Culver City Middle School won the Delphic lacrosse league Westside division championship for the first time this past week, as they went unbeaten this season.
The triumph was against the odds, as the team only picked up one victory to seven losses in the previous season. The lacrosse program was only started seven years ago by coach Casey Chabola, whose son, Joey, plays on the team and scored the winning goal in overtime against Sierra Canyon in a 6-5 victory to close out the undefeated season. Casey Chabola has also coached the high school team.
Jodie Fratantuno, whose son Joe also plays on the team, said that the team had grown together after what was a disappointing 2015-16 year. Joe Fratantuno started playing lacrosse in the 7th grade, having previously been involved in Little League. Like other members of the team, he gave up baseball to focus on lacrosse.
“He hadn’t picked up a ball before the 7th grade,” Jodie Fratantuno said. “But the team is like a family. Most of the other teams in there are from private schools. Schools like Harvard-Westlake and Sierra Canyon where they have an elite program. Lacrosse is no joke.”
Fratantuno said that she had “zero” interest in lacrosse before Joe started playing, as the game is more popular on the east coast. However, after Joe was encouraged to give the game a shot and he put down his baseball bat, the family have embraced the game and now they have a championship to celebrate.
It’s been a startling period of growth for the team, which plays on the same brand new field as the high school team, potentially heralding a period of sustained success for the sport in Culver City.
“They’re such a great group of boys,” said Fratantuno. “They’re all in groups like the Boy Scouts, some of them play for club lacrosse teams, and they’ve been learning together.”
Coach Chabola said that he started the middle school team seven years ago to act as a feeder to the high school team, which is 18 years old. That’s how it has worked out, despite the fact that the team didn’t really see any success until this year.
“There were hint that this was going to be a better year,” he said. “The kids had put in a lot of extra work and dedication into the program, and they’ve now been playing together for a couple of years.”
Chabola also wanted to thank the other coaches and staff at Culver City Middle School for their invaluable support.
