It's a scene played out every afternoon across the United States.

A father and his kids head to the backyard to pass a baseball or football back and forth before dinner.

Now imagine that the participants put down their gloves or the pigskin in favor of lacrosse sticks.

In many areas of the country, the sport of lacrosse is becoming as American as apple pie.

Compared to other lacrosse hotbeds, southwestern Pennsylvania has some catching up to do.

"The better high school teams around here would be average when up against teams from areas of the country where lacrosse has been very popular for a long time," said Seneca Valley Lacrosse Association president Mike O'Rourke. "But I think Western Pa. could catch up in about five years."

If that's the case, it will be the players now in elementary and middle schools who will take the Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association into a new era.

The Seneca Valley and Butler school districts have experienced the lacrosse boom first hand.

Neither district supports boys lacrosse, with parents having to provide funding for all teams, including the youth squads.

That's where the Seneca Valley and Butler lacrosse associations come in.

The SVLA sports a separate boys team for each grade from fifth through eighth while Butler has a team that combines grades four through six and another with grades seven and eight.

SV does have a seventh- and eighth grade-girls team. Since the WPIAL added girls lacrosse to its jurisdiction for the 2004 season, it is no longer part of the WPSLA.

Butler has yet to field a girls youth squad, though that could change as early as next spring.

Lacrosse coaches working with the introductory-age groups see varying skill levels."It depends on the kids," said Evan Feinberg, who coaches both the fifth- and sixth-grade boys teams at Seneca Valley."There are clinics put on during the summer in which area coaches teach the game to kids of all ages. Some of the kids know a little about lacrosse just by going to those clinics. But others don't know a thing about the game at the first practice of the season."Before a player can become an all-star or a solid performer, for that matter, he must learn the basics of the game."With the fifth-grade team, the first things we teach them are how to hold the stick, how to hold the ball and how to throw and catch," Feinberg said. "By the middle of this past season, every player was to the point where he was contributing."The players aren't the only ones who have to learn the game from scratch.Sometimes, coaches have to go through the same growing pains.Four years ago, lacrosse was nowhere to be found on Jeff Farmer's radar screen. But now he is the director of youth lacrosse at Butler and the coach of the boys team combining grades four through six.Farmer's involvement with the game began out of necessity.Alan Metcalfe brought the game of lacrosse to Butler in 2002. But after coaching the boys varsity team for one season, he left and the program was on the verge of folding.With nobody available to take over the varsity squad, Farmer's stepson, Luke Werner, urged him to step in and coach the squad in 2003, even though Farmer had no lacrosse knowledge at all.That soon changed."I read books and watched tapes on how to play the game," said Farmer. "Plus, I got a lot of help from Seneca Valley varsity coach Wayne Jaeckle and other coaches from the Pittsburgh area."Farmer coached the varsity team for one year before settling into his current role in the youth program.He is hoping to get a girls youth team organized at Butler, one that would combine grades five through eight."Right now, nothing is set in stone," said Farmer. "We have 18 girls who say they want to play. Hopefully, we'll be able to field a team next year."

It's a phenomenon that youth lacrosse coaches see quite frequently.Kids sign up to play lacrosse, and, after just a few practices, it has already become their favorite sport.Why is lacrosse such an instant hit with so many kids?Feinberg has his own theory."Lacrosse is a sport where kids of all different shapes and sizes can be successful," he said. "The smallest kid on the field can also be the one with the most skill."Many youths are exposed to baseball, football, soccer, basketball and hockey at an early age."Lacrosse combines all those other sports into one," said B.J. Tipton, former Butler varsity lacrosse player and current seventh- and eighth-grade coach. "If they're used to playing those other sports, they'll pick up lacrosse quickly."Lacrosse is played in the spring, along with baseball and track, among other sports."Some of our kids this year played both (lacrosse and baseball)," said Feinberg. "But others chose to drop baseball in favor of lacrosse."We certainly don't make kids choose one over the other, but that's what they decided to do."Coaches love the game as much as the kids. Being able to teach lacrosse to youths has its own rewards."I went from being a big football and baseball fan to now where lacrosse is my number one sport," said Farmer."I get a ton of personal enjoyment out of coaching these kids," said Feinberg. "It is the most satisfying endeavor I've ever been involved in."