BUTLER TWP — Dave Zaccari recalls his first impression of lacrosse.

“I remember seeing it on TV — you catch glimpses in your life, those little memories and stuff,” said Zaccari, the president of the Butler Youth Lacrosse (BYLAX) program. “I wish I would’ve played it or known it was around back then for the Butler area because I definitely would’ve been right in with that.”

Though he never played the sport himself — not as an adolescent, anyway — Zaccari helps lead an organization that has given children in the area a more hands-on introduction to the sport than his brief look in the 1980s.

“From last year we’ve grown at least 30%,” Zaccari said of the program, which includes children from pre-K through eighth grade.

While lacrosse isn’t a sport as ingrained in athletic culture as, say, football or baseball, it’s steadily increasing in popularity.

“I just think it’s an opportunity for the kids that just can’t find a home in other sports,” Zaccari said. “One friend plays and then, all of a sudden, they bring two friends. ... It’s kind of like a growing tree there where it gives them the opportunity to play something that’s not really known.”

Jaymin Wood, a defenseman for BYLAX’s U14 Platinum Seniors team, took up lacrosse after being handed a flyer in second grade. He’s fallen in love with the sport since.

“I was definitely a little confused because I wasn’t sure how to use the stick,” Wood admitted of his introduction to the game seven years ago. “After a while, you start to develop and get better at it.”

The program opens registration in January and begins setting up indoor practices, which consist of conditioning and teaching basic skills such as throwing, catching, and scooping.

“We try to get out in March,” Zaccari said. “It’s still kind of snowing and cold, but we try to spread our wings there when we can to get outside.”

Outdoor practices are held at the Butler Intermediate High School and Father Marinaro Park. The program’s teams, organized by grades, play their games at Butler Memorial Park.

Such as Wood’s case, Zaccari said young players typically enjoy it enough to see it through. Mason Heichel, a midfielder and teammate of Wood’s has been with the program for five years, originally joining as a fourth-grader looking for something fun to do in the spring. He’s learned how to compete with his friends in the process.

“I’d say you always want to work with your teammates,” Heichel said. “Just work with each other and keep on getting better.”

The consistency has a lot to do with who’s teaching the children about the game.

“If they just get the stick in their hand, I’ve seen 95% of the kids, they stay,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with the leadership, the coaching.”

Zaccari has been involved with the program for 13 years. He’s learned about the sport through multiple avenues.

“I did a little bit of old man’s summer lacrosse a couple times,” Zaccari said with a chuckle. “Which is very eye-opening, schmoozing with some of these other coaches that went to academies and stuff.

“Early on, it was just YouTube. I would YouTube things as my son kept playing. ... I’d go to clinics and we’re a part of U.S. Lacrosse.”

The organization informs aspiring coaches the fundamentals through classes. All 15 of Butler’s youth lacrosse coaches are qualified through those courses, at least with the basics.

“I’ve had some great coaches with BYLAX and I’ve been lucky enough to learn from coaches that have also played the game,” Wood said. “One coach even gave me my first long pole, which came easier to me than the regular lacrosse stick.”

Brittany Undercuffler, a member of BYLAX’s board who deals with scheduling, has helped prepare the program’s youth for higher levels of lacrosse by finding and keeping competitive partners from near and far. Her three sons — Connor (U8), Corbin (U12), and Logan (U14) — have been brought up through the program.

“We have scheduled over 150 games this season,” Undercuffler said at last Sunday’s jamboree at Art Bernardi Stadium. “We have two teams in different age divisions and we’re building relationships with Wheeling, W. Va., who played here today. We had Erie come last night and play our girls and we have some connections in Ohio that we’re hoping to get scheduled, as well, in following years.

“We’re bringing teams from outside. We’re continuing to grow.”

As the program grows, so do its alumni. Over 30 children are moving to the high school level after this year.

“That would be a goal of mine to do,” Heichel said of playing varsity lacrosse for the Golden Tornado. “That sounds pretty fun to play with all of my friends. ... It’s just helped because they’ve always coached us. We’ve always had pretty good coaching. They always help us to get better and better every year and every practice.”

Cayden Makstutis-Bayer, Peyton Fuqua, Issac Huey, Chase Boden, Carter White, Adam Dugan, Finnegan Winkler, Jack Meiser, Tristan Clark, and Tobin Shay were other program members recognized at the jamboree.

Zaccari hopes members of the program enjoy their time within it.

“I hope they get out of it that it was fun, it was instructional, (and the) coaches were nice,” Zaccari said. “What else more do kids want to do than have fun? ... They want to come back because it was a good time.”

Zaccari and Undercuffler also want to make the sport easily accessible. Pre-K-aged children play for free in the program and it offers chances for other children to play for a lesser cost.

“We want everybody to have the chance to play, so we have scholarships to play if you would need one,” Undercuffler said. “We’re holding a bingo fundraiser on Friday, May 10. We’re hoping that some of those funds will help allow us to help those kids — scholarships, equipment costs, anything like that — so that this can be open to anyone that wants to play. ... We want to make it as affordable as possible.”

If interested in the program, visit butleryouthlacrosse.com or email Zaccari at Dzac2003@yahoo.com.