard work of Tippett, Hartzell and the others involved with the Monroe Lacrosse Club has set one of the area’s newest youth clubs off on the right foot.