Here's what to know about the Lakeland Lakers youth lacrosse program
· Yahoo Sports
When one looks at the game of lacrosse across the country, it’s easy to see that it has grown tremendously across the nation and in traditional hotbeds such as the Syracuse area, Maryland, and parts of Virginia where strong youth programs have been feeding talent into high schools and colleges for decades.
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From a micro perspective in Polk County, local lacrosse experts are still building that foundation, seeing steady growth with more kids getting involved every year. The difference, though, is that those established areas have deeper pipelines and more year-round opportunities, while Polk County is focused on creating accessible, high-quality programs that can develop local talent from the ground up.
Playing in one of these established areas was Lakeland head boys lacrosse coach Zac Brownlee — The Ledger’s 2026 Boys’ Lacrosse Coach of the Year — as he played at Cortland State in Central New York, which showed him how powerful a strong youth lacrosse culture can be. So, following his eighth year as the Lakeland boys coach, Brownlee brought that same opportunity to Polk County in June of 2025, as the Dreadnaughts head coach is currently the executive director of the Lakeland Lakers lacrosse program.
What is it all about and who runs it? The program gives local families access to quality coaching and development, pulling together a strong group of coaches and directors with deep Central New York roots, including Marty Ward, head coach at Florida Southern, Chris Burdick, head coach at Webber International and Tim Hunt, who is on the business side who. They, too, have all played collegiate lacrosse in the area. A part of the action is also local products Alex Ari, head coach at All Saints Academy, and Brycen Ortiz, head coach at Lakeland Christian — both of whom played at Webber under Coach Burdick — as well as Matt Harris, the head coach of Winter Haven High School from Victor, New York and Isaiah Thomas, who is a Florida Southern alumni.
“The goal is to bring all that talent and experience together in one place so we can build something lasting with great coaching,” Brownlee said. “We’re already seeing it start to grow organically. Polk County kids who played college lacrosse are now coaching here and helping reproduce Polk County lacrosse.”
The program comprises recreational programs for 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, plus a high school age six-versus-six league. The fall program will have practices Mondays and Thursdays starting in early October, with the culmination being a tournament in Plant City, Florida Nov. 6-7.And the chemistry of the program is derived straight from areas like Central New York — a place that has stacked talent because they’ve had organized youth programs for a long time thanks to young athletes starting early and playing in competitive environments that develop strong fundamentals and lacrosse IQ. And that depth shows up when those players reach high school and college.
In Polk County, however, it is polar opposites when it comes to talent disparity.
“In Polk County we’re catching up, and our kids are athletic and coachable, but many are still newer to the sport,” Hunt said. “What’s promising is that we now have local coaches and players who grew up here and played at the college level, so we’re starting to build that same kind of pipeline without having to rely only on people moving in from hotbeds.”
Brownlee said the experience of producing and going through with this program is immeasurable.“It feels really rewarding to see the pieces coming together and kids getting excited about the game,” Brownlee said. “Bringing in coaches with that Central New York background alongside local guys like Alex and Brycen has created a strong foundation. Watching families and volunteers get involved and seeing the program start to take on a life of its own has been the best part. We’re still growing, but it already feels like we’re building something that can last and benefit Polk County for years.”
It will certainly benefit the youth athletes who decide to join, as the program focuses on solid fundamentals — stick skills, ground balls, positioning, and lacrosse IQ — while emphasizing teamwork, sportsmanship and mental toughness. Brownlee and his group also intends to enlighten folks on handling mistakes and staying positive, which helps them on the field and off.
“As they get older these skills translate directly into high school and travel programs, and the confidence and discipline they build carries over into school and life,” Brownlee said. “The goal is to develop well-rounded players and good teammates who love the game."
While it is still a young program, Brownlee has already coached kids from his teams who have stepped up into high school teams and travel-select programs with improved confidence and skills. In fact, several players have earned spots on varsity squads and have gone on to play collegiate lacrosse, which have made these kids notable alumni who have success stories.First off there is Kaleb Cook (Lakeland High School Class of 2020) who went on to play at Lynn University and then graduated from Florida Southern.Then there are Ortiz (Lakeland Christian Head Coach) and Alex Irizarry (All Saints Academy head coach), both Lakeland High School graduates who played for Chris Burdick at Webber International University.Luke Mowrer (Lakeland High School ‘24 graduate) is currently playing at Florida Institute of Technology.Collis Rhodes (Lakeland Class of 2025) — The Ledger’s 2025 Player of the Year — plays at William Woods University.Fisher Williams (All Saints Academy class of 2019) is a graduate who played at Lynn University.And Mac Bayless (Lakeland Christian of 2020) competed at the University of Tampa and graduated from Colorado Mesa.This network benefits from quality coaching and opens doors for the players. Families can sign up by going to Lakeland Lacrosse Initiative Inc. or by emailing [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Here's what to know about the Lakeland Lakers youth lacrosse program