AZ Girls Lacrosse (AZGL) was the very first youth program in Arizona officially established in 2004 by Jessica Barden.   At the time there were only a few HS teams playing and there was a need for younger kids to get involved to grow the sport.   Desert STiX was a recreational team under AZGL.   As new teams evolved  around the valley, AZGL expanded and welcomed all teams to play in its leagues.    

In 2010, Tyna Murphy and Jessica Barden joined forces to continue to grow the game.  Desert StiX branched out into 4 different locations around the valley with multiple teams in each location and is continuing to grow today.  There was also a need to get players into higher levels of competition out of state so they founded Desert Heat Lacrosse.  Desert Heat was formed as the first travel teams for girls in 2010 and was for players looking to take their game to a higher level outside of recreational lacrosse in the valley.  

AZGL is now the umbrella program that houses many leagues such as our Fall Ball League, iLAX Indoor League in the summer, and a place for current and new programs and teams to join in if they want extra games.  We run a local tournament called Southwest Classic in the Fall for all teams in AZ and out of state compitition that would like to join.  We also have a place for Adult players to play if they are looking to stay involved with many of our programs.  

Tyna and Jessica have also seen a need to help support families who cannot afford sports. They would never want money to be an issue.  They formed Pink Empowered Foundation to help support this need for all players coming from non-traditional sports.  If you know a business or you are interested in donating to this need, please check out our website www.pinkempowered.com and donate today and get a tax write-off. 

The Basics

Lacrosse is a game of finesse and skill. You play with a small, rubber ball and it is passed from stick to stick up and down the field and into the goal to score a point. It's called the fastest game on two feet and uses a combination of skills similar to other sports like soccer, basketball and hockey.  If you have no idea or never have seen the sport before you will quickly fall in love with all that it has to offer! 

To provide a place for all girls to feel welcome and help foster their continued growth at any level.  We like to promote a positive experience for players and help them practice life skills through lacrosse. 

Meet your Directors

Jessica Barden was a captain and All-American Lacrosse Player at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. Her passion for sports and love for the game, combined with good coaching and some natural skills, led her quickly to fall in love with coaching.  She has coached High School lacrosse at Chaparral for almost two decades and led them to 6 state titles.  She has served on the US Lacrosse Board of Directors and in 2010 received the Excellence in Growing the Game award from US Lacrosse.  

Tyna Murphy played at Arizona Sate University where she was a captain and 1st Team All-Star for the WWLL her junior and senior year.  She continued on as head coach of the Sun Devils for 5 years where the team made their first appearance in the US Lacrosse WCLA National Championship Tournament.  She has been on serval committees for US Lacrosse including the National Umpire Committee (WGOSC) and the Sport Development Committee.  Tyna is also a Nationally rated Official and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach/Personal Trainer.