Sticking With It
by Jill Cousins
In the fall of 2022, Ray Ordoñez – Seminole High School boys’ lacrosse coach – organized a field trip of sorts with some of his players. They piled into a few cars and made the two-mile drive to Sanford Middle School during the school day so they could demonstrate their sport to all the physical education classes.
The boys set up a couple of goals in Sanford Middle’s gymnasium, grabbed their sticks and a ball, and played a modified game of lacrosse, as the P.E. students watched in the stands. Afterward, interested middle schoolers could sign up for more information about a new feeder program called Sanford Bats Lacrosse Club.
“That was the best thing we had ever done in terms of getting exposure to the kids directly,” says Bryant Santana, who had started Bats Lacrosse with Coach Ordoñez in 2021. “This was a way for them to see the sport played at a high level, so they could decide if it was something they wanted to pursue.”
One of the middle school kids in the stands was a sixth grader named Carson Ackerman. He came home excited that day and told his mom, Leonore, about the new lacrosse program. With two younger boys at home as well, Leonore couldn’t always accommodate her sons’ extracurricular requests, but this time she was able to make it work.
A Triple Dose of LAX
Carson participated in Bats Lacrosse’s spring and fall seasons in 2023. Then, on December 13 of that year, his father, Phillip Ackerman, died unexpectedly of a brain infection, and the Ackermans’ lives were turned upside down.
Leonore, who also has two older children from her first marriage and an adopted daughter from Phillip’s first marriage, knew it would be a struggle to make ends meet. Fortunately for Carson, now 13, as well as his younger brothers Tucker (11) and Emery (9), lacrosse would continue to provide a much-needed outlet for the Ackermans. The club offered all three brothers lifetime scholarships, so they can continue to be part of their sports family at no expense to their mom.
“It was such a blessing,” says Leonore. “They had already lost enough. I would’ve hated to take away their extracurricular activities on top of it. But I wouldn’t have been able to keep the kids going if it were not for that scholarship. When the coaches told me about it, I couldn’t do much more than cry and tell them thank you.”
When Bryant and Ray started Bats Lacrosse Club, the goal was to provide a feeder program to Seminole High School and help make lacrosse more affordable to all Sanford residents. The program offers instruction and competitive play for boys and girls in second through eighth grade and continues to grow each year.
Score One for the Girls
Sanford Middle seventh grader Piper Walsh first became interested in playing lacrosse when she saw her brother Preston, now a freshman at Seminole High, play in the club two years ago. At the time, Bats did not have a girls’ program. That changed last year, when Seminole High girls’ coach Alexis Newman got involved. She’s now the club’s girls’ lacrosse director.
“I think it’s really great that they’re doing this for the girls now,” says Piper’s mom, Serena Walsh.
Piper was thrilled when Bats launched a girls’ program.
“I tried other sports, but they really didn’t interest me,” she says. “Lacrosse was something I’d never seen before, and I wanted to try it. I really love it because you can be intense and competitive. And I’m a very competitive person.”
The same can be said for Moshé Robinson, a Sanford Middle eighth grader. He had played flag football and basketball but then took an interest in lacrosse after seeing the Seminole High demonstration. Once his parents signed him up, Moshé quickly displayed a knack for the game.
“It was impressive the way he advanced and excelled,” says Moshé’s dad, Carey Robinson.
“We have amazing coaches,” Moshé adds, “and they all put a lot of work and effort into this. They are really dedicated to helping the young people in our community.”