HLL Visits Yale, Meets Yale and Dartmouth Lacrosse Teams

On April 9th the 35 of Frederick Douglass Academy’s middle school lacrosse players visited Yale University.

Yale’s Head Coach Andy Shay, Defensive Coordinator Ryan Polley, and three Bulldog Freshman players instructed the FDA players on the history of the game of lacrosse before coaching the boys in a clinic they will never forget.

Later the FDA boys ate lunch in the Silliman Dining Hall and toured Yale’s Campus before cheering on Yale as it beat Dartmouth 9-7 at newly dedicated Reese Stadium.

Afterwards, the team split in two to join both Yale and Dartmouth players and families in their post-game receptions.  The FDA boys chatted about lacrosse, school, and life with their collegiate counterparts and made sure to get lots of pictures and autographs before heading back to Harlem.  Many of the Lions players had never visited a college campus.  As an added bonus, the boys left New Haven with several boxes of equipment donated from New Canaan, CT, after Sally Campbell, mother of Dartmouth goalie Fergus Campbell, organized an equipment drive on behalf of FDA’s players.

HLL would like to thank the Yale and Dartmouth lacrosse programs for their hospitality and generosity of spirit, particularly Andy Shay, Ryan Polley, Peter Kaufman, Sally Campbell, and Lisa Coleman.