(photo taken from the Skidmore Men’s Lacrosse Instagram Page)
The partnership between Harlem Lacrosse and Skidmore Men’s Lacrosse began long before Coach Joseph Martin became Head Coach in 2018. In 2014, Skidmore Lacrosse Alumni and All-American, Jacques Ward ’11, became a Program Director for Harlem Lacrosse, a non-profit organization that provides academic support, mentoring, and leadership training, and many more resources, to underprivileged youth. As such, the partnership between the two programs (Harlem and Skidmore) began. Coach Martin believes in the “mission and model” of Harlem Lacrosse because he has “seen first-hand the incredible impact [they have had] on their students and the results that their mentorship has produced” -- this has allowed this partnership to endure and flourish throughout the years.
Harlem Lacrosse is bigger than lacrosse, Coach Martin explains. It is about positively influencing the lives of underprivileged youth. Jaques Ward, the director for Promise Academy II (one of Harlem Lacrosse’s many sites) explains that throughout his work day, he is constantly in contact with the students, parents, and administrators to make sure the students are showing up to school and doing the work. Ward assumes many roles: mentor, middle-man between the admissions team and parents, and occasionally, teacher. Coaching is not one of Ward’s primary responsibilities, and only occupies a small portion of his week.
Ward, who grew up in East Harlem, knew that lacrosse opened many doors for him, and wanted to help his community: “[lacrosse] gave me a purpose and a drive to do and see a lot more. I just wanted to make sure these kids had the chance to get out [of Harlem] and see other opportunities and get to explore the world.” For the students, Harlem Lacrosse is a great opportunity to learn about the world around them, including exposure to colleges and universities.
For the Skidmore lacrosse team, according to Ward, partnering with Harlem Lacrosse allows them to see the next generation of players, while also reminding them of why they started to play lacrosse in the first place. “They can see the passion and drive these kids have. You forget why you do the things you do and then you see these young kids and you realize what motivated you in the first place.”
Because most of the kids are African American and/or Hispanic, Ward hopes that the predominantly-white college team is inspired by the change they see coming (i.e., the integration of an historically-white sport). “The more you understand their background and enjoy it, you start to respect them. You can learn a lot about someone different than you.” Ward hopes that this will “create a bridge between [his] kids and the college kids.”
Skidmore‘s affiliation with Harlem Lacrosse was highlighted by a post created on the Skidmore Men’s Lacrosse team’s instagram page acknowledging the murder of George Floyd. The idea for the post came from Ward, who wanted to include Skidmore Lacrosse in the campaign. “We’ve been working with Skidmore Lacrosse for so long and think of them as a part of us, so I reached out,” Ward explains. The fundraiser is to support kids who might not have computers, Ipads and wifi, which might hinder them from participating in school during the pandemic.
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Coach Martin explains, “in an effort to recoup a portion of the funds that would have normally been raised at the Annual Benefit, Harlem Lacrosse launched the Harlem Lacrosse Classic #gameready Campaign. Our program as well as many others throughout the country, determined this was a great way to support Harlem Lacrosse fundraising via an online platform. I began working with our primary contact at Harlem Lacrosse (Jacques Ward ’11) directly to get our program involved with this particular campaign around the end of April.”
When asked to speak on the backlash by the Skidmore community on the instagram post, Coach Martin said “everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but many of the comments to the post were very negative, disappointing and some were uninformed. That said, we remain committed to supporting Harlem Lacrosse because we believe it is an important organization that is making a direct impact on the lives of many underprivileged boys and girls.”
Similar to Coach Martin, Ward also described how frustrating, but unsurprising the responses were. He expresses that he is not sorry for doing the post. In fact, he explains that it was perfect timing because later that day, he sat down with his students to address their feelings regarding the instances of the killing of George Floyd. “I wanted to make sure they knew they weren’t alone because that is the biggest question I got during this period. They also expressed how they ‘hate cops and hate white people’ and I was concerned and had to tell them that they couldn’t have this mindset. I remind them that they have interacted with so many people with different cultures and races and I get that society is messed up, but you can’t say it's all these people because there are so many people that have helped you and supported you.”
All of this begs the question of what role collegiate sports play in social justice work. When asked this, Martin responded, “I believe that engagement in social justice work must begin with educating our student-athletes on the history of racism, social injustice and inclusion issues. I think that education can come in a variety of ways but I plan to have guest speakers address our team during the Fall semester on those matters.”
Ward has a similar view and thinks that simply writing a statement is not enough. “They definitely should have outreach to everyone. Going out in the community and supporting underprivileged kids is something all teams should be doing. Teams’ should be building a culture of community and outreach. Can you be doing more? Of course. But they have to start somewhere and grow. It does take time.”
Ward mentions that Harlem Lacrosse is no longer just in Harlem, but in Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Los Angeles now. This expansion of the Harlem Lacrosse programs highlights Coach Martin’s dreams for this sport. “I believe everyone should have the opportunity to play and enjoy the game that has brought so much joy to my life. My hope is that diversity in the sport will continue to grow and in the near future lacrosse will not be a sport that’s participatory make up is predominantly white.”
Just how Coach Martin’s love of the game drives him to want to better it, Jacques Ward looks forward to the change the sport will bring to communities like his own. “I tell my kids ‘when you’re playing a sport, no matter the sport, you are going to come across racism and people saying racial slurs to you, and you have to decide how you are going to react’. My vision is that we have different cultures playing lacrosse at Skidmore and other places. And grow in response to that. Without lacrosse, I wouldn't be where I am today.”