A sport with roots on the East Coast is now branching out in the Snoqualmie Valley, thanks to a new team.

The Mount Si Lacrosse club is a boys team of 17 Mount Si High School students, most of them freshmen. The club joins more than 80 boys teams at the high school level in this state, and a growing number of girls’ teams, too.

“It’s really starting to make its way through the Midwest and the West Coast,” said founder and coach Woody Kiser, a teacher.

With many of the players coming in with little lacrosse experience, Kiser is keeping things simple with his group.

“We work on a lot of fundamentals, a lot of the basics of the game,” the coach said. Growth skills include passing, shooting on goal and picking the ball off the ground, done with the “stick” which includes a pocket at the top called the “head.”

The players wear helmets and other safety gear during games, largely due to the significant amount of physical play seen during contests.

A March 25 match held at Snoqualmie Middle School saw quite a bit of contact by Mount Si players against opposing players from Redmond, as they fought for possession of the ball.

While physical play is a major aspect of the sport, speed is also a key element.

“We call it the fastest sport on two feet,” Kiser said.

The club was formed in December after Kiser and his wife, Eva, held informal clinics for local youth interested in lacrosse.

They connected with a like-minded coach who was doing similar activities for younger children in the Valley. As plans went into motion, the Kisers have been amazed with what they have seen.

“For the first year, it’s been extraordinary. The youth program is practically full already,” Eva Kiser said.

There is still much marketing to be done, especially among peers and potential newcomers.

Player Tom Evans says that reaction among his friends has been surprising.

“Most of them don’t know what that is, don’t really understand what that means,” Evans said.

Teammate Matt Mahrer said he was introduced to the sport by a friend in Maple Valley, and is thrilled to be on a team closer to home.

“It’s interesting, being the first year and stuff, working out all the kinks, but it’s fun. It’s nice not having to drive all the way to Maple Valley every night,” Mahrer said.

There is a proposal afoot within the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the state high school sports governing body, to add lacrosse as a sanctioned sport for both boys and girls. If this passes, there is a possibility of this club becoming a sanctioned school team. Woody Kiser thinks it will be a while before that happens.

“It will happen, it might take five years. I know with the budget constraints on the district right now, it’s hard to add more sports,” the coach said.

In the meantime, Kiser wants his neighbors to see what the sport is about.

“I say to the Valley, thanks so much for support so far, but come out and see some games, and really get hooked on this game,” he said.

More information is available at www.mountsilacrosse.org.