The LtN Volunteer Experience

by Javier Silva (LtN Executive Director)

With our programs on hold, we have taken time to reflect on what makes them so impactful, who they benefit, and how. We focus a tremendous amount on the students who come to practice and the local coaches who work with them, and rightfully so – it’s a big part of our work.

However, our mission is fueled by the passion and dedication of young lacrosse players and coaches across the US. The impact they have on our programs is huge. What our young volunteers get out of their time in our programs is massive and we don’t talk about it enough. The list of benefits of volunteering with LtN is long, but I’ve narrowed it down to the biggest three.

1. Cultural Immersion

The time our volunteers spend working at our international sites introduces them to new people, food, experiences, challenges and opportunities. Living for an extended period in a place that is so different from home teaches our volunteers to be open to opposing points of views, to embrace a new way of thinking and to be grateful for what they have. They bring these new perspectives home with them and create a ripple effect much larger than themselves.

2. The Extreme Resume Booster

LtN does not have a large staff so our volunteers are given big time responsibilities. They get to dive head first into various aspects of our organization. Everything from executing and evaluating programs to social media and fundraising strategy. This opportunity offers volunteers valuable insight into the nonprofit world. Volunteering with LtN provides tangible projects volunteers can highlight on their resume that will make them stand out later on in their careers.

3. Personal Discovery

The cornerstone of the volunteer experience is growth. Our volunteers come home knowing much more about themselves as individuals and professionals. They discover strengths and weaknesses. They realize what they like, and what they don’t. Our volunteers come home with a better understanding of how sports can be used to improve the lives of others. The role we play in it and how powerful they are in making that change possible. Ultimately, our volunteers come home a better version of themselves.

A major goal in growing our impact is to offer more opportunities for members of the US lacrosse community to travel, serve and self-discover. As the world slowly begins to reopen, we look forward to welcoming a new group of volunteers to our international sites so they can build off the work of the volunteers who came before them to make our programs stronger. All the while, growing as individuals and finding their place in the world.

Capstone Learnings: Thomas shares the lessons of sport

James River High School Senior, Thomas Rulof, talks about his experience using service through sport to complete his Capstone Project.

My Capstone project was a youth lacrosse clinic for boys in 5th-9th grade. I grew up playing lacrosse in the Chesterfield area. When coming up with an Idea for a capstone project I thought of a need that I could fill in the community. Right away I thought of having a lacrosse clinic for kids.

It worked out perfectly because I love lacrosse and working with children. I’ve been working in the Kidzone at ACAC since 2017 so I have a little experience with kids. The need that I wanted to fill was the lack of experienced coaching in the recreational age levels. In the greater Richmond area there is a lack of high level lacrosse coaches for younger kids.

I have dealt with this first hand. I grew up playing for Chesterfield Youth Lacrosse and we did not have very good coaches. If you want to get better you are almost forced to play for a travel team that has higher level coaches. This is a problem because children are not taught how to play the game correctly at a young age. If you take an average 10 year old lacrosse player from Midlothian, Virginia and one from New York the one from NY is going to be so much better. This is because there are better coaches for youth lacrosse organizations in the north.

To play my part in all of this I wanted to try and help young boys in my area by providing them with a group of high level coaches that will critique their craft. With that being said, we held River Lax on February 15, 2020. It was from approximately 12:00pm to 2:00pm. It was a success, we had 7 kids sign up and 6 show up. All of the kids had a great time and they really enjoyed the clinic competition and games at the end.

While the boys had a blast, We  raise a total of $260 which will be donated to the LtN programs in Nicaragua, Panama, and Colombia. This money will be able to cover one of the field days in Colombia or Panama or even provide tuition support for a month to four of LtN’s coaches in Nicaragua. After I found this out from Javier Silva, the Director of LtN, I felt very accomplished. It was a lovely experience being able to work with great People at LtN and at River lax .

Coming Home to Nicaragua

After a two-year hiatus I finally come home to Nicaragua.

What a wild two years it has been. The last time I was in Nicaragua was February 2018 with the Middlebury College Men’s and Women’s lacrosse teams. It was the start of the school year and we spent the week painting the classrooms to get the school looking pretty. The future was bright. 

Then in April a political uprising led to violence and uncertainty. Schools were closed for two+ months. We brought all our US volunteers home and cancelled all service trips for safety concerns.

Since then we’ve opened programs in two new countries and my job has been all about ensuring LtN’s future. My focus was not on day-to-day programs in Nicaragua. That job I left to Norman, our Country Director, and the coaching staff. They needed to step up. They needed to work with limited resources. They needed to succeed without volunteers. 

In my first visit back since the political uprising, I’m happy to say that they did. Our programs are stronger. Attendance at study hall is higher.  Average grades are higher. Our coaching staff run engaging practices that are teaching and developing some incredible young people.

Here are my biggest take aways from my first week back in Nica since 2018.

We play the long game.

Sometimes it’s hard to see the impact because we get bogged down by the day to day grind. Coming back to Nica after two years really showed me how far we’ve come. In the past two years our team of local coaches have taken ownership of the programs and the community has responded. Parents come to watch practice, some even strap on a helmet and mix it up with the kids. That was not seen two years ago. 

This is a result of 11 years of working with the community and building local leaders over time. It reminded me that our work is paying dividends. However, those dividends don’t come after one week or one semester. Our work is long-term and the more we strive to get better every day, the bigger the impact will be in the long-run.

Volunteers are critical to our work.

Our kids love having volunteers at practice. Not just because they have different accents and let them get away with a little more than our coaches do, but because they get to learn new things while making new friends and understanding another culture.

Our coaches love having our volunteers too. They want to improve as coaches so they can challenge our kids on the field as much as they do off the field. Without a consistent flow of US lacrosse players and coaches, our coaches were limited to YouTube and Instagram videos. While those are helpful, having experienced lacrosse players and coaches is the best way to improve. 

To our volunteers - our coaches and kiddos miss you and we hope to start bringing groups back to Nicaragua soon!

With success and growth comes new challenges and opportunities.

Yes, we’ve grown. Our coaching staff is stronger. Parents are more engaged. The schools we work with are committed. The kids have bought in. The challenges I faced as a volunteer in 2012 are not the same that our coaches face today. That is a good thing. 

The challenges we face are a result of the work we’ve put in to achieve our mission. These new challenges will only make our programs stronger once we overcome them. I’m excited to look back on this post in two years to see what new challenges are in front of us and how we were able to overcome the ones we have today.