Mighty Mo Lacrosse founder announces first clinic

ST JOSEPH, Mo (News-Press NOW) -- Just months after the creation of the Mighty Mo Youth Lacrosse Club, founder Mackenzie Porter has announced the first Mighty Mo Lacrosse clinic for Sunday, Sept. 28.

Porter is a Missouri Western State University Alum, where she played four years as the goalie for the MoWest Women's Lacrosse team from 2021 to 2024. She spent two years as the reserve goalie for Rutgers University in New Jersey before transferring.

Porter found it interesting to come from a place where lacrosse is so popular, to a place that hadn't even heard of the sport before. The longer she stayed in St. Joseph, the stronger she desired to introduce the sport to the community.

"With the Lord keeping me in St. Joseph, I finally felt more of a pull to introduce this sport to the girls in the community," Porter said. "Hearing people say, 'I didn't even know we had that here in St. Joe' was definitely a driving force."

After an interesting post on Facebook, Porter said she had no idea what the response would be from the community.

"I'm just gonna put it out there, see if I get interest," Porter said.

But after receiving overwhelmingly positive reactions on the post, Porter knew she had the chance to make the club a big deal.

"The response I got, just from an interest post on Facebook, was absurd," said Porter.

After the initial interest post, Porter acknowledged that she couldn't tackle the feat by herself. So she turned to the community for help with equipment donations and spreading the word. The community did just that.

Donations started flooding in. From sticks and goggles to two full-sized lacrosse goals, the community was invested in helping the club.

Then, something unexpected happened.

USA Lacrosse, one of the biggest governing bodies of the sport in the United States, donated twenty brand new lacrosse sticks for the club, and the excitement Porter showed in an unboxing video told the whole story.

"I am so thankful for USA Lacrosse in this donation," Porter said in an unboxing video on her Facebook. "This is amazing."

With the help of the community and USA Lacrosse, Porter was able to schedule the first Mighty Mo Lacrosse clinic.

The clinic is set to take place from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, at the Northside Complex.

Girls ranging from kindergarten to high school are welcome to attend the clinic.

Porter expanded on what participants can expect and the culture she wants to create with the clinic.

"Right now, it is just an introductory clinic. Getting the girls out there, getting sticks in their hands," Porter said. "I want to cultivate an environment that the girls want to come back to."

To register, donate, or for more information, you can visit Mighty Mo Lacrosse on Facebook.