Determined volunteers building Brookfield lacrosse program

BROOKFIELD, Wis. - Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the country.

For some kids in Brookfield, picking up a stick for the first time is eye-opening.

"I didn't know like what it was," said Grace Antos. "And then when I played it, I liked it."

For others like Grayson Riggi, they are just following in their parents' footsteps.

"My dad played it, and he told me it's like really rough and everything and I like being rough a lot," said Riggi. "He told me he dislocated his shoulder because of lacrosse. It doesn't make me not want to play. I just like getting injured."

Whether you like the feeling of scoring a goal or the pain, this is all about getting a new crop of kids interested in the sport.

That's what Christine Roehling and the Brookfield Lacrosse Association are hoping to do with their free try-it events.

"We're really trying to swell the youth program and get our high school to where it needs to be kind of like the junior programs that a lot of the communities have," said Roehling. "That's what our goal is is to really build this into something big and a name to be known in the community."

The volunteer organization is in need of help teaching these kids.

That's where Marquette and Carroll University athletes come in.

"It's really cool to kind of grow up in this sport and watch it develop and watch it grow," said Carroll junior Ashlyn Phaneuf. "And so as I've grown up and learned from lacrosse, it's awesome to go back and be able to be a part of that experience for these young girls."

RELATED: Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app

"I started playing pretty early. I fell in love with it really early," said MU graduate student Hannah Greving. "So if I can help one, two kids do that, I think it's a really great sport."

There were not this many kids when Phaneuf was growing up.

She says events like this are a wonderful sight.

"I never really imagined that I'd go on to play college athletics," Phaneuf said. "I always just thought it'd be a hobby and middle school and high school and lacrosse has meant so much to me."

The kids say they learned a lot.

Though Riggi said there are a few more tricks he would like to pick up.

"I want to learn this really cool trick that my dad has," Riggi said. "The ball is in here, and you throw it up, and you catch it on this side, which not a lot of people can do that. My dad can't even do it."

Brookfield Lacrosse was happy to see such a large number of first-timers.

Greving hopes that this is only the beginning.

"Kids were so excited," Greving said. "You know, they catch a pass, or they get a ground ball, or they score. They get so excited, and it's really nice to be able to help them have that feeling and, hopefully, they stick with it in the long run."

Registration for Brookfield Lacrosse opens up Friday, Dec. 1.