But one of Western North Carolina's top ambassadors for lacrosse is working harder than ever to be sure the sport remains both visible and increasingly popular among mountain youth.

Rankin, who helped run the Asheville Lacrosse Club for the last two years, has now established Western North Carolina Youth Lacrosse, a league that begins its second season this spring. An informational session and sign-ups for the league, open to players ages 10 to 17, will be held Saturday at the Biltmore Square Mall in Asheville and Blue Ridge Mall in Hendersonville from noon to 6 p.m. at both sites.

"It's incredible how quickly this sport has grown here," said Rankin, who moved to WNC from Saratoga, N.Y. "When I first came here, we had maybe 10 or 15 people interested. Now we've quadrupled that and we've gotten girls around the area involved with their own team. It only made sense that since we were drawing kids from all over WNC that we rename the league."

WNC Youth Lacrosse wrapped up its inaugural season in December, but middle and high school-age players have also competed throughout the winter at the SunCom Soccer Center. Those youth include Rankin's teenage son, Nick, who attends North Henderson High.

According to Rankin, Roberson, Reynolds and Asheville are just some of the high schools in Buncombe County who have formed teams recently to join Henderson County schools like Apple Valley Middle, North Henderson High, East Henderson, High, West Henderson High and Hendersonville High. Arden's Christ School fields a team in N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association play.

Rankin said Monday that the WNC Youth Lacrosse is still looking for coaches, but that its current lineup recently attended clinics in Atlanta, Charlotte and Columbia, S.C.

WNC Youth Lacrosse also plans to host several festivals in the coming year including its annual lacrosse tournament during Bele Chere. Regular season games for the league will be held at Fletcher Park.

"We've got so many things going on right now and hopefully this league is simply another step towards giving kids around here the chance to earn scholarships and have fun," said Rankin. "I really think we have players around here who can play in college and that would be a bonus. If they discover this great sport, then that's my first objective."

Parents or players interested in more information about WNC Youth Lacrosse may contact Rankin at 272-5240 or 674- 0970. Rankin's e-mail address is nickslacrossestore@yahoo.com.