Lacrosse Makes Its Move

Lacrosse continues to exhibit huge potential in team sports and dealers and retailers are struggling with just how much to get involved with the industry’s fastest-growing sport. Meanwhile, vendors are making sure they have the product selection to

Lacrosse is a tough sport. Not just for players
getting hit with a stick or a blind-side check, but also for dealers who are just getting used to soccer as a mainstream sport. It’s like a supermodel at a singles bar. Everyone assumes she’s out of their league, so no one takes the opportunity to approach her. Chances are she’s going home alone.

There is similar trepidation from team dealers when it comes to lacrosse. It’s not that they aren’t intrigued by the sport. In fact, the opposite is true.

“We keep hearing that lacrosse is going to take off here,” says Mike McKenna, owner of Gulfshore Sports in Pinellas Park, FL. “I hope it does. I love the sport, but I know nothing about it.”
McKenna’s thoughts are echoed by team dealers across the country, especially in areas where lacrosse is just starting to develop a following.

Ask industry experts about the sport’s growth potential, and you get the same answer over and over again. The traditional hotbeds – the Mid-Atlantic, namely Maryland and Virginia, and the Northeast, most notably New York, and New England – continue to flourish. According to a 2009 report on lacrosse compiled by SGMA, more than 40 percent of total participants are located in these regions. If you’re talking about frequent participants – those who play more than 25 times a year – that number jumps to nearly 50 percent.

Kyle Sweeney, director of operations and a partner for upstart equipment vendor Maverik Lacrosse, believes that these statistics are good news for the industry. “The numbers don’t lie,” he says “The traditional areas are still growing.”

And it appears that the same is true for developing areas. As SGMA recently reported, among team sports lacrosse has easily shown the most impressive growth over the past eight years — to the tune of 117 percent. “What's made the development of lacrosse so dynamic is that it's as appealing to females as it is for males,” notes Mike May, SGMA’s director of communications.

Indeed, statistics from US Lacrosse show that the sport is growing faster among girls than boys at the youth level. “Women's lacrosse is an inexpensive sport,” says Howard Frasier, national sales manager and product manager for deBeer Lacrosse. “You’re seeing more and more schools add it. It's growing faster than the boys’ lacrosse for this reason.”

Overall, the number of young players is up by almost 10 percent. “Lacrosse is the fastest growing team sport in the United States,” points out Bill Schoonmaker, COO for US Lacrosse. “While participation is continuing to grow at an impressive rate in all areas across the country, we are seeing the most growth out west and to the south where more and more youth and high school programs are building strong foundations.”

According to May, the appeal of lacrosse is easy to see. “People who play lacrosse are attracted by its fast pace of play and the need for great hand-eye coordination,” he says. “In many ways, it’s similar to basketball in that great players can excel as individuals, but it’s important to have other players supporting you who work as a coordinated unit.”

Primed to Score Big

The communal aspect of lacrosse is one of the reasons that many experts feel the sport is primed to emerge as a top revenue producer in the team business. “There is a nucleus of people who have known lacrosse their entire lives,” says Geoff Broderick, eastern regional sales manager for STX. “In new areas where the sport is growing, you find more and more transplants teaching lacrosse to others.”

Among the states leading the way in new lacrosse programs are Florida, Colorado, Texas and California. “Weather is a huge help,” says Neil Goldman, brand manager men’s lacrosse for Brine. “Lacrosse is very big in baseball and football states. One trend we’ve been seeing is a crossover from these sports. Lacrosse is a great alternative for many kids.”

McKenna has certainly noticed this locally in Florida. “I’ve talked to a lot of football coaches who are afraid of losing fringe players [to lacrosse],” he says.

In Cincinnati, where Greg Koch runs Koch Sporting Goods, lacrosse is quickly becoming a factor in the team business. “We used to have one or two high schools with club teams,” Koch says. “Now we have 10 or 20.”

Although in Ohio lacrosse is not yet a sanctioned at the high school level, many states are adding it. In fact, 20 states in all have sanctioned it — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri (girls only), New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina (beginning in 2009-2010), Pennsylvania, South Carolina (beginning in 2009-2010), Vermont and Virginia.

Get In the Game … Or Not?

Another key indicator of growth – the number of certified lacrosse officials – is also on the rise. US Lacrosse reports that in 2008 it trained 2185 men’s “referees” and 508 women’s “umpires.”
“Officiating is critical,” says Broderick. “In areas new to lacrosse, you have to have officials to call games.”

With the proliferation of lacrosse programs in their regions, team dealers learning the sport are facing difficult questions. Should they get into the sport, even if they know little to nothing about it? What is the learning curve, and how quickly can they get up to speed? What kind of resources do they need to devote to the business? Where can they expect their competition to come from?

Jeff Miller, owner of Scholastic Sports Sales in Manlius, NY, has been grappling with these issues for several years. Scholastic is located in the central part of the state, a thriving area for lacrosse. Miller says that he used to do a healthy business in the sport, but times have changed.

“Lacrosse is still growing quickly around here, both in the number of athletes and levels of play,” he says. “But for us, the sport ranks behind baseball, football, basketball, softball and soccer. Schools used to go through team dealers, but now they’ve turned to lacrosse specialty and Internet dealers. It’s hard for us to match them on inventory and price.”

