High school girls find fun and solace in the Eastern Idaho Riverhawks club

IDAHO FALLS — High school girls across several cities are flocking to the Eastern Idaho Lacrosse Riverhawks club looking for a positive environment away from school sports.

Since winning second place in junior varsity state and fourth place in varsity state competitions, the all-girls Riverhawks team is still going strong three years later.

Zaylee Clark, a new member of the club, credits the continual growth and the positive atmosphere of the team to their coach Dominic Gonzales, his wife, Genevive Gonzales, and coach Dona Case.

“Out of all the sports I have ever done, I have never liked a coach so much,” Clark said of Dominic.

Peytonn Snarr, a varsity player on the team, described lacrosse as a sport that combines soccer, basketball, and hockey.

The fast-paced sport is considered the oldest organized sport in North America. Lacrosse is played on a field similar to soccer with netted goals at each end, where players pass a ball using what’s called a crosse to shoot it past a goalie and into the net.

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“I feel like the teamwork is insane,” Snarr said. “I feel it is different from
most sports.”

While every player has a different reason for signing up for the club, most of the high schoolers on the team sought out the club after hearing about it from friends and wanting a different atmosphere than what their individual schools offered.

“I’m not doing basketball this year because it was toxic,” Clark said, who played basketball last year at her school. “They kinda favor you if you’ve been on the team longer … so I didn’t have that spot the other girls do.”

Snarr also shared her experiences with basketball at her school.

“It (lacrosse) changed my perspective of sports ‘cause like basketball is pretty intense — kinda toxic — but lacrosse is like air,” she said. “It is so inviting.”

While practices are often held in Idaho Falls, games must be sought out on their own and are hosted all over eastern Idaho and in Utah.

Regardless, club members prove their dedication by commuting from Rigby, Rexburg, Pocatello, and other areas.

Dominic attributes the willingness and passion in his team to the atmosphere the coaches build by treating the girls not as athletes, but as their own daughters.

“I’m a dad first,” Dominic said, who has a daughter of his own. “The only way to not favor one girl over all the other girls is if all these girls became my daughter.”

By playing music, using positive reinforcement, and being willing to act silly, Dominic said it helps the girls who already have so many social pressure on them to have a safe place to relax and belong.

“(I want them to) just feel comfortable and be around other ladies. That they can make mistake … these girls are up against so much comparison out there,” Dominic said.

For anyone interested, the club can be found on Instagram or anyone can reach out to the emails info@eidlax.com or coachg@eidlax.com.

The club is always open for anyone to register at any time, with no seasonal deadline.

“I never have a cutoff,” Dominic said. “We’ll just make sure we get them all registered and that way they’re all taken care of.”