Lacrosse Sticks and Broomsticks
University of Richmond sport club athletes and youth from Church Hill Activities and Tutoring (CHAT), a faith-based nonprofit in Richmond’s East End, cavorted on the intramural field on two spring Saturday mornings, cradling lacrosse sticks on one occasion and racing around on broomsticks on another.
The Bonner Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) brokered a partnership between Recreation and Wellness staff and students eager to connect with the community and CHAT, a longtime partner of the CCE’s Bonner Scholars Program.
Coaches and team members of Richmond’s Men’s Varsity Club Lacrosse Team cheered on CHAT youth as they put them through a series of lacrosse practice drills that involved running while spinning between poles, pulling a companion attached to a bungee cord, and shooting goals.
Judging from the lacrosse players’ smiles, they were only too happy to participate in this outreach initiative.
“It’s fun getting to see them having fun with drills we look at as painful,” lacrosse player Daniel Driscoll, ’13, said. “It makes lacrosse more fun for us.”
On their second visit to the intramural field, CHAT youth played Quidditch, a broomstick-flying sport created by J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.
The CHAT students knew about Quidditch, but none had played before.
“They asked me, are we really going to be flying on broomsticks?” said Seth Hickerson, Recreation and Wellness assistant director of programs.
The Richmond Quidditch Club introduced the youth to the rules and then played two games with them.
“Quidditch is a game everybody can play,” Hickerson said. “You could see the strengths of the different kids come out.
“After playing, we took over a whole wing of D-Hall, and the kids got to eat, and eat, and eat. They really enjoyed that.”
Murray Withrow, ’06, CHAT’s after-school director and a former Bonner Scholar, welcomed the partnership with Recreation and Wellness as one more way to deepen the already strong ties between CHAT and his alma mater.
"The CHAT-UR partnership is mutually beneficial," Withrow said. "UR students who connect to CHAT through a variety of campus groups, such as the Bonner Scholars Program, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, the Umoja Gospel Choir, and several fraternities and sororities, get to meet people from another part of the city.
“Likewise, our children benefit from new experiences. Most of our children have never played lacrosse or Quidditch,” Withrow said. “This is a great way to expose them to these sports.”
Lacrosse coach Glenn Carter agreed. “We need more minority people in lacrosse,” he said. “When I played in high school, I was one of two African Americans out of about 700 players in my area.”
To that end, Carter also led a spring lacrosse clinic for boys at Henderson Middle School, a CCE Build It partner. He modeled his commitment to the community by volunteering weekly this past semester with low-income African-American boys in Henderson’s Jr. FAME, an all-male mentoring program started by Richmond students.
“I am blessed to be at UR,” Carter said. “If I didn’t give back, what kind of message am I giving to my kids and my players?
Chances are he’ll have more opportunities to give back.
“We would like to build on this partnership with CHAT,” Hickerson said. “We [Recreation and Wellness staff and students] are passionate about outreach and opening up our resources to the community in line with the Richmond Promise.”
Photograph: Men’s Varsity Club Lacrosse coach Glenn Carter and CHAT student Tytrea Bailey