An established major sport in northern states such as New York and Maryland, lacrosse is still relatively new to North Carolina. But coming off its second season sanctioned by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, the sport continues to pick up steam in its quest to become a Lake Norman-area mainstay.

“The demographics down here are changing,” Hough boys lacrosse coach Anthony Puma says. “I believe it will be one of the biggest sports in the area in 10 years, being second or third to football and basketball.”

Still in its infancy, area lacrosse has grown considerably in a short period of time, evolving from a recreational activity to a full-fledged prep sport. This spring, some lacrosse games included as many or more fans as baseball games being played on adjacent fields.

“Eight years ago in Davidson, Huntersville and Cornelius, no one had even heard of the sport,” says Ronda Freese, who helped create the Cornelius/Huntersville Youth Lacrosse League (CHYLL).

With many area schools now fielding official teams, the fast-paced action of the game is making waves in the community, as the sport has gained a kind of cult following among athletes and parents alike.

“It’s just fun to watch,” says Freese. “Lots of times the parents get just as addicted to watching as the kids are to playing.”

Since being sanctioned as an official NCHSAA sport in 2010, lacrosse has increased to 120 public school teams (70 boys, 50 girls) statewide. But it’s not just at the high school level where the sport has seen rising participation. Club programs such as Xtreme Lacrosse and Lake Norman United are getting kids involved at an early age, and each summer, CHYLL offers 15 hours of beginner’s clinics for that same reason.

“The numbers grow every year,” says Freese. “We had 140 kids participate in our clinics last year.”

Former Hopewell lacrosse player Griffin Nevitt, who played collegiately at Air Force Academy and is often credited as the first Huntersville-area player to go on to play Division I, believes being sanctioned is the first step toward gaining higher participation.

“A big transition of being a sanctioned sport is that it makes the league and sport much more legitimate,” he says. “Kids hate being on club teams being referred to as a club sport.”

As an underclassman in 2002-03, Nevitt’s only option was to play for a team comprised of players from Hopewell, North Meck and Lake Norman high schools. He later transferred to the more established program at Providence Day.

“Since it wasn’t sanctioned (by NCHSAA), we didn’t have the best funding and availability for coaches,” he says. “That was the number one reason I moved to a private school where the sport was school-backed.”

While Nevitt’s path to college lacrosse took a few turns, others have found their way as well.

As a member of the North Meck girls’ club team, one of the state’s top teams at the time, Dylan Garner excelled for four years before being named a U.S. Lacrosse First Team All-American in2007 and moving on to play at Virginia Tech. She scored 25 goals as a Hokie and concluded hercollege career this year.

Now, in Lake Norman, interest in the sport has never been higher.

“It’s in a great position,” Lake Norman Charter boys coach Terry Gobble says. “Locally we are a little behind the other areas of the state ... but we’ve rebounded and are growing.”

And several area teams have hit the ground running, as the Lake Norman Charter and Lake Norman High boys teams along with the Hough and Lake Norman girls teams reached the playoffs last season. Lake Norman’s boys spent the majority of the season as the state’s top-ranked team.

But it’s not all good news for local lacrosse, as several obstacles remain in the way of keeping the sport from reaching its full potential. Most notably, players are responsible for providing most of their own equipment. That includes a stick, a helmet, elbow pads, shoulder pads, gloves, a mouthguard and shoes. Startup costs can range from $300 to $900 per player depending on the situation.

“It holds the sport back incredibly,” says Gobble. “If we can get that organizational support, lacrosse could surpass baseball and soccer because that aspect would be taken away.”

With Charlotte recently being awarded a Major League Lacrosse franchise, Gobble says he hopes to form a partnership with the organization in order to combat the equipment issue.

Another challenge is field space, which is at a premium in northern Mecklenburg. Soccer teams are also vying for the same space, and sometimes, there’s just not enough to go around.

“We are secondary in some aspects, but that’s what you have to expect until the sport grows,” saysPuma.

But the sport is spearheaded by people who are passionate about the game. Unable to have a school-sanctioned girls team at Lake Norman Charter, a group of 12 students joined forces with some players from Mooresville and formed the Mooresville Rebels club team. They had trouble finding opponents, however, and once had 28 consecutive days of practice. NCHSAA rules prohibit sanctioned teams from playing club teams, but Don Murphy, who coached the Rebels, was amazed at how his players stayed with it.

“There’s a lot of really happy girls who have a place to play,” he said in May.

Despite its challenges, local lacrosse continues to grow and improve at a steady pace. Some of its advocates even believe the area has the promise to become a hotbed for the sport, much like the northern states that have inspired the growth.

“I see the potential to get as big if not bigger,” says Gobble.

A major factor working for the Lake Norman area is the generally mild weather.

“One thing that helps lacrosse here is that outdoor sports are generally stronger because you can play year round,” says Puma, who grew up playing in some of New York’s most prestigious lacrosse districts. “That gives you a higher opportunity for growth. In the North, you’re basically handcuffed for a certain number of months every year.”

With more high schools establishing teams every year, Nevitt, who received the majority of his college recruitment through participation in summer camps, says the increase in teams will see a major influx in area players reaching the next level.

“The more teams the better, because it will give these kids a greater opportunity to play in college,” he says. “(Camps) are expensive and eat up most of the summer. If you can just get coaches to recruit you at your high school games, it can become much easier.”

The foundation for lacrosse to become a major factor on the local sports scene has been laid, and the sport shows no signs of slowing down.

“It’s definitely evolved and will continue to grow,” Puma says. “It’s definitely an exciting time.”

-Justin Parker contributed to this story.