CHECK, POINT, LACROSSE!

William Menke’s 11 years in Barrington have to be considered a total win for the area’s burgeoning lacrosse community. From his role as assistant varsity lacrosse coach at Barrington High School (BHS) to serving as vice president for the nonprofit Barrington Youth Lacrosse Association (BYLA), Menke is fueled by his lifelong love of the sport, a passion his three daughters now share.

With lacrosse in his veins since the third grade—he moved from Washington, D.C. to Lake Forest in high school—Menke got back on the field as a coach after his daughters started playing.

Girls’ lacrosse is played without helmets, pads, or gloves so more attention is paid to safety. At first, these strict rules and constant whistleblowing led Menke to be frustrated with coaching the girls’ team but he soon grew to love it. “Not to mention, statistically the sport is booming in popularity,” he says. “At the girls’ level nationally, lacrosse is the fastest growing youth sport, averaging 10 to 20 new Division 1 programs per year for women. It is also the fastest growing youth sport for boys, with five new Division 1 programs per year.”

During a girls’ practice session, Menke was asked to help coach the boys’ varsity lacrosse high school team. He has since learned that, in terms of coaching, one rule applies to both girls’ and boys’ teams—have fun. When practices and games are fun, kids spend more time on the field. That sense of fun, along with a sense of community, is at the core of all lacrosse activities in Barrington. This year for the first time during home games, youth teams will compete in mini-games sponsored by the BYLA, driving community involvement with tournament-style weekends where spectators will enjoy a good game while enjoying a good meal courtesy of food trucks that will be sprawled across the field.

As vice president of the BYLA, Menke is committed to the nonprofit’s mission of promoting and advancing the game of lacrosse. BYLA provides training for students in grades 1-8 beginning with its “Minis” program that introduces first and second graders to the sport and ending with “Majors,” which serves as a feeder for the BHS lacrosse teams. Menke volunteers his time to coach and helps players get the equipment they need for the sport.

Menke compares lacrosse to sports like hockey, soccer, and chess because of its focus on individual IQ, the cerebral game, and team building, rather than solely on the physical skill set.

Menke explains, “It’s about being intuitive and understanding where a teammate is going to be, before they make the move. Wayne Gretsky says, ‘You aren’t to skate to where the puck is, but where it is going to be.’”

One thing is certain, where Barrington lacrosse goes so goes Coach Menke.

For more information, please visit barringtonyouthlacrosse.org and barringtonhslacrosse.org.