Game on for boys lacrosse
By Nick Clark
Sun Newspapers
((Created: Monday, April 9, 2007 3:30 PM CDT)
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The Blake boys lacrosse team met last week for practice. The sky was gray and the wind serving as a cruel and bitter reminder that winter wasn't totally over yet.
But for those players - as well those associated with the sport in Minnesota this spring - it felt like 80-degrees and sunny everyday.
Boys lacrosse, which only has been played at the high school level inside state lines for about a decade, is about to embark on its first official season with the sanctioning of the Minnesota State High School League.
Getting to this point hasn't been easy for those inside boys lacrosse circles - it took three separate votes in three years by the MSHSL board to pass the amendment granting the sport the legitimacy it was looking for. But for the players and coaches hitting the fields across Minnesota this spring, the wait has been worth it.
"If anyone were to walk into our situation, you would have realized we were ready to be a varsity sport," said Hopkins head coach Chris Donaldson. "The reason I say that is because it was such a well organized sport at the club level, but don't get me wrong, this is what we wanted."
The reasons for the sport wanting to make the jump into the MSHSL are aplenty, but the biggest one lies in one number - 54.
That is how many teams played in the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association (the club level) a year ago. The interest in the sport was there, and the next step became an obvious one.
"It was time," said Blake head coach Joe Seivold, whose team has won the past two MBSLA state championships.
"The state of Minnesota, and particularly the Twin Cities area, has decided that this is a great game, a game kids want to play, so why roadblock that?"
Varsity vs. Club
Of the 54 teams that participated at the club level a year ago, more than half made the jump to the MSHSL.
In all, 32 teams will compete under MSHSL guidelines. A small number of those teams are in their first year of competition.
According to Judy Larkin, the MBSLA's communication officer, there will be 19 teams playing a varsity-type schedule in the club league this year, as well four others playing as provisionals. Those teams are in their first year and because of numbers, weren't sure if they would be able to field a team that would competitive at the highest club level.
"They are kind of like a JV team," Larkin said.
The fact that the MBSLA is still going strong lends to the belief the sport's popularity hasn't stalled, or even slowed.
In all, Larkin said there are six or seven new teams in the MBSLA this year, a number that some coaches believe will continue to grow.
"I think you are going to add maybe four or five teams a year to the club level," said St. Louis Park head coach Kevin Reed, who will be leading the Orioles in the MBSLA in their first year of competition at any level.
"Some of your smaller schools are going to be able to put together teams. The interest is just that incredibly high right now."
Interest is only one reason why the MBSLA isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It offers teams like St. Louis Park a chance to get their spikes wet in a competitive manner.
It also gives teams the ability to be flexible with their schedule. Under MSHSL guidelines when, where and who you play is a major issue.
That isn't the case in the MBSLA.
"Right now we want to build a program at the club level that shows we can fund ourselves and stand the test of time," Reed said. "I think where varsity programs fall short is where the club level can excel. I really enjoy the club aspect of it, and I look forward to being able to have some control over who you are playing and where your games are."
The biggest difference between club and varsity levels is the length of the season.
For example, a year ago Blake won its second straight state title June 10, after starting the season April 12.
If Blake is to have a shot at the three-peat by playing in the state title game this year, they would play May 25 at Wayzata High School. The season also starts two days later, which would make this season 18 full days shorter.
"That is the biggest challenge," Seivold said. "The season has been truncated. The whole thing is over before Memorial Day, so the biggest difference is going to be getting ready at a much quicker pace."
Nonetheless, the best teams in the state will be competing at the MSHSL level, and shorter season or not, that is where the state's top-end and established teams feel they need to be.
"Overall, it had to happen at some point," Donaldson said. "Change always brings some positives and some negatives. For the most part, it is a positive thing, and we'll build on that and learn."
Swarm helps buzz
Any need for proof of the popularity and subsequent growth of the sport in Minnesota can be found inside the Xcel Energy Center one or two weekends a month between January and April.
Nearly 10,000 people make their way through the turnstiles in St. Paul to watch the Minnesota Swarm - the state's first professional lacrosse team.
That number doesn't fill the building, but attendance rivals the game-day gate of the NBA franchise across the river.
"They are sneaking up on the Timberwolves," said Reed, who is also a Swarm season ticket holder. "And the more you can get people down to those games, the more will come back when they realize how exciting the sport is."
The Swarm, now in its third year of existence, has been one of the major factors in helping the sport grow in Minnesota.
The team willingly sends players out to a practice if time is available, and they make it a habit of inviting teams to their home games.
"We are always looking to help out the community teams," said Joel Jordan, who is in New Business Development with the Swarm. "Whatever they need, we try to accommodate."
Said Reed, "The Swarm have been tremendous since the first year they got here. I really appreciate having them here. I think that they are an outstanding asset to the lacrosse community here in Minnesota."
It should be noted that the Swarm games differ from those played by the high school teams.
The Swarm plays an indoor game, tucked inside the confines of a melted hockey rink. High school teams play outside, and on a field more comparable to that of a soccer pitch.
"Just seeing the guys running up and down a playing surface and moving a lacrosse ball indoor or out helps people visualize what that might look like," Seivold said. "And it certainly helps young kids get excited about that prospect."
Two of the Swarm players will get a first-hand look at the lacrosse being played at the high school level this spring.
Ryan Ward, an All-Star this year for the Swarm, will serve as the head coach at Eden Prairie High School while teammate Sean Pollack helps out at Wayzata High School as an assistant coach.
"Each one of our Swarm players has a full time job, whether it is here or elsewhere," Jordan said "So it is a commitment, but I know they really enjoy giving back like that."
If anything, the biggest thing that Pollack and Ward will do is help the sport get some free publicity. That, coupled with an already consistent infusion of Swarm commercials on television, isn't hurting the sport in any way.
"It can't," Donaldson said. "A little bit of professional exposure is great; you see the advertisements on television and you see it in the newspapers, and that doesn't hurt any."
Moving forward
For the past decade, boys lacrosse in Minnesota had centered a lot of its efforts on finding a way to get into the MSHSL.
Now that it's there, the next move is finding a way to succeed while continuing to grow at the club and youth levels.
"To some extent what we need is to have enough adults in the community to continue to shepherd the game forward properly," Seivold said. "There is a shortage of referees, there is a shortage of knowledgeable coaches, and that just creates some problems."
That is why Seivold said he is looking for more imports like himself. He spent the first 17 years of his coaching career in Florida and North Carolina before coming to Minnesota two years ago.
The sport has flourished on the East Coast for years, and while Seivold said the growth here has been "explosive," there is still a long way to go.
"There are so many youth programs, and we are having to recruit high school kids to referee youth games on the weekends, and a 16-year old is just not going to blow the whistle like an adult," he said. "We are trying to get more adults coaching the game. Anyone who's come from the East and has knowledge of the game and they want to stay involved, certainly we need their involvement throughout the state. Whether it be at the high school level, JV, middle school, any of that."
Reprinted with permission Sun Newspapers
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