IMG Academy Lacrosse Supports National Expansion of Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation’s INSPIRE Project

IMG Academy Lacrosse supports the Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation’s INSPIRE Project.

Season-long initiative pairs teams with Hero Players and families facing serious illness or injury through community support and student athlete-led fundraising

For more than a decade, our Foundation has brought hope, support, and inspiration to families nationwide. Partnering with IMG Academy helps extend that mission through season-long service.”

— Casey Powell

BRADENTON, FL, UNITED STATES, April 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- IMG Academy’s Lacrosse Program and the Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation (CPLF) today announced a new collaboration supporting the INSPIRE Project, uniting elite athletic development with a season-long commitment to service, empathy, and community impact.

The CPLF INSPIRE Project (Inspiring Next-Generation athletes through Service, Purpose, Impact, Recognition and Encouragement) began with one powerful idea: when a child can’t be on the field, the team brings the field to them. First launched in 2019, the initiative grew out of a defining experience at Oak Knoll High School, where a girls’ lacrosse team “adopted” a young player battling leukemia as an honorary teammate, an act of inclusion that sparked a ripple effect across the lacrosse community. Since then CPLF has built the INSPIRE Project into a repeatable, scalable model that schools can implement year after year creating a growing network of teams across the country rallying around families when they need it most.

As part of this opportunity, IMG Academy’s boy’s and girl’s lacrosse programs will each be matched with a CPLF Hero Player, specifically a young athlete or family facing a serious illness or injury, welcoming them as honorary members of the team throughout the spring season. The program will include consistent team touchpoints, visible moments of unity, and a student-athlete-led fundraising effort designed to provide meaningful support for the national network of sick and injured athletes CPLF supports.

“IMG Academy is committed to developing student-athletes who are prepared for college and for life, and that means building character as intentionally as we build performance,” said Shannon O'Neil, Director of Lacrosse, IMG Academy. “The INSPIRE Project is a powerful way for our program to lead with empathy, stay connected to purpose, and learn what it means to show up for someone consistently. This relationship gives our student-athletes the opportunity to turn team culture into real impact and to represent IMG Academy in the most meaningful way.”

Gianna Sgroi, Vice Chair of CPLF and the Executive Director of the INSPIRE Project has led this initiative since 2019 across other school programs: “What started at Oak Knoll as one team welcoming a child into the program as an honorary teammate became something that changed every player involved. It proved to me that a team can be a lifeline—and bringing that model to IMG Academy’s lacrosse program is a powerful step in building a nationwide network of teams showing up for families when they need it most. Seeing the Project come to IMG Academy is incredibly meaningful, because IMG Academy has the platform and the leadership culture to help scale what started as one team’s decision to care into a nationwide movement of teams choosing to stand with families when it matters most.”

Casey Powell, All American and Hall of Fame Lacrosse Player began the foundation with purpose after a career of seeing the need for a model of emotional support for athletes and families undergoing hardship: “For more than a decade, our Foundation has lived by three words—Share, Support, Inspire—and those words have carried us into hospital rooms, living rooms, and communities across the country. We’ve seen what happens when the lacrosse family shows up: hope gets louder, burdens get lighter, and families feel less alone. The INSPIRE Project is one of the clearest expressions of that mission because it’s not a one-time gesture, it’s a season-long promise. Working with IMG Academy’s lacrosse program helps us bring that promise to more families and expand this model so more teams nationwide can step up and lead through service.”

To support expansion nationwide, CPLF provides participating schools with a clear season framework including guidance for coaches and captains, family-consent and communication standards, engagement ideas that fit naturally into a team schedule, and fundraising best practices that help translate community support into tangible relief.

About IMG Academy
IMG Academy is the world’s leading sports education brand, providing a holistic education model that empowers student-athletes to win their future, preparing them for college and for life.

About the Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation
CPLF was founded in 2014 by National Lacrosse Hall of Famer Casey Powell with the mission to support players and families facing serious injuries and illnesses.

Media Contact:
IMG Academy: imgacademycommunications@imgacademy.com
Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation: contact@caseypowelllacrossefoundation.org

Casey Powell
Casey Powell Lacrosse Foundation
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