Paloma Valley makes history with first-ever lacrosse team

By Tommie Brown, Staff Writer

"Paloma finally got a lacrosse team?"

That was the question that swept across the PVHS alumni community that caught wind of the newest athletic addition on the Paloma Valley campus.

A battle many students have fought and lost along the years, the formation of a lacrosse team at PVHS is something of a small miracle to both past and present students.

However, no one could have predicted both the tremendous struggle and amazing success that would follow the players, coaches, and families who have stepped up as the forerunners of this new team.

"Raise your hand if you have ever played lacrosse before," Menifee 24/7 asked a huddle of a few dozen boys and girls. Sitting in the back field of the Paloma campus, shielding the sun from their eyes with one hand and shooing ants away with the other, no more than two hands raised from the crowd.

"Raise your hand if you have ever played any sport at all." A few more hands raised up from the group this time, but it was clear from smirks and shrugs that this was a team that embodied the meaning of "firsts."


When the call for participants was made to the student body, students piled in to join this first-ever club of its kind. Fast forward to a few months later,  after students realized the amount of work, dedication, and sacrifice that would be required of them in order to make this historically non-sport at Paloma a reality. The coaches were left with no more than a handful of players and Paloma’s back lot to practice on, because regular access to the football field wasn’t granted.

"This was a team put together out of sheer faith and resilience," said first-time lacrosse coach Cipriano Armijo. "This is the definition of from the ground up. I saw that there was a desire from the students, so I stepped up to try and make it happen. But hand to God, it was only through everyone’s faith that this got done."

Never having even picked up a lacrosse stick, Armijo was learning how to coach the boys team through YouTube videos and a lacrosse handbook that he stuck in his pocket at practices.

A former football coach and current math teacher at Paloma, Armijo partnered with fellow math teacher and club coordinator, Carrie Higgins, to tackle the longtime requested sport, both with zero experience.

“It has been very overwhelming, because I’m still learning,” said girls coach Higgins. “But luckily, the kids have been very understanding in that I’m doing this for them. Same thing with Armijo. We are all starting from the same place and we are all having to work really hard at this.”

Though it would seem as if being a compilation of beginners would be this aspiring team’s biggest struggle, it turned out to be but a trivial matter in comparison to the financial issues they came to face.

"This is an expensive sport," says Armijo. "But we didn’t want to demand the players have the money for it all; we wanted this to purely be an opportunity for the kids. We just asked that they fundraise and give their all."

But whether it be players who walked on with gear, donations from families and local businesses, or money the kids fundraised themselves, the group gathered together just enough funds to make ends meet. Paloma’s math department even started a donation fund to help their colleagues meet some of the players’ needs.

(Pictured left: Coaches Armijo and Higgins awarding a father the "Parent of the Season" game ball for becoming self-taught in lacrosse alongside the team in efforts to assist)

"We had 60 kids come out here on the first meeting in winter," said Higgins. “Then the kids realized how much we would need to fundraise and started doubting we would ever become a team. So the players you see out here are the ones who decided to stick around and fight, and stay excited. We’re all really proud of that.”

But when all things are said and done, an athletic team still needs to be able to perform well in order to prosper.

And with nearly no experience from either players or coaches, the odds of success should have seemed grim.

"It wasn’t looking great," laughs Armijo. "But I just thought, 'Alright, we came this far. We got a handful of kids, got the bare minimum for equipment, we can do something with this.' And that’s when it felt like I just looked over and there was Chris Doubleday.”

Doubleday, a junior at PVHS, had played lacrosse for years previous. Hanging his hat on the sport, rather than offer his skill as a player, he volunteered for no other reason than his generosity, to step in as an assistant coach.


Pictured: Chris Doubleday showing Grace Doubleday techniques

Between Doubleday, YouTube, and the few players, such as team captain Gavin Gauthier, who have played on lacrosse teams before, the group gained enough know-how to land them spots in matches against neighboring schools.

With hand-me down XL JROTC “Maroon Platoon” t-shirts acting as jerseys, the teams fought their way through the season, coming out significantly more successful than most would have pegged – and not just on the scoreboards.

"Here’s the thing," said Higgins. "This is a super intense game of running and physical exertion. It's critical to have sub players."

It was a luxury, however, these teams were often not granted.

