IMG Academy announces girls lacrosse program and camps

IMG Academy plans to add girls lacrosse to its athletic program, starting this fall, the school announced on Thursday.

In the fall season, the team will participate in non-scholastic tournaments and college recruiting showcases. In the spring season, the varsity team will compete in the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA). In addition to the boarding and day school program, the IMG Academy also will offer a 14-week camp schedule for girls.

“With our growing role in the lacrosse community and early success of our boys program, we’ve received significant interest in a girls program,” IMG Academy Lacrosse Director Bill Shatz said in a release. “We’re excited to now offer this program as we seek to continue developing the best student-athletes in the country.”

IMG Academy launched a boys lacrosse program in 2012. The program’s teams play a schedule of instate and out-of-state teams, including Manatee lacrosse, the club team that draws athletes from the public high schools across Manatee County without lacrosse teams. In its first four seasons, the IMG Academy boys program produced 12 US Lacrosse All-Americans and sent more than 60 percent of its student-athletes to Div. I programs. The national team, which competes against teams from across the country, finished in the top 10 in the USA Today rankings in 2015-16.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 9:39 PM with the headline "IMG Academy announces girls lacrosse program and camps."