Boys lacrosse is growing in western Pennsylvania.

Youth camps are popping up all over the region.

Equipment is sold in nearly all general sporting goods stores.

Local players are being named to national all-star teams and going on to compete at the collegiate level.

And with this week's official transition to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, high school boys lacrosse in the region is expected to reach an all-time high.

"Lacrosse is an expensive sport. Similar to football, you have helmets and all the pads," said Tim Hastings, president of the Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association and head coach at Sewickley Academy.

"A lot of the schools are now stepping up with funding, which will make it more cost-effective for other kids to get involved."

Last year, the PIAA voted in favor of sponsoring boys lacrosse as a spring sport, something that was welcomed by players, coaches and parents throughout the area. In the past, teams had competed under the umbrella of the Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association and were forced to foot the bill for all their own expenses.

But by moving to the PIAA, and locally to the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League, high school boys lacrosse will reap plenty of new benefits -- the biggest of which could mean many more players and schools becoming interested in the growing sport.

"It can give an opportunity to a lot of high school kids who weren't able to play because of financial restrictions or because the school they attended didn't have a team," said Brian Knorr, who has coached at Baldwin for the past eight years. "You have to think that a lot of schools will be starting teams once this takes place."

The most obvious positive for the transition, which took effect Tuesday, is on the financial end of things.

By becoming PIAA-sponsored, a bulk of the costs for transportation, referees and uniforms will be covered by individual school districts.

Those totals can be anywhere from $25,000 to $35,000 per season.

In many districts, equipment costs, which can range up to $30,000, as well, still will be funded by individuals on the team.

At Franklin Regional, the district will cover the costs of helmets, shoulder pads and elbow pads for junior varsity and varsity players, as well as costs for bus transportation, trainers and two coaches.

Players will be responsible for covering costs for sticks and gloves, in addition to funding participation in the Midwest Scholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association.

"I do not see any long-term negatives. As we transition from club to interscholastic sport, there is going to be an adjustment period," Franklin Regional coach Chris Stiles said.

"I anticipate that some players will expect that all costs will be covered by the school district. Depending on the school district, that may or may not be true."

Another beneficial change, according to local lacrosse coaches, is that scheduling troubles fall on the school's athletic director. Teams now will be able to have more access to stadiums and home fields for games and practices.

"When we were a club team, everything was scheduled by the coaches or a team parent," Hampton coach Dan Shea said.

"Arranging transportation and scheduling was done by multiple people. Now, it will be down by the athletic director. It's kind of a relief for the coaching staff."

The bulk of the game scheduling and organization aspects also will fall on the WPIAL officials, which came as a relief to the coaches who double as WPSLA officers.

"It's been very difficult to coach and administrate the league. That takes a lot time, and when you're doing that, you're not coaching your team," said Hastings, who led Sewickley Academy to Division I playoffs this spring. "I'm looking forward to having other people run the league. We'll just be able to concentrate on coaching."

Early in the transition discussions, WPSLA coaches and officials were worried about maintaining league and state championship tournaments, and the WPIAL board of control complied after some persuading by the WPSLA.

"We worked pretty hard on getting a state championship," said Shea, who was on the league board from 2002-2006. "It was pretty good the way it was set up. If they keep that structure, it should be great."

A few lacrosse coaches also expressed concern about the new mandated timeline that teams have to follow under WPIAL rule. Teams will be allowed to begin practicing on March 2 and will play a maximum of two scrimmages and 18 games, including one contest against each section foe.

The top four teams in each section will enter the WPIAL tournament at the end of the regular season. There also will be a PIAA tournament for teams in Division I only.

Ultimately, the most exciting part of the switch for the WPSLA is the opportunity for expansion and more exposure, coaches said.

"I think that this will make it a more legitimate sport. Because it was a club sport, we didn't get a lot of the athletes," Shea said. "Football coaches didn't send their kids over to play lacrosse because they didn't see the benefits. I'm sure down the road, we'll start to see the benefits."

Local lacrosse coaches are looking forward to all of the new benefits that the PIAA will bring and are willing to accept some bumps in the road as the transition takes effect. Overall, excitement is building about the 2009 season.

"Becoming a school sport is a big step for boys lacrosse," Stiles said. "I'm excited, and I'm sure we are ready for it."

Alignment

There will be a new look for high school boys lacrosse next spring as teams will be broken down by the WPIAL into two divisions with two sections each, which differs from the three-division format in the WPSLA.

Division I, Section I, will include Baldwin, Bethel Park, Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township and Upper St. Clair.

Division I, Section II, will feature Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Fox Chapel Area, North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Shady Side Academy, Seneca Valley and Sewickley Academy.

Division II, Section I, will include squads from Canon-McMillan, Chartiers Valley, Greensburg Central Catholic, North Catholic, Quaker Valley, Trinity and Winchester-Thurston.

Division II, Section II, includes Butler Area, Erie Prep, Erie McDowell, Hampton, North Hills, Shaler Area and Vincentian Academy.