Queens of Lacrosse Empowers Girls Through Lax

By Kaitlyn Healy January 26, 2015

Queens of Lacrosse offers the only all-girls lax program in the borough of Queens, NYC. The program was started by a local dad who was searching for lacrosse programs in Queens for his two young daughters.

queens of lacrosse

Growing up, Joseph Albines’s daughters didn’t want to play soccer or softball, or another sport with a wide selection of programs and leagues throughout Queens. Instead, they became interested in playing a sport that wasn’t well represented in their borough: lacrosse. When their father set out to enroll them in lacrosse camps and programs near their home, he quickly realized that none such programs existed. So, in 2009, he decided to become Coach Joe and created Queens of Lacrosse, a program specifically designed for girls, like his daughters, who have a love for or interest in lacrosse. Five years later, Queens of Lacrosse is still the only 100 percent all-girl’s lacrosse program in New York City.

The Queens of Lacrosse strive to improve girls’ lacrosse abilities as well as enrich, empower, and encourage them to become strong leaders. “We do it through lacrosse,” Albines says. “We encourage them to start leading the warm-ups, simple things like that. We try to encourage the shiest ones to come out of their shells and assist with the other girls.”

The goal of the program is to prepare the girls to play at the high school level and possibly in college as well. Queens of Lacrosse teaches the girls lacrosse during the school year and helps them find camps to attend during the summer, offering scholarships when possible. “We have guest speakers come down every spring,” Albines adds. “We take great pride in anyone who benefits from our program.”

Albines, a former lacrosse player at Queens College and captain of the NYC Empire State Lacrosse Team, heads a team of five coaches, all of whom have experience playing lacrosse at a competitive level.

The Queens of Lacrosse program caters to beginners as well as experienced players who are in first through 12th grades. Sessions are held twice a year, including a 10-week program in the spring ($175) and a six-week program in the fall ($105). Sessions are held at the Martin Van Buren High School, at 230-17 Hillside Ave. in Queens Village. For more information or to register, visit queensoflacrosse.com or call 917-662-5438.