By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/9/10
It was a special day for lacrosse in the city Thursday when the first day of Public League girls’ lacrosse kicked off at Stenton Park and a long-time leader was recognized for her tireless contributions to the sport.
Tina Sloan Green, who has been running lacrosse programs for schools and other organizations for 30 years, performed a ceremonial first draw before each of the games in the first girls’ lacrosse doubleheader in the history of the Public League. Six teams are competing this year in the girls’ division.
The first game was between Northeast/Delaware Valley Charter and Girls’ High, Sloan Green’s alma mater. Sloan Green also served as the honorary coach for Northeast/Delaware Valley, which won, 8-6, in a hotly-contested game. In the second game, George Washington handled Mastery Charter-Pickett, 10-0.
Sloan Green, the former coach of two-time national champion Temple and the Co-founder and President of the Black Women in Sport Foundation, said in a statement that it was an honor to be involved in the first girls’ lacrosse matches.
“I personally would like to thank the lacrosse community, the Philadelphia School District, our local universities, the sport advocacy groups and the BWSF board and mentors who helped make this dream a reality for our girls,” Sloan-Green said.
“The coaches were enthusiastic and the girls seemed to enjoy the experience, not really realizing that they were trailblazers. This truly was one of my most rewarding moments in sports.”
“We were very excited and honored to have Tina Sloan Green be a part of the first girls’ high school Public League games,” said Delaware Valley coach John Benci. “Tina has been a driving force for providing girls in Philadelphia opportunities to participate in sports and she played a crucial role in getting Public League lacrosse off the ground.
“Five of the six Public League teams were able to participate in the ceremonies. It was a great start to what promises to be a fun-filled inaugural season.”
The first boys’ games were played Tuesday. Boys’ games also will be played Saturday as Gorge Washington meets Audenried at 10 a.m. at the South Philly SuperSite. At 11:45, Mastery plays Delaware Valley.
