PARK HILLS – Growing up in Canton, Ohio, Lou Fries saw lacrosse take hold in northeastern Ohio and is hoping the same thing happens in Northern Kentucky eventually.
Fries is the first-year head coach of the lacrosse program at Covington Catholic, one of three programs in Northern Kentucky to take on the club sport. CovCath has had the sport for about a decade. Dixie Heights also has a team, and the third is an all-star team called the Northern Kentucky Warriors which is mostly comprised of Beechwood students but has players from other schools.
Fries hopes the sport is sanctioned by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association eventually but that can only happen when more schools show interest.
"That's one of my main goals in coaching lacrosse," Fries said. "It was catching on in northeast Ohio when I was in middle school. It's just really about starting these programs. One good thing we're doing is getting more than 40 kids on my team. We've got about 44 and that's great."
CovCath beat the two other local teams in games April 9 and hosts the Warriors on Thursday, April 16.
"We had this tournament last year," Fries said. "It was nice to bring back guys from the Easter break and get them back onto the field."
Fries' goal for the Colonels this year is to have a .500 record. They generally play more established teams downstate in Kentucky and in Ohio.
Seniors listed on the CovCath varsity roster include Joe Marino, Alex Beckes, Craig McGhee, Robby Fields, Andrew Whitehead, Joe Pieper, Alex Wagner, Ben Zumdick, Patrick Hennies, Sam Kathman and Chandler Brooks.
The coach said lacrosse is a good sport for a variety of athletes to enjoy.
"A lot of guys are brand new to the sport," he said. "One guy joined us a week and a half ago and he had two goals in a game. It has a lot of contact like football, the field size of soccer, the endurance of soccer, and scheme-wise it's a lot like basketball."