David Deal is the perfect example of how the tiny seed of lacrosse was planted in Western Pennsylvania and sprouted into something viable and healthy -- growing ever bigger.

Deal, 25, is the boys' lacrosse coach at Central Catholic High School. He had a solid playing career at Kenyon College, heading there after a tremendous career at Shady Side Academy.

Deal began playing the sport as a ninth-grader at Shady Side, admittedly picking up a stick and helmet after bowing to some peer pressure.

"It started with a little convincing from a few friends," Deal said. "And once I got out there on the lacrosse field, instantly I knew it was the right decision. ... But, never did I think, when I first started playing, that it would grow into something as big as it has in my life."

Deal's is a story that has become more and more common in this area the past decade, as lacrosse has experienced tremendous growth.

To put some numbers behind that claim, consider this: Local boys' lacrosse started with Sewickley Academy fielding the lone area team in the late 1960s and having to play college teams, area adult teams, or to go out of the area to play other high schools. By the late 1980s, there was nominal growth, with just a few local high school boys' club teams playing. But by 1998 there were 19 teams, in 2002 there were 26, and now there are 28 local high school club teams.

In a recent survey published by US Lacrosse, 201,250 boys and girls played the sport at the high school level last year, marking a one-year increase of almost 19 percent. Also, youth participation in the sport has grown more than 500 percent since 1999 to nearly 250,000.

It is a growth that will hit a crescendo of sorts locally July 1, when the WPIAL takes control of boys' lacrosse, shifting what had been a club sport into a sanctioned activity, in the same vein as football, basketball or baseball. Lacrosse will be a school sponsored sport next year because the PIAA -- which governs high school athletics in the state -- decided to sponsor the sport.

Boys' teams will compete for the first time under the WPIAL, which is part of the PIAA, umbrella next spring, following the same trail high school girls' lacrosse went down four years ago, when it went from a club activity into a varsity sport.

Tim Hastings is the boys' coach at Sewickley Academy and also serves as the president of the Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association, the current governing body of the boys' high school game in the area.

Hastings is confident boys' lacrosse will continue to remain healthy -- and most likely experience even bigger growth -- under WPIAL and PIAA rule. He concluded as much after WPIAL executive director Tim O'Malley sat down with WPSLA representatives a few months ago to outline what the WPIAL had in mind in terms of governing the sport.

"There was a little apprehension at first, but mostly because there were some unanswered questions, which in a situation like this is common," Hastings said. "Tim O'Malley met with people from the WPSLA and answered everything we inquired about. "

Tom Stewart, a junior midfielder on Fox Chapel's team, looks mainly at one factor as the sport shifts to school governance -- affordability.

"It will become cheaper to play, that is for sure," Stewart said. "Right now, because we are a club sport, I think it was somewhere between $600 and $1,000 for each player. But, next year, the school will pick up a lot of that cost and, because of that, it should open up more opportunity for kids who haven't played before because they didn't want to pay that money or because they couldn't afford it."

A large portion of that cost is transportation. Current club teams must arrange -- and pay -- for transportation to and from away games. When the sport falls under the governance of schools next year, most transportation costs will be absorbed by school athletic departments.

On top of that, there also can be some exorbitant equipment costs, and no one knows that better than Gary Neft, the owner of a major, nationwide lacrosse outfitter. Neft owns Queen City Lacrosse in Bridgeville. He is in his 15th year running a business that does a large portion of its sales through the Internet.

"There are five major requirements for the boys' game," Neft said. "A helmet, shoulder pads, arm pads, gloves and a stick. If you walk into the store, I can get you out of here for, at the minimum, probably about $225 for the low-end stuff. But when we are talking about the most quality equipment, it goes way up from there."

Like transportation, schools next year will pick up at least some of the equipment costs.

Those equipment costs are indigenous only to the boys' full-contact game. The girls' version doesn't have hitting and only requires a stick, safety eye wear and a mouthpiece.

In addition to owning Queen City Lacrosse, Neft is the coach of Pitt's women's lacrosse team -- a club sport at the university.

He is one of the foremost authorities on lacrosse in the area and, when asked, brought up a few concerns about the shift the boys' game will go through as a WPIAL sport.

"In the long run, yes, this will be a very beneficial move," Neft said. "But, when you put the sport under the school umbrella, a few things are going to happen.

"First, they are going to set a roster limit and make cuts, whereas now, it is kind of like whoever has enough money to play, gets a spot on the team.

"Secondly, and probably a bigger issue, is that I would bet some athletic directors are going to have to open the coaching jobs to teachers first, because of the way district contracts are structured. If there is an interest from a teacher in a lot of districts, that person will get the job. Because of that, we might not have the most qualified people in this area in charge of lacrosse programs, and that would be a shame. I would hope that does not happen."

Stewart also echoed the latter concern.

"Our team has talked about that a little bit and it is something that is important to us," Stewart said. "Our coach [Ty Wessel] has been with us since we came up in ninth grade. I am concerned that there would be a teacher who would want the job and they would have to give it to them. But, I don't know any teachers here [at Fox Chapel] who know anything about lacrosse, so I would doubt one of them would try to get the coaching job."

One glaring uncertainty in the immediate future for the boys' game is how the teams will be divided for the regular season and, consequently, the shape the playoff brackets will take.

There has been talk that the 28 WPIAL teams will be divided into two divisions, and the teams could be divided by size, geography and/or skill level or a combination of all three.

But, in terms of a PIAA championship, it is highly likely just one PIAA title will be contested, thus leaving the WPIAL in a bit of a quandary as to which team -- or teams -- would advance past the WPIAL stage to the PIAA bracket.

All of those logistical particulars will be worked out in the coming months, with the formation by the WPIAL of a boys' lacrosse committee.

In pulling the sport under school rule, one clear ambition remains -- to make teams in this area as competitive as possible and to realize a spike in participation numbers and, hopefully, skill level.

Many admitted that the level of talent, individually and from a team standpoint, has risen dramatically in this area the past decade.

That said, there is still much improvement to be made.

"We are still lagging behind Baltimore and Long Island and places such as that in terms of skill level and participation, there is no question," Hastings said. "But, to be fair, there have been great strides made in the talent in our area and an overall growth and visibility of the sport. In all honesty, I am amazed at the level of play by some of the players in our area. We have come a long way, in a very short time.

"This move to the WPIAL and PIAA will only allow us to grow in size and skill even more."