Girls lacrosse gains players in Thousand Oaks

Winter clinics, fliers and word of mouth have helped fuel popularity for the Thousand Oaks Lacrosse Club.

More than 50 girls are practicing on Monday and Wednesday at Old Meadows Park in preparation for the club's second season from March to May.

Dana Verbalitis started playing lacrosse as a seventh-grader in Ohio and when she moved to Thousand Oaks for eighth grade, she played for the Conejo Clash, a girls club team featuring high school and middle school players.

Stacy Lee, the Thousand Oaks club youth director, said it was always a hodgepodge for girls to be playing one of the fastest growing sports. Boys and girls were introduced to the sport 12 years ago with clinics and leagues.

Thousand Oaks is part of the Southern California Lacrosse Association with the girls playing against clubs from Newbury Park, Oak Oark, Pasadena and Santa Clarita.

Verbalitis was on Thousand Oaks High's first club team her sophomore year.

The boys at Oak Park, Newbury Park and Agoura highs have all celebrated club and CIF success the last five years.

"The girls have been five years behind the boys," said Lee.

Conejo Valley boys have found college scholarships through lacrosse.

A number of colleges are fielding teams, even on the West Coast, while the East Coast has been playing for years, producing numerous local high school and club coaches in Ventura County.

"USC is adding Division I women's lacrosse next year," said Lee.

Verbalitis, a second-year Moorpark College student, is enthused to be coaching potential stars.

"It's exciting for girls to be active in spring if they like to play basketball or soccer," she said.

Lee's son, Mark, caught the lacrosse bug five years ago.

He's a freshman in the Westlake program.

Because Mark was an avid player, sister Rachael, who is in seventh grade at La Reina, is another hooked on the game.

"We had a group of parents introduce the sport to physical education classes," said Lee.

As a result, eight La Reina Middle School girls are among the Thousand Oaks club members.

"We have girls from Simi Valley," said Lee.

Kim Spaeth is the vice president of Thousand Oaks Youth Lacrosse.

Her son Mike, 11, discovered the sport three years ago.

"He loves it," said Spaeth.

It motivated Mike's sister Emily, 9, to pick up a stick and play.

Sarah Spaeth, 13, joins the family tradition this year.

All the girls need to play are sticks and goggles, each costing $30.

Southern California Lacrosse has waived the girls fees in Thousand Oaks.

Kim Spaeth has seen what has happened with the Thousand Oaks girls.

"The girls relate well to Dana," said Spaeth.

The elementary school girls play eight on a side. They have two teams coached by Caitlin Kilborne and Zahalledt Ordonez.

The middle school team has 24 players; 12 can be on the field.

When the club girls arrived Feb. 1 for the season's first practice, 50 players were ready to learn the techniques.

The club charges $125 for elementary school players and $175 for middle school."The boys program will probably subsidize the girls," said Spaeth.

Even if the club loses money or breaks even, club officials will be happy.

Chris Reilly is the club president. He has three sons playing. Connor is a senior and team captain for Thousand Oaks High. Brett is an eighth-grader and Nick is a fifth-grader.

There are 126 boys in the club from grades 2-12. There are 12 boys playing on the U9 team, with Oak Park and Simi Valley fielding teams. Thousand Oaks is one of 10 clubs playing in league this spring along with Newbury Park, Westlake, Oak Park, Agoura, Calabasas, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Granada hills and Pasadena. There are 900 youth playing this season.

There will be a boys lacrosse jamboree Saturday and Sunday at the Rose Bowl.

Anyone interested in starting a girls lacrosse team in western Ventura County, should contact Fred Ronn by email at fronn22@gmail.com or for boys teams, visit http://www.scla-online.com.