In Week 15, the Georgia Swarm hosted their fourth annual Grow the Game night, inviting new and experienced fans to Gas South Arena for Saturday night’s contest against the Saskatchewan Rush. The evening was filled with activities, fundraisers, and staple Hive intensity, while showcasing local schools and lacrosse programs in the Gwinnett-Atlanta area.
The evening was first introduced in the 2021-22 season and offered local schools and programs in the greater Gwinnett County area the opportunity to not only watch a Swarm home game, but also nominate their program’s jersey to be worn by one of the players during warmups. The team also partnered with the Gwinnett Sports Commission to host a lacrosse gear drive at Gas South Arena, asking fans to donate new and used youth lacrosse gear to be allocated to underserved schools and programs around the county.
Now, with three years of official inclusion in the Swarm Theme Night schedule, Georgia has taken the opportunity to expand their community outreach efforts and reconnect their activities to their Grow the Game festivities.
This year, the Swarm invited local schools to participate in a ticket sales competition. The 23 schools that sold the most tickets to future Swarm games had their logo printed around the waistline and cuffs on the team’s Grow the Game night jerseys. The top performers also won the chance to sit in on the Swarm’s pre-game warmups, a meet-and-greet with the team, and a signed jersey from their favorite players.
Georgia also invited several local schools and teams to be featured in several aspects of the evening: the Lanier High School lacrosse team was invited to lead the Chuck-A-Ball fundraiser, with all proceeds going to benefit the Lanier lacrosse program, and the Hull Middle School pep band was invited to perform during the game.
For Georgia, growing the game is more than a one-night exploit. In addition to their game day equipment drives and school spotlights, the Swarm are also on site, introducing the Medicine Game to new fans and athletes in their area through the Educational Gym Program. The program, led by Swarm players in local Gwinnett County elementary and middle schools, features an in-depth first introduction to lacrosse. This includes the story of the first-ever game between the winged animals and the land animals, the game’s origins and intentions, and the importance of the traditional wooden stick and what it means to the game. The program also focuses on why it is called the Medicine Game and how it relates to today’s game of lacrosse. Students are also afforded the opportunity to experience and play lacrosse with current NLL stars.
Though the sport is experiencing an exponential boom in the American Southeast, both field and box lacrosse still find themselves behind the more popular sports of the region, with football, baseball, and basketball dominating the region’s youth sports. This disparity, however, makes the Swarm’s presence in the community that much more lucrative. When the team formerly known as the Minnesota Swarm was first introduced to Duluth, Georgia, lacrosse was very much in its infancy stages of popularity. Now, with more local teams than ever before, it’s clear that the Swarm is making a significant impact year after year, regardless of the spectacle or engagement.
“More people are starting to recognize us,” shared the Swarm’s Digital Media Coordinator, Allison Schneider. “[We’re] starting to see shirts with our logo just going to grocery stores.”
The team credits their positive local image to their consistent face time in the community and to things as simple as walking in parades or sending their mascot to youth and high school events. Just by sharing their passion for the sport and its roots, the Swarm are building connections that put sticks in hands and bring people to games. During one of their Educational Gym Program sessions just this past week, a young elementary school student with special needs was given her first introduction to lacrosse by defenders Liam McGrath and Adam Wiedemann, who led her down the court to score her first of many goals and shared a celebratory hug.
With boots on the ground, the Swarm has expanded to all corners of Duluth, helping to pave the way for the sport in the Southeast and inspire the next generation of lacrosse superstars. Though they were unable to bring the youth of Gwinnett County a win on Grow the Game Night, falling just short to the Saskatchewan Rush in an 8-7 nailbiter, there was no shortage of energy from their new and veteran fans alike. The Swarm have indeed made their mark in Georgia and are paving the way for the explosion of Southern box lacrosse.
