Welcome to West Side Venom Lacrosse!

Greetings West Side Venom Lacrosse Players and Parents,

I would like to take this opportunity to make an important announcement to all West Side Lacrosse families, past and present.

First, I hope you all had a great summer and are adjusting to start of school this Fall. The 2008 lacrosse season was a great success, and the club is looking to expand our success and the sport of lacrosse for 2009. For several months the Board of Directors for both the West Side Venom and Blizzard Lacrosse clubs have been meeting to discuss ways of creating more opportunities for our players in the future. As a result, both Boards have decided to pursue a merger of the two clubs for the upcoming 2009 season.

For those of you not familiar with the Blizzard organization, also known as Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Academy, they have been in existence for several years and draw kids from Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood and Golden areas. The two clubs are very close in proximity and overlap in some geographical areas. Aside from the closeness of the areas that we serve, there are several benefits to joining forces:

· Creating more opportunities to match our players’ skill and athletic abilities to the appropriate levels of league competition

· Combining volunteers to perform administrative tasks, making club operations more efficient

· Using the combined financial resources to invest in recruiting and training of both players and coaches

· Making better use of available field spaces for practice and games

The priority is to create more teams, get more kids playing lacrosse and offer opportunities to play at levels that will advance skills and knowledge of the game. Having more teams will also allow any boy or girl the chance to begin playing, regardless of grade level.

Naturally, there is a lot of work to be done and questions to be resolved before we open registration in October. Volunteers from both clubs are actively working to resolve the issues, such as:

· A new team identity that still honors the history of both clubs

· Raising funds to offset the cost of new uniforms

· Overcoming aspects that typically come with change, e.g. moving players to teams that best match their abilities

· As well as several other items that will be addressed in the coming months

Our next step will be a formal vote by each clubs' board on consolidating the merger. This will most likely occur on September 15th. So, if parents or players would like to comment on the merger, feel free to respond: ddevine48@yahoo.com. And if any of you have suggestions on a new club identity or mascot, please include that as well. More information will be forthcoming in next few months and will also be posted on the clubs’ websites.

Thank you for your time,
Dave Devine

President, West Side Venom Lacrosse
ddevine48@yahoo.com

US Lacrosse Membership is a Must! You cannot play without a current membership!

Many players registration expires in April, go to Colorado Lacrosse Web Site to sign up for a membership number or to renew your membership. Your membership MUST be valid for the entire season (through June 2008)