Northside Christian (St. Petersburg) Gearing up for Inaugural Lacrosse Season
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Featured Posts, Florida Lacrosse News, High School, Tampa/Treasure Coast Boys.
Via press release from the school
Northside Christian School (NCS) in St. Petersburg, Florida has a long standing tradition of athletic success. Several of the school’s athletes have led their teams to state appearances in a variety of sports, and an average of at least 10% of every NCS graduating class has students go on to play their sport at the collegiate level. However, the Northside Christian Mustangs have never had a lacrosse team – until now.
Lacrosse is gaining popularity in the Tampa Bay area – with the number of kids getting involved at a young age growing exponentially. More and more schools in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties are starting to engage in talks about starting lacrosse programs at their schools. After several prospective young families toured the Kindergarten through 12th grade private school and asked if they had a lacrosse program, the Mustangs knew they needed to field their first Boys Varsity Lacrosse team in the school’s history. This spring, NCS will be competing in the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) under the Independent classification.
The Mustangs will be led by head coach Mo Asif who has been coaching for the last four years with the Saint Petersburg Lacrosse Club where he also serves as the Director of Boys Lacrosse. Asif started playing lacrosse competitively on travel teams during high school in Middletown, New Jersey, before being recruited to play lacrosse for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Asif excelled at lacrosse all four collegiate years earning co-captain honors his junior and senior year while completing his degree in Aerospace Engineering.
“I have been blessed to have had some great coaches who not only taught me to approach the game from a lacrosse IQ level, but life lessons that I carry with me to this day. I hope that I get to instill that same love of the game, and drive in the next generation of these young men. The players will learn the tools necessary to drive themselves and others to achieve greatness, and lacrosse just happens to be that vehicle.” – Coach Mo Asif
When Asif was asked about his goals for the Mustangs inaugural season, his goal was simple. “Many of these boys have never played lacrosse before so I need to focus on the fundamentals of the game. I am confident the boys will have fun and together they will develop a love for the game”. The NCS students have a chance to be part of something special this year by being involved with the very first boys’ varsity lacrosse team at the school, and at the same time learning to play the oldest game in America.