Joe Engleby recalled being at a Northampton School Board meeting and hearing some questions that reassured him and other involved in the Northampton Area Youth Lacrosse Club (NAYLC) of their organization's future.

"At one of our initial meetings, some asked, 'what took us so long', and another stated that they were glad we were finally here," said Engleby. "The community, parents and players have really rallied around the cause.

"We have been able to raise the appropriate funds and are a self-sufficient unit that is in total compliance with the PIAA."

Engleby is the coach of the boys' lacrosse program that is competing on the junior varsity level this season. There are 28 boys in the program ranging from freshmen to seniors, and there is also a girls' team of 21 players who have followed the same format.

Form the 28 boys, there are five seniors, one of whom is Engleby's son, Logan. His son has benefitted from his father's experience of playing college lacrosse and football at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the elder Engleby spent his youth. Engleby has also been the Under -15 head coach for the Nazareth Clippers program for the past five years. His Nazareth team won the Under-15 championship last season.

"He (Logan) is the most experience player we have because he has grown up with the sport," said his father. "He has the best stick skills and game awareness. But all of our kids are playing well.

"We only have three kids with game experience, but I couldn't ask for a better set of kids to work with."

Through last week, the Kids have played three games, dropping a close 5-4 decision to Liberty an 11-2 decision to Nazareth, and an 11-2 decision to Parkland.

"Our kids have been competitive," said Engleby. "We played well in all our games. We're just going against kids who likely have played the game for five or six years. People don't realize how difficult it can be to play especially when someone is picking a stick up for the first time."

Engleby noted that his club has literally "brushed off' their mistakes, as they have a learned to make a sweeping motion off their shoulders.

"We just want them to bring the effort," he stated. "We don't want them to dwell on their mistakes and to let them go. They have to continue to learn the game."

Engleby, Vincent Gonzalves, and Mark Gutekunst, who is the president of the NAYLC, were met with unwavering support when they proposed the club due to their structured presentation.

"In the past, (lacrosse) was proposed, but it never worked out," Engleby said. "We took every step we needed to, and we covered all the bases. The feedback has been tremendous, and this program will continue to grow."

Engleby stated the program will play on the varsity level for both boys' and girls' next season and will field both JV and Varsity programs. He added that Gutekunst has devised a youth summer program for six, seven-, and eight-year-olds, and 40 children have already applied. Engleby is optimistic the Northampton program can escalate in the same fashion as some of their peers such as Nazareth, where there are over 200 children in the overall program.

"We have summer programs to the point where we can begin to develop a feeder program for the high school next year," Engleby said. "We plan to have programs at all levels next year for both boys and girls.

"We're learning the game this year and we'll be ready to take the next step soon."