Washington Stealth Inaugural Season Opener this Saturday!!

The Stealth open this Saturday against the Colorado Mammoth; come watch Stealth Captain Jason Bloom & his teammates rock the box at our Washington Stealth season opener this Saturday, 9th January!! The Stealth have brought professional lacrosse to the Pacific Northwest and it is our turn to step up and show our support by attending this inaugural season opener!!

Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-877-MY-75TIX. Directions to the arena and game info can be found on the Stealth Website.

Stealth General Manager Doug Locker has this message for all WA LAX fans:

"We need your help to make the first Professional Lacrosse Game in Washington a huge success! I am making a personal appeal to each of you to help spread the word and encourage those you know to attend the season opener this Saturday night at 7:30pm vs the Colorado Mammoth. As you know its important that we kick off the season with a huge bang and we need everyone to come out for this game to not only show our area that we can support lacrosse, but show the NLL that Washington lacrosse is behind their team."

Get your tickets and get in the game!!

Lacrosse Throw-Arounds Start for Junior & Senior Boys

Throw-arounds are optional practices designed to ease players back into the lacrosse season. They are run by the division's coaches, so players will get a chance to meet and work with many of the coaches that they will see this spring. Here are the details:

IYL Senior Boys (7/8 Grade)

• What: IYL Boys Senior Division Throw-arounds


• Who: Registered IYL Senior Division (7/8 grade) players ONLY


• When: Wednesdays through February 3 -- January 6, 13, 20, 27 and February 3


• Time: 6-7pm


• Where: Skyline Community Field #1

IYL Junior Boys (5/6 Grade)

• What: IYL Boys Junior Division Throw-arounds


• Who: Registered IYL Junior Division (5/6 grade) players ONLY


• When: Mondays through February 1 -- January 4, 11, 18, 25 and February 1


• Time: 6-7pm


• Where: Skyline Community Field #1

For more information check out the IYL website for the essential details!

Sammamish Review Covers IYL Leadership Transition

This weeks Sammamish Review profiles Matthew Balkman and Scott Wiley's transition from IYL Founders & Co-Presidents to Emeritus status in this weeks issue.

Check out the Article!!

Warmest Wishes for the Holidays!!

Warmest Wishes for the Holidays from Issaquah Youth Lacrosse!!

IYL and The Greater Eastside Lacrosse League

Directors from the leading Eastside lacrosse programs came together earlier this year and formed the Greater Eastside Lacrosse League (“GELL”).

GELL was formed to provide for greater flexibility in managing the Eastside region's boys youth programs in closer alignment with each other and with the affiliated high school programs in our area. Read MORE HERE for details on GELL’s formation and what it means to IYL and lacrosse in our region.

IYL's Girls youth programs remain affiliated with the Washington Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association.

IYL Co-Presidents Matthew Balkman & Scott Wiley Announce Leadership Transition

This week IYL Co-Presidents Matthew Balkman and Scott Wiley announced a transition in IYL leadership in a letter to friends of Issaquah Youth Lacrosse. Stepping into their new role as Co-Presidents Emeritus, Matthew and Scott set the stage for IYL's continued growth -

In their words [partial excerpt]:

When we assembled a group of a dozen middle-school boys for their first Lacrosse clinic six years ago, we had no idea how or even if Lacrosse could take root and grow in Issaquah. It wasn't until the next clinic – a couple of months later -- when nearly 100 kids attended that we knew Lacrosse was destined to be the next great thing in youth sports.

Issaquah Youth Lacrosse was born in 2004 to foster the growth and development of our youth through the fun and fellowship of a great team sport. IYL as an organization has experienced steady and exponential growth, we have had many IYL players go on to compete in HS State Championships, some go on to play at the collegiate level, and the overall awareness and love of the game expand tremendously in our community. It has been very exciting!

Now, as we look forward to our sixth full season having served nearly a thousand boys and girls, and grown a program which now feeds four boys HS programs (Liberty and Mt Si in ’10) and one girls HS program, it's time to turn to the next chapter for IYL.

With our registrations on track to deliver the largest group of participants ever in our Spring 2010 season and with a strong transitional leadership team in place, IYL will surely continue to be the leading youth Lacrosse program in the state. And with the vision and energy that the new leadership is bringing to their work, we expect IYL to go places we could never have dreamed of back in 2004 with those dozen 8th graders awkwardly picking up Lacrosse sticks for the first time.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement over these six wonderful years!

You can read the Full Letter on the IYL website. You can join in with our IYL Lacrosse family in thanking Matthew and Scott for everything they have done to make Issaquah Youth Lacrosse one of the most successful youth LAX programs in the western US.

Issaquah Highlands Central Park Turf Fields Nearing Completion!!

Great news for local laxers as the 2 new turf fields on Central Park Pad #3 in the Highlands near completion. This Spring Issaquah Youth Lacrosse will hold it's first regular season game on turf in the City of Issaquah!

In our 2009 season, IYL teams had an estimated 100+ games and practices impacted by grass field closures due to weather related field conditions. The addition of these new turf fields will really help mitigate what has been a huge annual headache for the IYL field operations team.

Next time you are passing through the Highlands take a quick detour and check them out!