Idaho Falls man named coach of the year in fast-growing sport

IDAHO FALLS — In just two years of competing at a varsity level, the Idaho Falls Lady Eagles girls’ lacrosse team has jumped from the bottom of the league to the top. And things got even better for the club recently when head coach Dominic Gonzalez was named Idaho girls lacrosse coach of the year.

Gonzalez has been coaching the Lady Eagles for around five years, according to Idaho Falls Youth Lacrosse board member Ben Josephson, during which time the sport has seen a massive jump in popularity.

Lacrosse, Josephson said, has long been popular on the East Coast but is somewhat new in the Pacific Northwest.

“Lacrosse is, kind of, a niche sport. But it’s getting just bigger and bigger out here,” he said.

The sport’s growth among girls has been significant in recent years, Josephson said. Just a few years ago, the Eagles had just one girls team, a high school squad, which competed at the JV level.

Last year, the club fielded three teams, including a varsity team. And while things did not go well in that inaugural varsity season, they went according to expectations. The Lady Eagles lost more than they won, according to Josephson, and finished at or near the bottom of their league, which includes 14 teams primarily based in the Treasure Valley.

“But we knew we had to go to the varsity level to get more competitive,” he said.

This year, their second playing varsity lacrosse, the Lady Eagles finished fourth in the league. They also, once again, had one of their players accept a scholarship to play college lacrosse — Dominic’s daughter, Gemma Gonzalez, who signed to play at Eastern Oregon University.

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The sport’s recent growth makes it a prime option for girls looking to earn an athletic scholarship, according to Josephson. And with that popularity spike hitting Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana, that makes Idaho Falls a potential hub for the sport.

Josephson foresees future tournaments in the Idaho Falls area which draw teams by the dozens from the region.

There is also some hope, though in the distant future, that the sport will become a state sanctioned sport, overseen by the IHSAA with teams representing all or most of the state’s high schools.

“We’re not in positions — we just couldn’t pull it off right now, we don’t have enough kids at this point,” Josephson said. “We’re just in a continual growth mode, especially with our younger kids.”

Part of that growth is at the middle school level, where the Lady Eagles saw their own massive jump in competition this season.

The middle school team, Josephson said, is coming off a great season, and is in position to become the top varsity team in the state in the much nearer future.

But, as Josephson said, the sport as a whole is in a growth period. Local teams are doing their part to spread awareness, including hosting free camps.

The Idaho Falls Eagles will host their free camp on June 11 and 12, at Taylorview Middle School, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The camp is free and open to all boys and girls under 18 years old.

Asked what makes playing with the Eagles great for kids, Josephson said it is all about the community and culture built in their program.

“Our program is built on culture,” he said. “Our older girls are mentoring our younger girls — we have juniors or seniors who will take younger girls, freshmen, under their wing. It’s just really a sense of community.”