Memorial Day & A Time for Reflection

Dear Greenwich Youth Lacrosse Families,

Memorial Day weekend has always been a wonderful tradition and respite from the final sprint of the GYL season. The parade and sense of community in our Norman Rockwell setting are a reminder of how lucky we all are. We remember those who gave their lives for our country. It's a powerful day and weekend. And yes, there's the abundance of lacrosse and golf on TV and let's not forget pool and down time! But, this year was different. We are experiencing an incredibly challenging period that we hope will never be repeated in our lifetime.

For the past three months, our GYL Board set out to do what was right for our members and volunteers. It's been a time for reflection and what is truly right. Our goal was to provide a full refund to all our members regardless of sunk costs. We made sure we stayed connected with our volunteers and did right by them. We maintained our relationships and partnerships with all the area high schools. Their participation in our program is one of the cornerstones of our success and we thank them! We have asked several of our GYL alumni and coaches to step up and provide video content that can be found on our new video tab at the top of our website! In addition, several of these boys and girls alumni have created personal and group lacrosse lessons and we will be posting their information on our website under program information. More to come. Lastly, we have created a robust social media platform (found also on our website) that we hope you enjoy and follow! Our goal was to come out of this crisis as a stronger program focused on the benefits of our members and volunteers!

Over the next few weeks, we will be messaging the following information to help you with your lacrosse experience. In an effort to help you navigate your path, and I emphasize that it's your unique lacrosse path, we will provide you with how the GYL ecosystem works inclusive of our partner programs at 2Way Lacrosse, Comet Girls Lacrosse and the programming at the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich. This effort encompasses many of our volunteers and ties all the area schools (Greenwich High School, Greenwich Country Day School, Greenwich Academy, Brunswick School, and Sacred Heart Greenwich) together into one comprehensive offering. Yes, there are a myriad of options around us for you to choose and that is your decision. We are merely distilling much of this information into a local program offering with GYL as its hub. More to come shortly. 

I am sad to say that we were hoping that we could offer a small slice of lacrosse later this spring but that unfortunately will not happen. The town and state have kept fields closed until June 20th. As a result, we are providing you with the aforementioned content and recommendations. We hope this helps!

In closing, GYL would like to give a very special thanks to those extraordinary volunteers who not only are GYL coaches but work on the front line as first responders. There are many of you and we owe you our sincerest appreciation for all you do!!

On behalf of the GYL Board, I wish you and your families all the best and look forward to seeing you next spring!

Be safe! Be well!

Pat Coleman
President, Greenwich Youth Lacrosse