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“We had one game against Santiago and went in with only the bare minimum – 10 players," explained Armijo. "Within that game, one player got hurt and we had to play one man down. I remember at one point two players ran up to me and said they needed to take a break. I told them that it was fine, but we couldn’t stop the game; we had to keep playing with however many players were left on the field.

"The boys turned right back around, got back on the field, and decided among themselves to start rotating positions with each other to give each boy a chance to take a break from running. I thought wow, that right there is heart."

"We are going against teams that have 40+ players over us," says Pablo, one of the players. "They have players to switch in and out, and we just have to play the entire time. But we’re just happy we get to play!"

And within their positive attitudes and relentless work ethic, the boys and girls teams became magnets to the helping hands of other, more experienced teams in our community.

 Armijo painted the story of one game played against Vista Murrieta where the boys varsity team took it upon themselves to give a few lessons to the PVHS players on the field mid-game.

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“It was great to see," said Armijo. "Vista’s boys were on the field yelling, ‘Come on, I know you can hit me harder, it’s alright!’ to some of our more timid players. They were even showing them better ways to hold their sticks and catch the balls. All the players were so humble and just eager to learn."

The lessons didn’t stop there. Coaches on rivaling teams even stepped up to lend a hand.

That included Vista Murrieta’s head coach running a match as a practice, stopping and correcting as the game went on. And Great Oak’s head coach taking Armijo to the side during each break of their home tournament to give coaching tips and techniques.

"I’m here to learn anything anyone wants to teach me about this," laughed Armijo."“My ego is not here. And the community has just been awesome. These teams could’ve taken advantage of us, but rather they chose to do everything they could to help us compete."

This eagerness to succeed on the field was mirrored throughout both teams. One player, Grace Doubleday, took up the starting goalie position on both the girls and boys team.

"We needed a goalie on the boys’ team and Grace stepped up," said Armijo. "This team has had so many success stories, really. From Grace having the heart to take on both teams, guys who have never played a sport ramming into other guys, to players doing so much they thought they couldn’t."

Higgins even made it a rule amid the girls’ team to force themselves to stop saying "sorry."

"Girls are taught to apologize for taking up space," says Higgins. "So I have these girls out here doing their best, and then saying sorry for not catching the ball or throwing it too hard. So the rule is if they say sorry, they take a lap. It’s been great to watch them grow. All these kids here, they just have refused to give up."



And the Paloma administration has been nothing but supportive for these newbies. Both Armijo and  Higgins gave nothing but praise when speaking of the roads both principal Jennifer Thomasian and athletic director Ryan Sharp have blazed ahead for them.

"They really were outstanding," said Armijo. "Once we committed to doing this, they really stepped up and went out of their way to make sure whatever we needed to get done, happened. Without their support, this could not have worked."

With the season at a close, both coaches and players are eagerly looking ahead to their bright future as a team. While not yet winning a game, the boys team has managed to pose as an actual threat to opponents, with their last game of the season seeing a 10-7 loss, played with no subs or experience. With the boys players already lettering in varsity, both teams are lettering in All-Academics, and with only two seniors on the girls’ team and no seniors on the boys’ team, all players will be returning next season with even more enthusiasm.

"I have never seen such a mix of different varieties of kids come together and back each other up and become such a strong team," says one team mom, Darla Gauthier. "We watched all these complete strangers become great friends."




And as far as new members go, one player says that "at first everyone was glad they left, but now all these kids on campus are asking us when the next season starts so they can join."

But while the energy is high and the road to CIF sanctioning as a sport is clear, some needs still need to be met.

"Water jugs would be nice, like the other teams have," says player Jack Thompson. "More players, some actual jerseys."

"Gear, helmets for the girls," says Armijo. "We expect new players to start joining, and all those new players will need complete gear. We still have work to do."

The players and coaches are thankful to all the sponsors, such as Marco Transport, Lake Elsinore/ Wildomar Elks Club, The Men’s Room, and private family donors, for getting the team on the field in year one. More sponsors are more than welcome.

"We ended our season knowing that we are competitors for next season," says Armijo. "We are proud of what we have accomplished this year."

Going where no Paloma students have ever gone before, this marks a moment in PVHS history.

"In years to come, no one will remember our names," Armijo tells both teams and parents. "No one will know who we are, or what we did here. The work we put in. But there’s only ever one year one. And that’s what we have done. You all will be a part of the PVHS legacy."