VIRGINIA BEACH (WTKR) — Scott Holava knows first hand what it means to be a player for a first year team. He was part of the inaugural program for Virginia Wesleyan men's lacrosse program in the early 1990s.
Flash forward thirty years, Holava is now the coach of one of those teams.
"We've all been trying to grow this game," Holava said. "I moved here in 1989 and they were talking about it since then."
He's guiding Kellam through its first season of lacrosse as a varsity program. It's something all Beach District schools are experiencing, the school system offering it as a sanctioned VHSL sport for the first time in 2023.
"I call them the founding fathers of the team," Scott said.
"Finally hearing 2023 is the year really got me stoked," said senior midfielder Ryan Trent. "Being the year, as we call it as a team, we're making history here."
The Knights have taken their club team success right into the new era, jumping out to a 10-0 start with seven of those games decided by double digits.
"Everything's new. Everything's a first," said Luke Holava, a Kellam senior attackman. "We had our first win, first goal, first assist. Everything is first."
As much as they love the winning, the motivation for the season goes back to what inspired Scott Holava to come to Kellam in the first place. Some programs are farther ahead than others and he values the chance to help those newer teams learn too.
"I take more pride watching the guys play Tallwood in a classy, classy way," Scott Holava said. "We want those teams to get better, we want the whole area to get better."
Kellam is out and running in the inaugural season but hoping it can set a standard for the next generation of lacrosse players who don't have to wait.
"This is the year, this is my year," Trent said. "This is our year, not just Kellam but for all Virginia Beach high schools. This is our year."
