It has happened in Whatcom County before.

A girls’ sport that is growing in popularity elsewhere in the nation reaches the area and becomes firmly established in schools and summer clubs.

Three local lacrosse enthusiasts believe what happened before with fastpitch can happen again for what is considered to be the fastest-growing sport in the country.

Lacrosse coaches John Heritage, Nancy Larson and Ingrid Martens, all of whom have firstrate lacrosse credentials, have begun a program for elementary school girls in first through fifth grades. The instruction sessions Thursdays and Saturdays at Bellingham’s Broadway Park through May 13.

“Actually, any local schoolgirl who is interested is welcome to attend to learn more about lacrosse,” said Heritage, who is leading the sessions from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursdays and 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays.

Heritage, the principal at Geneva Elementary School, coaches in the expanding local boys’ program and decided it was high time to get girls involved.

“Next year, Ingrid plans to start a middle school team for girls, and Nancy and I will have the elementary school program,” he said. “Eventually, we want to build toward lacrosse for high school girls. Lacrosse is the nation’s fastest growing sport, and that applies to girls, too.”

Like lacrosse, Whatcom County high schools came late to girls’ fastpitch, playing slowpitch softball until the late 1990s while most of the rest of the country had been playing fastpitch since the 1970s.

Now fastpitch is firmly established, both in schools and summer clubs. The three coaches feel lacrosse can grow just as fast, if not much faster.

“Kids absolutely love lacrosse when they’re exposed to it,” said Heritage, who coaches the Bellingham boys’ youth lacrosse team, now in its third season. “They can’t get enough of lacrosse.”

Heritage said it took only a few years for Greg Hill’s high school program to expand and include a middle school program now run by Nate Weaver. Bob Smith started the middle school boys’ team and now has started a team in Ferndale, while Pete White guides a North County high school team, the Cavaliers.

“What the boys have done, we want for the girls, too,” Heritage said. “We started the elementary school boys’ team with 15 players, and now we have 40 boys in our program.”

About a dozen girls signed up for initial instructional workouts, but Heritage says many more are welcome.

“We have several parents with extensive lacrosse backgrounds, so there are lots of adults to work with the girls,” Larson said. “We really want to see as many girls explore lacrosse as possible, and this is an ideal opportunity.”

Heritage, 42, was a high school lacrosse all-leaguer in Hyattsville, Md. He played one season at St. Mary’s College in his home state, then won two varsity letters after transferring to the University of Maryland.

“I suffered a broken back in an auto accident, so I couldn’t play my last season at Maryland,” he said.

But even that didn’t stop him from trying a lacrosse club comeback in his 30s, but an injured knee did. Now he devotes his time to coaching.

Heritage’s two children, 9- year-old Nathaniel and 7-yearold daughter Macy, are students at Columbia Elementary School. Nathaniel plays on Heritage’s boys’ team, and now Macy is learning the game, too.

Larson, an informational technology specialist at Western Washington University, says she’ll never forget the honor of playing on the first women’s lacrosse team at Northwestern University.

“I came to Northwestern on a field hockey scholarship and played four years,” said Larson, who set several school field hockey scoring records and earned all-conference honors. “But I absolutely loved playing lacrosse.”

Now she’s the mother of Sehome freshman Emily, 15, and Fairhaven Middle School seventh-grader Mark, 13, who plays lacrosse.

Martens, a nurse and the mother of two young children, played four years on Western’s women’s club team. She followed with seven years on Seattle club teams, plus coached high school lacrosse five years in Seattle and Portland, Ore.

“The big thing we’re trying to do now is foster skills in a no-stress environment,” said Larson. “We just want to show young girls how much fun lacrosse can be, so they’ll want to grow up with it. And it’s not an elitist sport at all. We urge girls to come and check it out at Broadway Park.”