  Back Home With HomegrownAlec Schimke | mnswarm.com In the State of Hockey, it's natural for kids to pick up a hockey stick at some point in their childhood. Swarm forward Colin Achenbach knows all about that as he grew up playing hockey in Apple Valley and was the star goalie of his high school team. Today, Colin spends his time with a lacrosse stick, doing his part through Homegrown Lacrosse to make sure local students do the same.  Recently, Colin found himself back in his hometown of Apple Valley at Falcon Ridge Middle School as part of a series of visits that he makes around the Metro to help introduce lacrosse to physical education classes. “We’ve been out to about five schools so far this year,” said Achenbach. “It’s really great to see how different kids react to the sport of lacrosse.” Colin, alongside buddy and fellow instructor Andy Kerchner, arrived at Falcon Ridge early Tuesday morning geared up in Homegrown Lacrosse t-shirts and Swarm hoodies, ready for another full day of lacrosse.  This was the final day of instruction at the school and Colin explained that they would be doing something special to end things on a positive note: “What we like to do is have a game unit to finish up. The kids really enjoy it, especially after the first few days of doing skill sets.” As the two made their way to the gym, it didn’t take long before Colin was by surrounded by several students screaming his name and waving their hands in the air for high fives. “You play for the Swarm right?” asked one student with a big smile on his face. About half of the students at Falcon Ridge will attend Apple Valley High School, Colin’s alma mater. For many of them, he serves as their local hero. One boy decked out in Apple Valley apparel was particularly excited to see Colin and the two chatted on the way to the gym. The boy explained how he had just gotten back from Pee Wee hockey practice earlier this morning. Practicing that early was not something Colin remembered doing at such a young age when he played Pee Wee hockey. When Colin arrived to the gym, a familiar face was there to greet him, Robert Altavilla; one of Colin’s former hockey coaches at Apple Valley. Altavilla is currently one of the physical education teachers at Falcon Ridge.  Ironically it’s an old hockey connection that is now allowing Colin to introduce the sport of lacrosse to middle school students in his hometown. The two reminisced about Colin’s playing days at Apple Valley until it was time for class to start. Shortly after another physical education teacher, Jim Jackson, greeted Colin. Today, Jackson got the day off and left the teaching to Colin and Kerchner. Jackson explained that Homegrown Lacrosse has had a positive impact on his class thus far. “The kids have enjoyed it immensely,” said Jackson. “Anytime you get kids excited about something they learn and they have fun. It’s different when they come out, Colin has done a wonderful job.” Before it was time to pick up the sticks, Colin gathered the students together and reminded them of the fundamentals that they had learned from previous instructions. Anxiously, the students awaited the chance to get back out on the field. When they arrived outside, Colin warmed the students up with some simple line drills. Back and forth the kids ran scooping up ground balls and exchanging passes. These kids weren’t just running through the motions either, they actually knew what they were doing. “After a few days of learning skills it gets really easy for them to understand the game of lacrosse,” Achenbach explained. Eventually it was time for the game activity and Colin split the students into four teams. Finally all of the skills that they had learned could now be put to use. To make sure that everyone got involved, students were only allowed to take five steps and then they had to make a pass to a teammate.  The games started with Colin watching over one match and Kerchner watching the other. The two cheered the students on as goal after goal was scored. For many of these kids, this was only their second or third time playing the sport, but one could hardly tell. Colin even got in the game from time to time, helping the kids move the ball around. It was evident that these students had a solid grasp on the game of lacrosse. One student even resembled the play of Swarm forward Dan “Air” Marohl when he scored a goal leaping from behind the net, which put a big smile on Colin’s face. “Nice goal!” yelled Colin. Another student was even was bold enough to challenge Colin during a one-on-one fastbreak. “I really think the kids are enjoying it,” said Achenbach. “It’s nice for the kids to have instructors come out who can actually help them learn how to pass and catch.”  Homegrown Lacrosse is not only helping the students, its also assisting the teachers he explained. “The teachers are really enjoying it because it gives them more knowledge and makes them more comfortable teaching it in class.” When class ended, the students had worked up a good sweat. Colin got everyone back together and thanked them for their efforts. For the students to come this far skill-wise in such a short period of time was quite an accomplishment. “Hopefully they will come back out in the spring and teach another group of classes. That’s what we would like to see,” said Jackson. “It worked out great and now everybody else wants to have it as well.” To say that Colin is just a name to these kids is an understatement. He truly has taken the time to grow the sport in his hometown and across the Metro. For more information on Homegrown visit http://www.homegrownlacrosse.org |
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