Lacrosse Club Starting for Par-Troy Youth

Lacrosse has taken the nation by storm. Media outlets such as Business Insider proclaim the game as the fastest growing sport in the nation. Lacrosse makes its way to U.S. movie screens this summer when the film Crooked Arrows debuts. And the sport is getting a boost in Parsippany as well.

A local resident and coach is in the process of starting a new youth lacrosse program set to be the first of its kind in the township.

Robert Brucken, a Parsippany resident who was involved in the advent of the program 15 years ago, is now working with that group to launch the Parsippany Lacrosse Club. The new effort will target boys and girls in hopes of teaching the kids—and their parents too—about the game of lacrosse and its benefits.

Brucken told Patch that lacrosse would be an important addition to Parsippany's sports scene.

“It is very important to get this program going because of the impact that lacrosse has had on kids, parents and communities in the last couple of years," he said. “It gives the youth another [sports option]. Kids need the opportunity make a decision on what activity they would like to be involved in."

Brucken, who left Parsippany but returned in 2010 after spending 10 years in Portland, Ore., started a similar program there.

“The program that I started was with my wife, Becky," he said. "We [spent] a lot of long hours and our own finances to get it going. We did have assistance from many other programs, the community and even [organizations] at the professional level.”

In the time since Brucken's return to town, he was delayed in getting involved again with Little Vikings—or with coaching period, for that matter—due to the after-effects of Hurricane Irene. In March, however, he contacted Little Vikings president Michael Pietrowicz to get involved.

Affiliated again with the organization, Brucken’s conversations with football parents Ed Comerford and Tom Walek led him to to the conclusion that Parsippany needs a youth lacrosse program as successful as its football program.

“Ed and I had met a couple of times," Brucken recalled. "During our conversations, we talked not only about football, but about my achievements in starting a lacrosse program. Ed directed me to talk with Tom Walek, who has been very involved with football in Parsippany. When I finally talked and met with Tom, I found out that his son, like many other boys from Parsippany, plays with a Boonton team.  Tom told me his interest in helping to get lacrosse to Parsippany children.

“We do not want this to be just for one part of Parsippany but for all the children, no matter what area of the town they live in,” he noted. “We do not want to make this a rival thing, but to join both sides of the town.”

With the Little Vikings program helping the project grow by providing resources, finances and word-of-mouth to the community, the Parsippany Lacrosse Club will host a clinic from June 15 to July 30. The cost of the clinic is $50, which includes a brand-new lacrosse stick, ball and T-shirt, as well as a pair of safety goggles for participating girls.

Brucken said he is confident that if parents get on board, area children will be more than willing to give the clinic and, eventually, the game a try.

“The most challenging part of doing this is selling the sport to parents and the community,” Brucken said. “With kids, it is easy; once you get a stick in your hand, they can’t put it down and they are sold on it. The other challenging part is getting the word out.”

Once that happens, though, Brucken believes the club will continue to grow and compete with teams from surrounding communities.

“The overall goal is to be able to field teams from all age groups for next season—both boys and girls—to play in the North Jersey Boys and Girls leagues that already have towns from all over the area playing,” he said. “I want a lacrosse program to succeed like all of the other sports and children activities in the town.”

Brucken said a successful lacrosse program will give children another tool to succeed in the future. He also advocated having lacrosse programs instituted at the township’s schools to help kids achieve success in college and beyond.

“There is a major opportunity to play at the collegiate level and get a good education too,” Brucken said. “The program is being designed to see children succeed at whatever they decide to do after lacrosse.”

For more information or to register your child for the clinic, contact Robert Brucken via telephone at 503-484-5504, via email at littlevikingslax@gmail.com or rebrucken2@gmail.com or via littlevikings.com (click the tab that says 'Lacrosse.') Registration forms can be completed and mailed to the address provided.

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