By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A former Missouri Western women’s lacrosse player is hoping to help grow the game locally by launching a new program.
A record holding goalkeeper at Western, Mackenzie Porter is hoping to teach more young girls about the sport she’s played since second grade.
Porter is launching Mighty Mo Lacrosse, a girls youth lacrosse clinic-based program here in St. Joseph.
Porter hopes with this program she can help grow the game, and bring more awareness
“Showing people like hey this is here, and I think once young girl see that the sport exists, then it’s going to start to draw people more to Missouri Western and Missouri Western lacrosse,” Porter tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Porter says the game helps girls build community by playing on a team, and says while there are several other youth sports
“Something different, especially here that people don’t even know exists and finding like maybe girls can find their community within this sport and it can become a love for them just like it was for me, it was an escape,” Porter explains.
Porter says she felt something special while she played the game
“A part of something bigger I guess, because I was a part of a team,” Porter says.
The program is still in its early stages. Porter says currently she is working to gauge interest from people and raise funds, with hopes of starting clinics later this summer.
“I know it’s soon, because we’re in the midst of summer right now, but I truly believe with community engagement and just sharing this initiative and getting people to hop on board, I think we can make it happen,” Porter says.
Porter says she also hopes to get some of her former teammates from Missouri Western involved to help with the future clinics when they begin.
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