In the hallway leading to Tabb High School’s gym, the school proudly displays several student athletes who have earned district, regional and state accolades, making their dream of an athletic scholarship from a state school a realistic possibility.
Missing from the wall are lacrosse players. Technically, the team is a club sport.
“They get to wear the jerseys, but they really don’t get to have that recognition and the full support completely,” said Dave Siegel, one of the Tabb lacrosse coaches.
He’s working with another Tabb lacrosse coach, Marc Forrest, to make the Bay Rivers athletic district a part of the Virginia High School League (VHSL).
Playing in the VHSL would benefit the people that make up high school sports: the players.
“I just think of 18 years of students coming through these programs that have just missed out on so much,” Siegel said. “I don’t want to do it [for] another 18 years.”
Forrest and Siegel want to make Tabb, Grafton, and York high school lacrosse programs varsity sports. This would make it easier for student athletes to continue their lacrosse careers in college and help with the costs and logistics of running a varsity lacrosse program.
But moving from Hampton Roads Lacrosse (HRLax), a league established to manage boys and girls lacrosse programs in the Hampton Roads area before moving to the VHSL, isn’t an easy or cheap task.
During a Williamsburg-James City County school board budget session in January, district staff estimated operating a VHSL lacrosse program would cost between $235,000 and $274,000.
At the same time, Williamsburg-James City County schools faced a budget shortfall this year, ultimately approving an operating budget $7 million less than what the district originally proposed.
While Tabb offered to help fund some costs, such as uniforms and travel, one concern following Forrest and Siegel’s proposal was the potential financial obligations it could place on both the county and its residents.
Currently, to play lacrosse for Tabb, each athlete has to pay HRLax a player’s registration fee of $250. Students also provide their own equipment.
Despite the cost, participation in lacrosse at Tabb has increased since the program started in 2010.
“We’ve done all the hard work of getting the people involved, getting the equipment, getting the players and fully functioning. It’s just [now about] giving it to the schools and making these kids a true part of something,” Siegel said.
High schools across Hampton Roads with newer programs than Tabb have transitioned from club to VHSL, like in Virginia Beach, which launched district-wide lacrosse in 2023. The expectation was for other high schools playing through HRLax to follow suit.
In a proposal sent to VHSL headquarters in Charlottesville, Forrest and Siegel estimated that starting a boys and girls VHSL lacrosse program at Tabb High School would cost around $40,000.
According to Forrest and Siegel’s proposal, income generated from Tabb lacrosse’s booster club, fundraisers, game tickets, spirit wear and sponsorships totaled around $50,000.
Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools is a member of the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association, which holds WHRO's license.
