Lacrosse Debuts in Inner-City Washington School

May 27, 2011

Some of the girls on the lacrosse team at Ballou High School in Washington, D.C., run a drill on the practice field, May 2011

The modern version of the Native American game lacrosse is a popular sport at many predominately white and affluent, suburban private schools in the United States. But it also has taken root at a predominantly African American, public high school in Washington, plagued by poverty, violence and low academic achievement. Girls are now playing lacrosse at Ballou High School, where educators and students there hope to gain from it

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It is the last practice of the season for the girl's lacrosse team at Ballou, and the competitive spirit is still running high. This is the first year Ballou has had a lacrosse team, and the first time these girls have played the sport. They lost every game, but their coach, Holly McGarvie, still considers the season a success.

“I think the goal each year is going to change," she said. "This year, I think, just starting and building a foundation that we can build from and create a tradition of women’s lacrosse here at Ballou.”

Building a foundation in one of the poorest and most violent neighborhoods in Washington is not easy. Eighty-five percent of Ballou students participate in the national free and reduced school lunch program, an indicator of poverty. In the past six years, more than 40 Ballou students have died violent deaths, many of them victims of drug violence.