Lacrosse isn’t a UIL sport, but guys on campus can play with the school’s club team. But girls that want to play have to look elsewhere for the chance. For several girls on campus, that means playing for Allen High School.

“When moving here, I had no idea how it was going to work out,” senior lacrosse player Kaylin King said. “The love for lacrosse has overcame everything that might have been weird about playing for Allen. My team is my family.”

For the Lady Eagles lacrosse team, the Leopard pipeline is an important tool.

“Getting the word out and recruiting new athletes for girls’ lacrosse has been difficult,” Allen head coach Chris Smith said. “We really get our Lovejoy players graduating from the ASA youth program. But we want to be able to have three teams next year for JV, varsity division one and varsity division two. We would love to have more Lovejoy freshman and sophomores come out to try outs.”

However, playing a non-UIL sport can be expensive.

“One of the difficulties of not being UIL is equipment,” King said. “Lacrosse is like known to be the sport of the rich. Like that is why at HP (Highland Park) and at Hockaday, it is so big there. Like some sticks can cost up to $500. I have also spent like $300 on uniforms alone.”

In addition to equipment fees, other logistics for the Allen club lacrosse teams can add up as well.

“The school doesn’t set up the games,” senior lacrosse player Claire Peralta said. “You have enrollment fees so that you can actually play games. You have to pay for refs. You have to pay for the bus. You have to pay for the field, and you have to set it up with the other team as well.”

While lacrosse is growing in popularity in certain parts of Texas, it’s not nearly as big here as in other parts of the country.

“Coming from San Diego, it was an official school sport,” King said. “I got a period for lacrosse at school. A lot of people came to our games, and the guys’ lacrosse was just as popular as football is down here. In the south, it’s all about football. Like football, baseball, and basketball are like the three major sports here I think. And plus if they don’t have to make something UIL, I don’t think they would want to. Like west coast and east coast, they have all these different sports like water polo and field hockey. And they are all “UIL” because they want the kids to be active, and always outside. It’s just the mentality. And down here, it’s just like all about football, and more football.”

Whatever the reason for lacrosse not being as popular in Texas as football, Peralta believes there’s a missed opportunity.

“I think lacrosse isn’t UIL because down here, football is what brings in the most money,” Peralta said. “It’s what you get the most money out of, like ticket sales etc. And that’s how students get scholarships to go to college. But what is not realized is that lacrosse could be exactly like that too. It is up east. You go up east and you see kids in their yards with their little fiddle sticks, which are the sticks from the dollar store, and you see them playing elementary school and with their friends. It’s just hard to change what is already established.”