MISSOULA, MONT. - On Saturday, the Montana Youth Lacrosse Association held a kick off party at Dornblaser Fields in Missoula. The event, dubbed the MYLA Lacrosse Jamboree, was open to boys & girls ages 6 & up and featured a high school match up between Missoula Patriots and the Gallatin Valley Lacrosse Team and a men’s exhibition between 406Lax and Silverbow Men’s.

As 10-year old Rylan Fortier was putting on his pads, getting ready to hop into a game of Chumash (a modified lacrosse game), his mother Brandy explained what brought them out to the MYLA Jamboree. “My son loves lacrosse. In Missoula there is little activity with this sport. Any time we can pick up games he participates.” Sally Ann Chisholm, mother of Heath (age 15) and Aiden (age 11), stationed herself in the scorers box for most of the day so she could watch her kids playing on both fields. She said, “their dad was a lacrosse player and they are really excited about lacrosse coming to Missoula. The boys are just hoping for more opportunities to play.”

MYLA Director James Pyke, who also coaches the Missoula Patriots, was excited about how the event turned out. “We really just wanted to provide an opportunity for kids to get out and play lacrosse. We got a lot of great feedback from parents and fans today and we are excited to keep lacrosse moving in a forward direction here in Montana.” With over 50 youth participants Saturday, you can expect another MYLA event to be anounced soon.