WHITERIVER, Ariz. (November 19, 2007) – Leo, a boy with a dark eyes and a storm cloud hanging over his head, hung out on the far outskirts of the athletic fields on the White Mountain Apache reservation, kicking pebbles around a dusty red dirt patch. He paced along the edges, arms crossed, staunchly determined not to participate. Leo was staring at all of the other kids in oversized, bright yellow Native Vision tee shirts who were clearly have a grand time with their shiny new lacrosse sticks.

Sarah, a US Lacrosse staff member and visitor on the reservation, called over to Leo, "Come on Leo! Come join us! It’s fun! See?" She tossed the soft, orange ball up the air and caught it with ease in her stick. She continued to offer Leo several opportunities to join the group and learn the game of lacrosse. Stubbornly, Leo continued to keep his distance.

Unwilling to give up, Sarah momentarily caught Leo’s eye and blasted a behind-the-back shot deep into the back of the nearby lacrosse cage. Leo’s eyes lit up at this fancy move, clearly intrigued. Without saying anything, he slowly made his way to the group of other lacrosse playing youngsters. Sarah casually handed Leo a stick, tousled his hair as if to say "welcome," and paired him up with another youngster from the White Mountain Apache tribe.

Five months later, on November 2, 2007, US Lacrosse returned to the White Mountain reservation in Arizona to conduct a Native Vision mini-camp. This time, Leo was there, front and center, lacrosse stick in hand, ready to play. But his crosse wasn’t the only thing Leo brought with him. He also brought along five of his friends who have never played lacrosse before. Prior to the mini-camp, Leo told his friends all about the last time US Lacrosse visited the reservation. Intrigued and anxious to learn this fun, new game the six boys, plus 95 other third- through eighth-graders, participated in US Lacrosse’s inaugural Native Vision mini-camp, November 2-3.

Last June, US Lacrosse participated in the Native Vision camp, hoping to reach out to the Native American community and bring the sport of lacrosse back to the people with whom it once began. US Lacrosse volunteers participate in Native Vision, a sport and life skills camp sponsored jointly by the NFL (National Football League) Players Association and the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health.

"It’s people like Leo who truly motivate US Lacrosse to travel to all corners of the country, visit different communities and share the joy of lacrosse," said Brian Reese, director of sport development at US Lacrosse. "US Lacrosse is very fortunate to be a part of the Native Vision camps. Not only do the camps teach lacrosse to the children on the reservation, but we also incorporate life skills like leadership and goal setting into the curriculum. For many of the kids, it was their first time playing lacrosse and they really seemed to enjoy playing the game. The coaches really enjoyed their time with the kids and are looking forward to coming back."

US Lacrosse will visit Bernalillo, N.M., on the Ten Southern Pueblo Tribes reservation in June 2008.

For more information on Native Vision and other educational opportunities through US Lacrosse, please visit www.uslacrosse.org.

US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) corporation, is the national governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse. US Lacrosse has more than 200,000 members around the country.