This story was originally published on July 1 by THE CITY. Sign up here to get the latest stories from THE CITY delivered to you each morning.
After putting points on the board for his team, Ace Liriano, 6, sprinted around the basketball court at the Madison Boys and Girls Pinkerton Clubhouse on Saturday in Harlem, just a block away from the famous Rucker Park.
But instead of the “B-ball” that the area is known for, Ace was playing “L-ball,” a 3-on-3 version of lacrosse that can be played on the hardwood.
“We gotta play one-on-one,” Ace said after their 3-on-3 game to his friend and teammate, 9-year-old Titan Isom.
Regarded as the fastest sport on two feet, lacrosse is traditionally played with 10 players each on two opposing teams who carry a stick with a meshed head that is used for catching, passing and shooting a small ball.
The sport has been growing in popularity in New York City over the last two decades. Organizations like Harlem Lacrosse and Bronx Lacrosse, founded in 2011 and 2018 respectively, have sought to teach the game — more commonly associated with leafy suburbs — to middle and high school-aged students in the city.
Uptown Lacrosse joined the fray last September, distinguishing itself from its peers as a youth organization that isn’t school-based. The nonprofit offers the sport for free to about 40 families, with 27 kids between the ages of five and 12 coming in each week over the course of its first season. The group, which has about seven volunteer coaches, uses equipment donated from manufacturer STX, Princeton University, and USA Lacrosse.
This past Saturday concluded Uptown Lacrosse’s first season. A day of clinics and games featuring active college players planned for June 22 was cancelled due to the chance of a thunderstorm. But a watered-down version was rescheduled for this weekend that included a skills clinic, one 3-on-3 game with an additional player as a goalie and a potluck.
To protect its young athletes from injury, Uptown Lacrosse plays a non-contact version with players wearing protective goggles instead of helmets and using a softer ball.
“When I was a kid, lacrosse wasn’t even a thing, it was all basketball or nothing,” said Terrence Brown. He and his wife Nailah Ricco-Brown, both born and raised in Harlem, are now raising their three children in the historically Black neighborhood, including their 12-year-old son Akhil R.T. Brown, who began playing this January.
“The more I started playing, the more I started to like it,” goalie Akhil told THE CITY in a post-game interview, after enjoying mac and cheese his dad whipped up from a family recipe. He likes “the strategizing, and the way you can gain an advantage really fast.”
Tech entrepreneur and former Princeton University lacrosse athlete Bruce Lincoln launched Uptown Lacrosse after serving for three years as executive director of Harlem Lacrosse, which teaches students in New York City, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.
“The key thing about Uptown Lacrosse is it’s about having fun,” said Lincoln, who honors the native Indigenous peoples that created the sport in North America. “We’re not trying to produce pro lacrosse players. We’re just trying to spread the reach of the game so more kids can enjoy.”
Players were putting some of their uptown razzle-dazzle into their new sport, with sliding celebrations, full-court passes and electric spin moves. They roared with excitement when scoring, eagerly pursued ground balls and aggressively defended their goal.
One of those players, Xander Scott Charlotin, 6, started playing earlier this year. He “was happy and a little bit nervous” about potentially getting hit and handling the ball.
But after some practice and guidance from the program’s volunteer coaches, Xander, who shot back up from the floor after falling down during the game, doesn’t feel nervous anymore.
“I feel terrific,” he said.
