What is YOUR Story?
This is my daughter Chrisse, watching her sisters Amy, Lori and Emilee playing lacrosse, waiting for her opportunity to play. Back then, you could not start playing until the 4th grade.
It seems like everyone who moves in Herriman and Riverton has a story. What caused you to move out here? Even the old-times (there are a few of them) have a story on why they stayed in this area. For me, It was Lacrosse.
This was the end of our very first practice for Herriman High Girls Lacrosse, December 2010.
The 2009-10 school year, I was teaching with Riverton High School. I had moved to that school a few years earlier from Bingham High School. I loved being associated with both schools. We lived in South Jordan, in a home that is located right next to Bingham High School. I was deeply involve in the Lacrosse Program. I was coaching Bingham High School Girls Lacrosse Team, and just started the Girls youth program at Bingham. I was also the President of the Utah Lacrosse Association (ULA).
I set up some lacrosse camps during gym class at Fort Herriman Middle School.
I am the father of 6 children. My son is the oldest, and then I have FIVE girls. My daughters loved watching my son play lacrosse and instantly they were hooked. Early on, I was asked at serve on the Executive Board of the Utah Lacrosse Association. I severed on that Board for 10 years serving for a time as the President of the ULA. I oversaw the growth of Lacrosse from a small unknown sport, to the fastest growing sport in Utah. Lacrosse back them was very different than it is today.
I think it was 2002 when my son came home from school and asked if he could play lacrosse. I had heard a little about Lacrosse before then, but not much. I just knew it was a sport played on the east coast. The lacrosse community in Utah at the time was very limited. We had 6 or 8 boys teams in the whole state, playing, I think 4 girls teams. I got involved with the parent organizations and got hooked on lacrosse.
Herriman High School opened in the Fall of 2010. In the spring of that year, my students came to me, and asked if I would come and start the Girls Lacrosse program at Herriman High. I was super busy with my own teams at Bingham and serving on the Utah Lacrosse Board overseeing the growth of Lacrosse in Utah. I had a lot of experience starting new programs because one of the roles of my position on the ULA board was to help the sport grow.
In our first year, WE recruited about 125 girls to play in the Herriman Girls Lacrosse Program. WE had 2 high school teams, 2 Junior teams and 2 Thunder Teams. WE only had one girl, that had previous varsity lacrosse experience.
It had been a long times since I had been to Herriman. As a kid, my neighbors the Hunter’s were building a home in High Country Estates. In the 1970’s, driving from Murray to Herriman was so far away. I thought to myself, who would ever live out here, not knowing that I would one day make this my home.
I absolutely loved my experience starting the Girls Lacrosse Program for Herriman. We did not have much experience, but we recruited over 125 girls the first year. WE built a great relationship with Herriman High School, and the Herriman Community.
That same year, the Machine Gun Fire burned the foothills of Herriman. Homes would burn down, near my current home. Shortly there after the housing economy busted. I feel our family was blessed to find a beautiful home, that we were able to buy out of foreclosure. We were able to finish building the home and we moved into our Herriman home for Thanksgiving 2011.
We absolutely love living in Herriman. The commute is farther, but I love being above the smog in the winter. I love seeing the wildlife (except the cougar that ate that deer in our living room).
We plan on living in Herriman for a long long time. Most of our family is raised now, but all of them have elected to live very close by. Herriman is a wonderful place to live.