The San Diego Seals are reimagining their longstanding Junior Seals program in an effort to grow the sport of lacrosse at the grassroots level to make it more inclusive for all and introduce new players to the Creator's Game.
In recent years, the Junior Seals were a competitive travel team that competed in the U.S. Box Lacrosse Association's National Collegiate Box Series, as well as USBOXLA's National Championships at both the summer and winter levels. The Junior Seals were one of the program's top entrants as the squad captured three consecutive NCBS titles from 2021-23. The program also served as a pipeline for older players, with a number of Junior Seals graduates going on to play for the SD Royals in the NCBS.
The shift in philosophy is in line with USA Lacrosse's Elevate 28 program, which aims to grow the sport to 4 million players nationwide as part of the buildup for lacrosse's return to the Summer Olympic Games in 2028. It also comes at a time when many young athletes are shifting away from some of the traditional sports like football and basketball as participation in Olympic sports is at an all-time high.
Now, the Junior Seals program will consist of a series of lacrosse camps, clinics and programs that will be open to boys and girls players of all ages and skill levels. These programs will be staged throughout San Diego County and led by Seals players.
Camps are scheduled across four regions of San Diego County: North County on June 23 & 24 at 4S Ranch Sports Park; South County on June 30 & July 1 at Salt Creek Rec Center; East County on July 14 & 15 at Sportsplex USA Santee; and Central San Diego on July 28 & 29 at Rady Children's Practice Field.
"We've had tremendous success with our Junior Seals program and some outstanding players have come through that program," said Seals Head Coach and General Manager Patrick Merrill. "And while it's been a great program, we need to grow the game and make it accessible for more players to give the sport a big runway, not just for 2028, but for years into the future. This new vision for the Junior Seals we are confident will introduce a tremendous number of new players to our great sport."
More information on the Junior Seals is available at juniorsealslax.com
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