Stick to Your Goals sticking to its mission

Weston lacrosse players have been paying it forward to other students across the Americas and at home in Massachusetts for almost 20 years.

Through a program called Stick to Your Goals, thousands of pieces of used equipment have been redistributed to other players in the greater Boston area, as well as in Guatemala.

Molly Ross, a lacrosse player and former leader of the program, said the donations give students a chance to experience the love of the game that she and other volunteers have.

“You don’t want equipment to be the reason kids aren’t trying a new sport or getting to play,” she said. “Lacrosse has meant a lot to me … and people in Weston, so it’s definitely personal for a lot of people.”

Chase Williams created Stick to Your Goals in 2008 while he was playing in high school. He first donated equipment to Maya Lacrosse, which built fields and provided equipment to children in Guatemala City, Guatemala. In later years, the program transitioned to donating to underserved students in the Boston area.

When Chase went to college in 2012, he passed the responsibility of running the program to his younger brother and fellow player, McCrae, who was passionate about sharing the game with others.

McCrae went on to Lafayette College, where he was a goalie on the lacrosse team. At the time, Williams passed the responsibility of Stick to Your Goals to the Ross family – Molly, her brother Sam and their father Peter.

While at college, McCrae died. After drinking at a party, he hit his head in his dorm room. According to his mother Dianne Williams, his teammates put him to bed and did not call for medical help. McCrae died a few days later. A wrongful death suit was settled out of court. Since McCrae’s death, Stick to Your Goals became a way to honor a member of the local lacrosse community as well as share the love of the sport with others.

Peter Ross said carrying on the program has been a way to honor Williams’ love of the game. The Ross family has continued to manage the program for almost a decade.

“The town and kids really rallied around it because [McCrae] was a larger-than-life figure,” Ross said. “I would come home and people would just leave bags of stuff in my driveway.”

When Sam and Molly were old enough to drive, they would help pick up equipment from across town. Sam continued to help coordinate Stick to Your Goals after he left Weston for college because it kept him connected to a community and sport he loves.

“Lacrosse, more than just the sport itself, provided a community. Whether that was Weston or camp or my club lacrosse team … It’s connections like that that are so special,” Sam said. “The success [Stick to Your Goals] has had really speaks to how strong the community is, especially in Weston.”

Now that Sam lives in Boston and Molly is at University of Michigan, the Ross family is passing the program on to families with players still at the Weston schools.

Pat Cronin, executive director of Harlem Lacrosse-Boston, takes the donations by the truckload – helmets, sticks, goggles. On one trip to Weston, Cronin brought back enough elbow and knee pads for 20 players.

“When we pull up at a youth tournament, they’ll all be in Weston uniforms,” he said. “It’s been a huge relief to be able to rely on the Weston community.”

Cronin came to Weston whenever the Ross family had so much equipment in their garage that they had trouble parking the car. Now, he is coordinating pickups with the new heads of the program, the Shulkin and Salyer families.

Matt Shulkin is a longtime friend of Peter Ross and now hosts donated equipment in his garage.

“We keep stocking it in the garage until my wife says get these out of here,” Shulkin said. “It’s letting equipment that would otherwise gather dust in someone’s basement or attic be repurposed for a really good cause.”

Shulkin played lacrosse through college. His three children are also players. His middle son, Cole, helped publicize the donations last year through social media. His daughter, Sienna, pushed for their family to help take over the project.

Stuart Salyer is also the father of a lacrosse family in Weston. His four children have played the sport in town. His youngest son, Mac, is at Weston High and his daughter, Emmy is at the Rivers School.

“They will be instrumental in getting the word out in school and before the spring season,” he said. “It’s definitely a tight-knit community. We love the sport and anyway we can spend forward what the sport has given to us is what we’re trying to do here.”

Salyer said he hopes this will be a chance to expand Stick to Your Goals to Rivers.

The Weston lacrosse community honors McCrae Williams every season by fundraising for the charity foundation named after him. Dianne Williams created the McCrae Williams Foundation to advocate for medical amnesty, which would protect students under the influence of alcohol or drugs when seeking medical attention.

Dianne Williams said she is grateful to see her son honored by the Weston lacrosse community.

“It’s incredibly touching. There was so much support from the town and the lacrosse community within Weston and beyond … There was tremendous support and it always makes me feel good inside that he’s remembered,” she said. “I think his legacy is carrying on in a lot of different ways, through giving underserved athletes equipment so they can play. His legacy is carried on in educating students in the laws that are out there, and just in the love of the game. He really was the essence of the game.”

To donate lacrosse equipment, email [email protected]. For more information about the McCrae Williams Foundation, visit mccraewilliams.com.