Growth of Lacrosse in Duluth and Grand Rapids

More news coverage of Northern Minnesota lacrosse in the Duluth and Grand Rapids area. A nice piece about how the sport is growing in our area and what the future might hold.

Big Changes in MBSLA in 2012

The 2012 lineup of teams in the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association (MBSLA) looks decidedly different than 2011. The MBSLA is a lacrosse league composed of club lacrosse teams that are not sanctioned varsity sports by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) at their respective schools. The MBSLA has recognized state champions in lacrosse since 2004, two years before the MSHSL sanctioned lacrosse as an official varsity level sport.  The MBSLA also runs the spring leagues for 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10 and JV level teams throughout the entire state, including teams that presently participate in the MSHSL.

In another great sign of the growth of the sport of lacrosse in Minnesota, there will be 26 teams competing in the MBSLA in 2012 up from 20 in 2011.  Nine new club lacrosse teams will be participating in the 2012 MBSLA lacrosse season.  This is a great indicator that lacrosse is growing throughout the State of Minnesota.  To emphasize this point, most of the new teams come from areas outside the traditional hotbed of the Twin Cities metro area.

Grand Cities lacrosse players after scrimmage with Fargo

In the North, the new teams include Grand Cities and Proctor.  Grand Cities is made up of players from Grand Forks, ND and East Grand Forks, MN including surrounding communities.  The new Grand Cities team has shown impressive organization and they look to be building their program quickly.  They also have the distinction of being the furthest north and most remote lacrosse team in the MBSLA and state.  The new Proctor team sprouted quickly after a large group of inspired students decided they wanted to form their own team in the Duluth, MN area.  The team now has a coach and a schedule and they are preparing for their first season of club lacrosse in the MBSLA.

In the East, traditional athletic powerhouse Cretin-Derham Hall (Joe Mauers alma mater) makes their entrance onto the Minnesota lacrosse scene.  Cretin-Derham Hall will begin their first season of lacrosse under the direction of experienced lacrosse coach Pat Donaghy.  Henry-Sibley moves from the East conference to the South.

In the South, Henry-Sibley comes in from the East, St. Louis Park comes in from the West, and two new teams make their first foray onto the lacrosse scene.  Waconia, with youth lacrosse teams already participating in youth leagues, will now field their first MBSLA high school lacrosse team.  Northfield also makes their entrance onto the Minnesota lacrosse scene with their first MBSLA team in 2012.

St. Louis Park vs. Hastings 2011

The West conference will see the most growth in 2012 with 4 new lacrosse teams coming on the scene.  St. Michael-Albertville will field their first high school level lacrosse team in 2012.  In 2011, St. Michael-Albertville participated in the MBSLA middle school season.  Rogers will be participating in their first MBSLA season in 2012.  Rogers has also had youth level lacrosse teams participating in the Youth Lacrosse Minnesota leagues.  Becker will be fielding their first MBSLA team in 2012.  The fourth new team in the West conference will be Providence Academy.  2012 will mark Providence Academy's first participation in organized competitive lacrosse.  St. Louis Park, last years state runner-up, will move from the West conference to the South.

While 9 new teams entered the MBSLA, two teams left for the MSHSL for the 2012 season.  Both Orono and Hastings will be fielding their first sanctioned varsity level teams in 2012.  The only other change in the MSHSL in 2012 will be the separation of Eastridge and Park.  Park will now field their own MSHSL team this season.  With the additions of Orono, Hastings and Park, the MSHSL will now have 57 teams.  The only other change in the MBSLA is the elimination of Centennial's club team.  Centennial will still be fielding a varsity level MSHSL team.

Exciting things are happening in lacrosse in Minnesota as the sport continues its meteoric growth in the state.  It will be exciting following the new MBSLA teams this season and also watching Orono and Hastings, two former MBSLA teams, compete in their first MSHSL seasons in 2012.

MontiQuois is 2011 MBSLA State Champion

MontiQuois' Thomas Bales works against St. Louis Park

MontiQuois defeated defending state champion St. Louis Park 13-6 on Saturday night.  St. Louis Park was playing in its 4th straight title game.  The state championship was the first for MontiQuois, the Monticello-based team that started its boys lacrosse program in 2003.  MontiQuois got to the game by defeating Orono 10-8 on Thursday night.  St. Louis Park defeated previously undefeated Delano to earn their spot in the championship game.  State champion MontiQuois knocked Duluth out of the playoffs in the first round with an 8-3 win in Duluth.

Junior attackman Cody Lamm and senior midfielder Evan Hesse each scored four goals for MontiQuois, which erupted for nine unanswered goals on its way to a 13-6 triumph over St. Louis Park.

The first quarter ended in a 3-3 tie, but the rest of the game – aside from the closing few minutes – belonged to MontiQuois.

Senior midfielder Evan Hesse scored with 5 minutes, 11 seconds left in the second quarter to put MontiQuois ahead 4-3, and the scoring outburst ended when Lamm scored with 9:23 left in the fourth quarter. Lamm’s goal put MontiQuois ahead 12-3 and all but put the game out of reach.

Delano defeated Orono 7-6 in the third place game.  In the MSHSL boys state championship, Benilde-St. Margarets beat Eden Prairie 9-3 and in the girls MSHSL state championship game, Blake defeated Eden Prairie 11-9.

