Jaden and Joanne Franklin, brother and sister twins, knew nothing about the sport of lacrosse until their fifth grade teacher, Erik Myhren, brought an arm full of lacrosse sticks to class last year.

"What's this?" asked Jaden. "I had never played the game in my life and didn't know it existed." "I thought it was crazy at first," adds Joanne, who with three other girls ended up excelling on a boy's team.

Erik Myhren has been teaching children for the past ten years at Hallet Academy in north Park Hill. After supplying his students with lacrosse sticks, Myhren's class began playing at recess and lunch, gaining interest as the year went on. Little did Jaden and Joanne know that they would end up having a big part on a team that brought lacrosse to a neighborhood where it was previously nonexistent.

The sport's appeal of speed and strategy not only grabbed hold of the Franklin twins, but more than 20 of their classmates and friends. Myhren met early last school year with a group of people interested in starting a team. The result was Denver City Lax.

"We hope the first team is the beginning of something special," says Rod Allison, a Denver lawyer who partnered with Myhren in forming City Lax. "Lacrosse has been missing from many Denver neighborhoods and that is changing. The sport brings great opportunities to children both athletically and educationally."

It was a phone call that led to Myhren's class becoming the first inner city Denver lacrosse team. "I called Rob Gormley (a leader in Denver's youth lacrosse) looking for more sticks," recalls Myhren about how he and Allison were brought together. "Gormley started asking questions about how many kids I have, and do I have enough for a whole team. He gave me the phone numbers of two people he knew were starting a team, and the rest is history."

One of those numbers was Allison's. "I was involved because we are a public school family and lacrosse is a sport missing in elementary and middle schools in Denver. When my son Ben was at East High he drew up a plan about starting an inner city program and a few of us were working on that idea."

Allison remembers Myhren's call. "The whole idea about a city program became focused. Erik had his entire class fired up about lacrosse. They were ready to go. We made plans to get equipment and uniforms and off we went."

Numerous people helped out. After introducing the organizers Gormley, director of the Denver Lacrosse Club, found the right league for the team. Burke McHugh, a lacrosse and Denver public school supporter, provided the financial backing with Allison to purchase equipment and uniforms. And joining the team to help coach were George Moore and business partner Steve Jacobson.

Moore made a guest visit to Myhren's class early in the year to talk about the sport. "For a lot of these kids the season was a new beginning and opportunity in life," reflects Moore. "In four months they probably met more new people and new communities than they had previously met in their lives."

During the year City Lax met teams from Denver to Aspen and became friends with Native Lax, another local Denver program. The team also had a private clinic at Invesco Field, was visited by college players at practice, played a lacrosse tournament in Vail and went to summer lacrosse camps.

"Any time you give kids the opportunity to excel at something they never knew about, and see they can be good at something, it opens their eyes and helps them set goals down the road," says Myhren.

The kids' enthusiasm matched that of their organizers. "I like scoring," says Jaden. "My favorite part is checking people, and facing off," says teammate Trevon Hamlet. "And I met the players on Go Fast at lacrosse camp. They were tight. They were good."

"I like making saves," stated Jose Martinez, who emerged as the goalie. "I remember when the clock was counting down and the other team's player came in one-on-one and I made the save."

"The other teams all welcomed us because we were new," says Joanne, "but they were surprised how good we were." When helmets came off at the end of games the opponent would learn Joanne and three teammates were girls. "The other team would go, 'Dude, we just played a girl'," laughs Trevon.

Lacrosse had other benefits for Myhren's class. "The team helped us get to know each other in another way. In sports you have a clear goal of working together, and the kids learned how hard work pays off. There was an assessment every week when we played games."

Myhren's desire for his students to work together is one reason his impact is apparent. "I have never seen a teacher take so much interest, not just in one or two kids but all the kids," offers Rosie Franklin, mother of Jaden and Joanne. "He wants all the students to do well, not just in sports but academics."

Jaden and Joanne are at Smiley middle school this year, but Jaden agrees with his mother. "Mr. Myhren has been a great influence on my life," he says.

This year City Lax hopes to add two teams, expanding into middle school, and potentially having an all-girl's team. "We are trying to make this a valuable community program," says Allison. "Erik's class was fantastic and they became leaders in encouraging the growth of lacrosse in central Denver."

"I just love the game," says Rosie Franklin, summing up the year's experience for her children, Jaden and Joanne. And a lot of other people began loving the sport too.