First Public School Lacrosse Team Inspires Others To Follow

By Asma Khalid

This year, Woodrow Wilson High School became the first public school in the District to offer lacrosse. The folks who brought the sport to Wilson hope its popularity will spread through DCPS.

Matt Breslin is one of the masterminds behind the Wilson program. He works with a local lacrosse training group. He understands the sport has an elite reputation.

"Well, though that is definitely a stereotype of lacrosse," he says. "We want to bring lacrosse to everybody."

He found an ally in Michael Burnell, the athletic director at Wilson.

"I think if other schools see how we did with it, they’ll jump in," says Burnell. "I mean, there is a definitive pool of athletic talent all through D.C. that if they grasp this game and saw how much fun it is, and saw how it is another avenue for young men to obtain scholarships and make moves, they’d jump on it in a heartbeat."

And it’s true. Because of Wilson, other D.C. public schools have already begun reaching out to Breslin about starting their own lacrosse teams.