By Brandon HENSLEY

There will be a new team for Falcons fans to cheer for next year at Crescenta Valley High School. A girls’ lacrosse team has been granted for CVHS, with the program being led by head coach Boz Crowther. For Crowther, it is an itch he’s wanted to scratch for a while.

“It’s been a long time coming. It’s been three or four years now,” he said.

CV girls’ athletic director Peter Kim, as well as assistant principal Rene Valdez, worked with Crowther on fielding a team. Valdez submitted paperwork in late spring, and Crowther said CV was approved several weeks ago.

Cowther met with assistant principal Forest Holbrook this week to discuss details of the team moving forward.

Crescenta Valley will field one level for next year, a varsity team, which Crowther said will mostly consist of freshman and sophomores. That will include his daughter Leah, an incoming sophomore who played lacrosse at Rosemont Middle School where Crowther was the coach. It will also include Leah’s classmate Abby Sheklow. Crowther said Sheklow was a driving force in getting the team started by talking to coaches about how important lacrosse is to the girls.

“The sport has been growing by leaps and bounds in Los Angeles,” Crowther said. “We saw an opportunity. CV is a great opportunity for the sport because it’s such a big school. There are top-notch athletes who don’t have room on a sport.”

Crowther was an assistant coach for La Cañada High School until a couple of years ago. As head coach for the Falcons, he will lead the girls as they compete in the Pacific League, which in lacrosse will consist of Glendale, La Cañada, Chaminade, Westridge and possibly Louisville, a Catholic girls’ school in Woodland Hills.

Crowther, 48, grew up playing the sport in Virginia. He’s been coaching for 25 years. He’s excited to start the CV program, and said he’d like to see a boys’ team in the future.

“The biggest impediment right now is coaches. I could coach a boys’ team but I couldn’t do both,” he said. In addition to Crowther, Abby’s father Eitye Sheklow will be an assistant coach.

The Falcons’ lacrosse season is scheduled for spring, going from early March to late May. The team will hold its practices and most of its games at Rosemont Middle School’s upper field. There is a possibility of scheduling games at CV, but it will be a challenge.

“The field at CV gets a lot of use. We are hopeful that during the spring, once we have our game schedule, we’ll look at it and find times when there isn’t usage so we can find time,” Crowther said.

Girls who attend Crescenta Valley High School and are interested in joining the team can attend tryouts at Rosemont Middle School on Aug. 21 from 3 p.m. to
4:30 p.m. Coach Crowther can be reached at bozlax@gmail.com.

  Brandon Hensley, Shirley McCombs-Swayne