Cookeville Cavaliers lacrosse head coach Elliot Woods said he is looking to do more than check boxes this season. After breaking new ground a year ago, Woods said his focus is on restoring a standard the program once knew well.
“It’s really a determination to improve upon last year,” Woods said. “Let’s just not make the playoffs, let’s go and compete. Let’s get Cookeville back to championship weekend to where we were a few years ago and not just get there once but become mainstays there.”
Cookeville enters the season with optimism fueled by experience. The Cavaliers return most of their roster after qualifying for the inaugural TSSAA lacrosse playoffs last summer, a milestone that came as the sport officially gained state sanctioning in Tennessee. Woods said that playoff appearance was meaningful, but far from the finish line.
The current success of Cookeville lacrosse is rooted in a program that began modestly in the early 2000s. Founded by Kurt Snider, Cookeville lacrosse was originally created so his son and friends could play the sport. One of those early players was Woods himself, who grew with the program from sixth grade through college before eventually stepping into a coaching role.
Now, Woods is helping guide a program that looks far different from its early days. Woods said lacrosse participation in Cookeville has expanded beyond the high school level, with middle school teams still active and a growing youth pipeline now in place. Woods said a youth league for third and fourth graders, started by Snider a few years ago, has become a key focus area for long-term growth.
“We really saw that that was the grade level that really had the most impact as well as the most participation for those teams,” Woods said. “We started researching and really current in all of it was, what’s a good way to implement our youth program? What’s a good way to introduce lacrosse to these kids?”
Woods said he and his staff studied established programs, such as the one in Nolensville, to help shape Cookeville’s summer and youth development structure. Woods said the goal is not only sustained success at the high school level, but also expanding the sport’s footprint throughout the Upper Cumberland.
The growth is not limited to Cookeville alone. Woods said that lacrosse participation has steadily increased across Tennessee, and he hopes local development can spark more programs in surrounding communities.
“I would like to see lacrosse grow in this area,” Woods said. “We were hoping that through maybe our youth program we can start getting other youth-aged kids invested who maybe aren’t in the Cookeville area but are looking for a unique opportunity to play lacrosse and then that way other middle school and junior programs will start leading to high school programs popping up.”
With state sanctioning now in place, a returning core of players, and a coach deeply tied to the program’s past and future, Cookeville lacrosse enters the season aiming for more than history-making appearances. The Cavaliers are chasing consistency, and a return to championship contention.
