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Sports

Moon High School Lacrosse Program Wraps Up Its Inaugural Season

Varsity coach sees students' growing interest in the sport.

Harry Watts said he wanted to bring lacrosse to the when he began teaching there five years ago.

“When I got hired in 2006, I thought about starting a program. It was my main goal,” said Watts, who teaches middle school physical education.  

Watt realized that goal this spring: Moon’s 26-member varsity lacrosse team recently finished its first season in the district at 3-6-2. More than 120 students in grades 5 through 12 now take part in Moon’s burgeoning lacrosse program.

Today, members of the varsity team will hold a picnic at to celebrate the program’s inaugural season.

“It was just a matter of finding people to help,” Watts said of starting the lacrosse program. “You have to have a strong support system to start a new program, and we’ve definitely had that."

The team isn’t yet on a WPIAL schedule. Watts said the program was taking part in a three-year exhibition period, playing varsity and club teams from surrounding communities before it becomes an official part of the Western Pennsylvania sports scene.

“I think with the amount of athletes that are in Moon, given three or four more years this program is going to explode as far as skill level,” Watts said. “It takes a good amount of time to get quality lacrosse players because it’s such a difficult sport to learn. You need kids to start in third and fourth grade and play all the way up.”

With one season under its belt, Watts said the team was starting to garner attention from students and the Moon community.

“There is a buzz going on in the school with kids who want to play next year,” Watts said. “And as far as the community, there is a ton of people who are just finding out about the lacrosse program and showing interest in the sport.”

Junior Ryan Scott served as a captain on the boys varsity lacrosse team this year despite having little experience in the sport.

“It’s a hard game to understand if you don’t play it,” Scott said. “But I think it’s growing on everyone.”

Watts said he hoped to expand the team next year and continue to build on players’ skill sets.

“All the kids are brand-new to the sport, and you don’t have time to teach them every little aspect of the sport, but it was definitely a learning experience for the kids and myself included,” Watts said. “There were a lot of kids who really surprised me and I’m impressed with their progress.”

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