By: Nolan Plant
“The fact that they can play the game they love and help veterans at the same time has had a great impact within our organization.”
In 2013, former military personnel Ben Ziniti and Ray Summers founded 4 Leaf Lacrosse New England to provide opportunities for kids in New Hampshire to expand their ability to play lacrosse. The organization consists of seven teams, ranging from third to eighth graders.
4 Leaf Lacrosse’s 2019 team in action.
Ziniti and Summers’s club has been a part of SFS Boston since the beginning; “We felt the commitment from the start.”
Ziniti explained how his organization “helped SFS Boston during the late night hour, with many of our urgent high school players and our coaches participating throughout the entire night to keep the game going!”
4 Leaf’s founders’ commitment to our country drives their passion to participate in Shootout for Soldiers.
Coaches of 4 Leaf Lacrosse strive to teach their members the importance of supporting those who serve in the military: “We participate to remind our players that there is a bigger purpose for them,” Ziniti explained.
The club focuses on “maintaining high sportsmanship and leadership expectations on and off the field – to include grades in the classroom, [teaching] ‘life lessons’ that are carried on and off the lacrosse field, and building great young men.”
4 Leaf Lacrosse Club check presentation at SFS Boston.
“We want our boys to understand that they have more to offer to the community and that there is a greater purpose” Ziniti said.
As the Boston veteran community continues to grow, so do their needs. Ziniti looks forward to seeing SFS Boston continue to grow to provide for and bring notice to the veterans in his community.
