“There wasn’t much lacrosse and also nowhere to buy gear,” said Reed’s daughter, Kristi Awalt, of West Chester Twp., the company’s vice president. “My dad was a 2x lacrosse All American in high school back in Boston and then went on to play Division 1 lacrosse at University of Massachusetts Amherst. When he moved to Ohio, he very quickly realized there was not much lacrosse and also nowhere to buy the gear, so he started the first lacrosse team and also opened the store (in 2002).”
Awalt said her father, also of West Chester Twp., has coached many teams in Ohio and founded many programs as well. He is now head coach at Lakota West Boys Varsity team, a position he has held since 1999.
As the sport’s popularity has grown in the area, so has Velocity Lacrosse, which services every school district in southern Ohio, Awalt said.
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Velocity specializes in selling “everything lacrosse,” but also organizes 11 travel teams during the summer months, Awalt said.
“These teams are comprised of kids all over Ohio and are designed to expose them to college recruits,” she said. “We also have the largest indoor league in Ohio that runs from October to February.”
Awalt said the new storefront is “state of the art with every lacrosse product available.”
“It gives us about 700 more square feet than our former location in the Lakota Plaza,” she said. “We also do a lot with the park, so being so close is just great.”
Velocity Lacrosse will be offering new player clinics for boys and girls of all ages starting Jan. 28. For more information, call 513-847-8491 or visit www.velocitylacrosse.com.
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