History

What is today BRIDGE Lacrosse Dallas (BLD) began with a meeting about starting a lacrosse program at St. Philip's School & Community Center in the summer of 2004. The following summer, a similar meeting took place at Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School of Dallas. BRIDGE Lacrosse Dallas currently includes both programs.

The  St. Philip's School & Community Center program was started during the 2005 season with a 5th/6th grade boys' team.  In 2006 the 5th/6th grade team, the Saints, became a part of the North Texas Youth Lacrosse League (NTYLL) with a regular schedule of games, both home and away. A two-week summer lacrosse camp was added in 2006 in partnership with Circle of Support and was attended by kids throughout the neighborhood, not just St. Philip's kids.  In 2007, a 3rd/4th grade feeder team was added at St. Philip's. In 2008, due to parental requests, 2nd graders were allowed to play on the 3rd/4th grade team, adding to our numbers. For the first time, girls got in on the fun at St. Philip's when a 5th/6th girls' team, the Lady Saints, was added during the 2010 season, making a total of three St. Philip's lacrosse teams serving over 75 children. In 2009, BRIDGE Lacrosse Dallas introduced after school monitored study halls and a health nutrition curriculum for lacrosse team members. This program continued in 2010 and was expanded to serve boys and girls in the 2011 season.

The Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School of Dallas team started playing during the 2006 season. Lacrosse was the first sport to be offered at this public magnet school for girls. In the inaugural season, a teacher on staff who had played lacrosse in high school not only helped recruit players for the new team but also helped coach the team. Nearly 30 7th/8th grade girls, many of whom had never even seen lacrosse, participated on the team, the Panthers, playing a full schedule of games in the NTYLL.  In the 2007 season, by popular demand, a 9th/10th grade (JV) team was added. The JV team became a varsity team in 2010 and a middle school team was started to accommodate younger players in grades 6-8 and to be a feeder team for the high school program. Currently, there are over 45 players on the middle school and high school teams. In 2011, lacrosse team members at Irma Rangel participated in after school monitored study halls and a healthy nutrition curriculum.

BLD summer lacrosse programs in partnership with Circle of Support have continued each year since 2006, serving 60-75 children per summer. In 2010, a summer lacrosse program in partnership with the Heart of a Warrior Foundation was added, serving 50 unique children. In 2011 BRIDGE Lacrosse Dallas offered summer lacrosse clinics for more than 100 boys and girls in partnership with the St. Philip's School & Community Center/Heart of a Warrior Summer Program. 

Thanks to grants from US Lacrosse and MetroLacrosse, 37 BRIDGE Lacrosse Dallas players traveled out of state to lacrosse festivals and overnight lacrosse camps during the summer of 2010.

In 2011, BRIDGE Lacrosse Dallas fielded two girls and one boys' team at the US Lacrosse Youth Fest in Arlington, TX, supported by a grant from US Lacrosse. And with a grant from Boston's MetroLacrosse, 20 BLD players attended SummerBounce camp in New Hampshire.

Since the 2010 season, all BLD coaches have been trained pre-season by the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) to be Double-Goal coaches. Double-Goal coaches focus on winning (important) and teaching positive life lessons (more imporatant).

In 2010, St. Philip's head lacrosse coach, Jack Tierney, was the recipient of PCA's national Double Goal Coaching Award, one of only 20 coaches throughout the United States to receive this prestigious honor. In 2011, St. Philip's assistant lacrosse coach, David Higbee, received the Double-Goal Coach Award for North Texas, one of only nine recipients to be so recognized.