'You're making history.' Lacrosse club created in Rexburg. – East Idaho News

REXBURG — Madison County is now home to a lacrosse club that’s preparing to start its inaugural season in 2025.

The Rexburg Crusaders Lacrosse Club was founded in November 2024. Head coach and club president Nick Browneller said the club was created after his son, a freshman at Madison High School, wrote a paper for his speech and debate class about why lacrosse should be a sanctioned sport in southeast Idaho schools.

“He presented it before some teachers and I think the athletic department, then came home and asked if he found a bunch of kids who would be willing to play if I would come out of retirement and coach and I said, ‘Sure,’” Browneller recalled.

Browneller said starting this club is something they’ve tried to do in Rexburg before, but there wasn’t enough people interested until now. He said the sport is growing and noted there are already teams across southeast Idaho in places such as Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Ammon, the Teton Valley and Twin Falls.

“(My son) wound up finding a bunch of kids and within a couple weeks, we had 23 kids sign-up and register to play,” Browneller said.

The team is a junior varsity team made up of students from seventh to 10 grade. Only four kids on Browneller’s team have ever played lacrosse before.

He recognizes there’s a learning curve for his team, especially as they get ready for a season where they’ll face teams that have been around for a while.

“I tell the kids whether you know the sport or not, you’re making history by putting a team in Rexburg, so all I ever ask of them is they show up ready to have fun, work hard and know we’re not judging against what other teams have done,” Browneller stated. “We’re judging on where Rexburg wants to go with this team, and make a mark on the map for this part of southeast Idaho when it comes to lacrosse.”

Browneller has more than 30 years of experience playing and coaching lacrosse. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, which he said was one of the first states to have lacrosse.

“It’s an indigenous sport,” he said. “I grew up as if it was Texas football — you play it. For us, it was the main sport.”

Browneller played all through school growing up and when he was a student at Brigham Young University-Idaho, he started a lacrosse club and travel team. Browneller went on to coach Idaho Falls Lacrosse (2012-2017) and was a coach at Washington State University (2017-2020).

He then moved back to Idaho and worked with Idaho Falls Lacrosse for about a year before coaching Pocatello Lacrosse, where he helped that team get to the championship game.

“I was going to take some time off until my son put all this together, so here I am back in the fray with a community that’s really been nothing but supportive (and) parents who have been looking for years to have a lacrosse club and someone to spearhead it,” he said.

The season runs from March through May. Although it’s a community club, Browneller said the team works with Madison High School. The school has given the team time in the fieldhouse and is going to give them a field to use for their home games.

The Rexburg Crusaders will play against Pocatello, Ammon, Teton Valley, Idaho Falls and Jackson during its upcoming season.

Browneller said they are wanting to roll out youth programs in the summer. For more information on the club and what it has to offer, visit its Facebook page.