CPLF INSPIRE Project
CPLF INSPIRE Project
A season of purpose. A legacy of impact.
CPLF INSPIRE Blueprint
Inspiring Next-generation athletes through Service, Purpose, Impact, Recognition, and Encouragement.
The CPLF INSPIRE Project is a Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation initiative that connects high school lacrosse teams with sick or injured athletes and families facing serious health challenges. Through season-long relationships, teams rally around a Hero Player or family with encouragement, visibility, and fundraising support. In return, those young heroes inspire teams to play with deeper gratitude, unity, and purpose. This model is designed to be both meaningful and repeatable, giving schools a clear blueprint for building character, community connection, and impact through sport.
Read Our Press Release Here
IMG Academy Lacrosse Supports National Expansion of Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation’s INSPIRE Project
Click HereThe Origin of INSPIRE
The CPLF INSPIRE Project began at Oak Knoll School in New Jersey, where Brown alumnus and Coach Gianna Sgroi created a model that showed how lacrosse could become a platform for service, empathy, and lasting community connection. Launched in 2019, the program first paired the Oak Knoll team with Danny McManus, a 9-year-old living with leukemia who loved lacrosse but could no longer play. That relationship became the foundation for a powerful team tradition centered on playing for someone beyond themselves.
What started as one team’s act of compassion became something much larger: a blueprint for how programs across the country can bring athletes and families together through encouragement, recognition, and charitable support. Gianna’s leadership and coaching legacy remain at the heart of this work, and the CPLF INSPIRE Project carries that original vision forward under a name built for broader adoption and long-term growth.
Why INSPIRE Matters
At its core, the CPLF INSPIRE Project changes the meaning of a season.
Student-athletes are invited to compete for more than a score. By building a relationship with a Hero Player or family, they gain perspective, strengthen leadership, and experience the value of showing up for others. Families feel seen, celebrated, and supported. Teams grow closer. Communities rally. Fundraising becomes more personal. And the game becomes a vehicle for something bigger than itself.
This is what makes INSPIRE so powerful: the heroes we support become a source of motivation for the team, while the team turns that inspiration into action.
What the CPLF INSPIRE Project Does
The CPLF INSPIRE Project provides a clear framework for schools and coaches to create a season-long support model around an Hero Player.
Each participating team is paired with a child, athlete, or family member facing a significant health challenge. From there, the relationship grows through intentional touchpoints across the season, including introductions, messages, video calls, visits when appropriate, custom team recognition moments, and dedicated fundraising efforts. The program also includes planning support, communication guidance, and a cadence that helps coaches and captains keep the relationship active throughout the year.
How It Works
Team Pairing
A school or coach connects with the Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation to express interest in participating (reach out at contact@caseypowelllacrossefoundation.org) CPLF then works with program leaders to identify and pair the school with a Hero Player or family.
Team Introduction
The team is introduced to the Hero Player through a preseason meeting, virtual kickoff, or on-site gathering. Families, coaches, captains, and school leaders can be included to establish the purpose of the relationship from the start.
Season-Long Connection
Throughout the season, athletes maintain regular touchpoints through notes, videos, check-ins, care packages, and visits when appropriate. Coaches and captains help keep the Hero Player’s story present and meaningful for the full team.
Recognition and Visibility
Teams may choose to honor their CPLF hero with warm-up shirts, game dedications, public recognition moments, or other approved team traditions. These visible reminders help athletes carry the relationship with them every time they step on the field.
Fundraising with Purpose
Each team participates in a fundraising effort to support the Hero Player and family. Campaigns are designed to bring together players, parents, alumni, and supporters around a cause they now know personally.
A Coaching Model with Lasting Impact
The CPLF INSPIRE Project is not just about philanthropy. It is about coaching with meaning.
By bringing service into the culture of a team, coaches create an experience that develops empathy alongside competition. Captains gain leadership responsibility. Players learn to communicate with compassion. Families become part of a shared mission. And schools create a tradition that can last well beyond a single season. The original Oak Knoll model demonstrated that when athletes are grounded in purpose, the impact reaches far past the field.
Built as a Blueprint
The word Blueprint remains important because this program was intentionally designed to be replicated.
The CPLF INSPIRE Blueprint gives schools, coaches, and captains a model they can adapt within their own communities while staying true to the original vision established at Oak Knoll. The program structure includes kickoff planning, team introductions, weekly touchpoints, fundraising coordination, recognition moments, communication guidance, and end-of-season celebration. It is a practical framework for schools that want to build a service-centered team culture with real community impact.
From Oak Knoll to What Comes Next
The CPLF INSPIRE Project honors where this work began while opening the door to where it can go next.
What started with Gianna Sgroi’s leadership at Oak Knoll School now has the potential to shape programs across the country. The new name allows the initiative to grow under the Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation banner while preserving the spirit of the original idea: that young athletes are changed when they are called to play for something greater than themselves.
Join the CPLF INSPIRE Project
Coaches, athletic directors, school leaders, families, and supporters are invited to help bring the CPLF INSPIRE Project to life.
Together, we can build teams that compete with heart, hero young heroes facing difficult battles, and create a season of connection that leaves a lasting mark on everyone involved.
To learn more or explore participation, contact:
contact@caseypowelllacrossefoundation.org