It’s not that Miller doesn’t see the opportunity that lacrosse presents. “Uniforms offer the best margins, along with warm-ups,” he says.

“Manufacturers have a wide array of stock, so we don’t get a lot of custom business. That’s the trend — good pricing and easy fill-in.”

For Koch, his best margins come from individual customers on the retail side. His business also differs from Miller’s in that lacrosse specialty is lagging behind in his area. “They are still learning the market,” he says. “Most haven’t figured out where to make their money.”

That has Koch optimistic about increasing his lacrosse business. His toughest challenges are posed by Internet dealers and cracking the close-knit lacrosse community in his area. “It’s a different type of customer, sort of a soccer mentality,” he notes. “It’s all about price and familiarity. Finding lacrosse coaches isn’t easy. And they aren’t sure a full-line store can handle the job.”

According to Sweeney, it’s important for team dealers to start at the youth level, where they can establish a reputation as a knowledgeable and reliable supplier. “The days of just anyone selling the sport are over,” he says. “Lacrosse is now a year-round sport for kids. They play for more than one team. All-Stars are on the rise. You have to have reps who know the sport and the business.”

Frasier believes in a similar philosophy. “Opportunities are with club teams and in immature markets,” he says. “If you can serve these consumers with the best customer service, you will end up with loyal customers for life.”
Goldman’s advice is to be persistent. “Make the business personal,” he says. “Don’t let it go out of state to Internet dealers. Show the service you provide. Lacrosse is a loyal sport. Customers will come back if you do right by them.”

Broderick emphasizes the need for team dealers to immerse themselves in lacrosse. “Comfort level holds back a lot of dealers,” he says. “But team dealers have an advantage over specialty dealers in that they don’t need a critical mass of players to be successful. This is really beneficial in areas where lacrosse is developing. Learn the sport, get in there and open the lines of communication, and then leverage them.”
Schoonmaker feels a void exists that team dealers can fill. “Not having access to lacrosse equipment in some of these burgeoning areas can be a hurdle,” he says. “These growth areas are craving lacrosse retailers that can provide expert advice. There is a strong support system of dedicated individuals across the country who consistently and generously give back to the sport with their time and expertise.”

SGMA’s May believes team dealers who embrace lacrosse will be rewarded. “It's a sport that is more popular today than it was a year ago,” he says, and next year it will be even more advanced. “From an financial perspective, it's a relatively inexpensive sport to start and play, which makes it appealing for a high school or university that’s looking to expand the number of sports it provides to its students. The recent TV exposure the sport received during the NCAA finals was another big boost. Once most people try lacrosse, they like it and stick with it. Without a doubt, it will be more popular at this time next year than it is right now.”

Schoonmaker agrees, adding that US Lacrosse is a willing source of information for team dealers. “US Lacrosse makes a continued commitment toward growing the sport with our many programs and services,” he says. “We foresee lacrosse continuing to grow exponentially over the next five years and beyond.”

So is that enough to convince a team dealer like McKenna to make his move? “Yes,” he says, “I’d like to get in on the ground floor.”

For Miller, it’s just the opposite. “When it comes to lacrosse,” he says, “we need to get back to where we were.”


TREND WATCH

What are the key trends driving the lacrosse business? We asked some of the leading manufacturers for their observations. Here’s what they had to say.
Howard Frasier, national sales manager and product manager, deBeer Lacrosse
“I see more personalization right now. Customizing a product is really what is selling, unless it has some new tech feature behind it. The easier to customize, the better. Our new Defy women’s stick has colored clips. Down the road, a player will be able to pick the color they want to play with on any given day. So if a girl plays for a high school, she’ll be able to pick the color of the school. If she goes to play for a club team in the summer, she can change the color of the clip on the same stick to the club team colors.”

Geoff Broderick, eastern regional sales manager, STX
“There has been an explosion in demand for Special Edition product. Lacrosse has become novelty driven, especially for boys. I’ve also been impressed by the acceptance of upper-end price points. For most teens and older players, price is not much of an issue. There are two key components to the team business — custom and stock. Custom, which is the more lucrative, is growing rapidly. For our gloves, for example, we enable teams to chose their colors and embroider the team logo. This is particularly popular in the sport’s traditional hotbeds. The stock business is 100 percent price driven. The good news for team dealers is teams won’t necessarily go to lacrosse specialty. They want the best price.”

Kyle Sweeney, director of operations and partner, Maverik Lacrosse
“Product used to be purely functional, but players have become more style conscious. They want equipment and uniforms that are aesthetically pleasing. Less is more. At the same time, quality has become even more important. There is an emphasis on lightweight and streamlined design. A lot of this has to do with how the game is changing. Concept and strategy remain the same, but players are bigger, stronger and faster. Their skill sets are more diverse. This is forcing manufacturers to keep up, both in a fashion-forward sense and an idea-forward sense.”

Neil Goldman, brand manager–men’s lacrosse, Brine
“Lacrosse is developing a faster and more physical athlete. This affects product development. Everything now is about mobility. We’re experimenting with new materials, textures, colors and shines. More and more, lacrosse players are treating their equipment the same way skateboarders and snowboarders do. They see it as an expression of their individuality. For example, everything used to be black or gray, but we’re moving away from that.”

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