Reflection on Homegrown Lacrosse's Week in Duluth

I was fortunate to be able to meet Jesse and Chaun from Homegrown Lacrosse at a couple of the afterschool clinics they put on in Duluth.  The second clinic had over 40 kids running all over the gym with lacrosse sticks in hand!  Jesse and Chaun did a great job working with the kids.  It was also nice to see several of the Duluth-Superior Chargers high school players come out one night to help work with the kids.  Judging from all of this, the future of lacrosse in Duluth and Northern Minnesota appears to be bright.

Many good things were also said about Homegrown Lacrosse and the work they did with the in-school P.E. program at several Duluth grade schools.  Homegrown was able to put a lacrosse stick in the hands of just under 1,000 kids during their time in Duluth.  As we've said before, we're very fortunate in Minnesota to have an organization like Homegrown Lacrosse here to help grow the sport of lacrosse in the state.  Without a group like Homegrown, it's not hard to believe that lacrosse would not be growing as fast as it is in Minnesota outside of a few select areas.  One needs only look to the south to the state of Iowa.  There is a small group of very dedicated individuals, led by the Central Iowa Lacrosse Association, who love the sport and want to see it grow.  However, without resources or a group like Homegrown, lacrosse is still languishing in the state with only two high school teams playing lacrosse and a couple of newly formed youth lacrosse associations.  They're working hard in Iowa, but without the organization of a group like Homegrown, it's difficult.

So, what really is the future of lacrosse in Duluth?  Hopefully a lot of those kids who had a lacrosse stick in their hand will play in the Duluth YMCA summer youth league.  If they do, it will be a really fun summer for youth lacrosse in Duluth and a great start for developing lacrosse at a young age and providing a pipeline of players for the high school programs.  The 3rd and 4th graders picking up sticks this summer will be pioneers of the sport in Duluth.  They'll be some of the first lacrosse players in Duluth that started at a young age and worked their way up to high school and perhaps beyond.  It will allow Duluth and other Northland Schools to start catching up to the Twin Cities programs to an extent.

I heard from a lot of kids who plan to play in the YMCA youth league this summer.  However, I also heard from several kids who said they might be playing summer hockey or baseball and might not play in the youth lacrosse league.  I've also heard from several kids at the middle school level who have chosen to play spring and summer hockey or spring soccer as opposed to trying a new sport like lacrosse.  In a hockey-mad town like Duluth, how do the lacrosse programs entice those hockey players who might really have fun and make an impact on the lacrosse team to give it a try?  Lacrosse is a great crossover sport for soccer, hockey, football and basketball.  The fitness level the kids will get from lacrosse is tremendous.  And, once a kid plays lacrosse, he/she's usually hooked.  It's that much fun.

Perhaps transitioning to an MSHSL team would help entice some kids.  Making it a varsity sport on par with hockey and soccer would perhaps make it more attractive to students looking for a sport to play.  And, despite all of the great work Homegrown has done in Duluth, lacrosse still needs to be more visible.  We have a quality college program at UMD and good high school programs with the Chargers and Grand Rapids teams, even a professional team in St. Paul, but you still never see anything about lacrosse in the newspaper - not even box scores.  Lacrosse has to become more visible.  Even more kids have to try it and see how fun it is.

Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player ever, loved lacrosse and understood its benefits.  He said, "When I was growing up, I used to love this time of year(spring). It was when I put my hockey equipment away and I was absolutely ecstatic to see the end of the hockey season. One of the worst things to happen to the game, in my opinion, has been year-round hockey and, in particular, summer hockey. All it does for kids, as far as I can tell, is keep them out of sports they should be doing in warmer weather. I could hardly wait to get my lacrosse stick out and start throwing the ball around. It didn't matter how cold or rainy it would be, we'd be out firing the ball against walls and working on our moves as we played the lacrosse equivalent to road hockey. All the good hockey players seemed to play lacrosse in those days and every one of them learned something from the game to carry over to the other - things athletes can only learn by mixing up games they play when they are young."  If it worked for Wayne, it seems like it might work for some of the other hockey, soccer and basketball kids in town.  Perhaps having some support for lacrosse from the hockey programs would help as well.

Hopefully we'll see the sport of lacrosse begin to flourish in Duluth and Northern Minnesota.  There's still work to do, but with the help of Homegrown, we're definitely on the right path.

See Homegrown Lacrosse's blog for more about their time in Duluth. 

Photos courtesy of Homegrown Lacrosse

Minnesota Lacrosse MSHSL Preseason Rankings

Quite a bit of information can be found on the Inside Lacrosse forums regarding Minnesota High School lacrosse. The folks posting in that forum are very knowledgeable lacrosse fans who watch a lot of lacrosse in the Twin Cities and have good opinions regarding the top high school lacrosse teams in Minnesota. The forum is "Twin Cities-centric" and the majority of the top teams are found in the Twin Cities metro area. Our 2011 Minnesota High School Lacrosse Preseason rankings are based on a compilation of rankings found in the Minnesota High School forum on Inside Lacrosse. Teams that were ranked first by forum readers received 20 points, second, 19 points and so on. Teams that were mentioned as potential top teams also received 1 point to round out the Top 20. Based on those forum rankings by avid Minnesota lacrosse fans here is the 2011 MSHSL Preseason Top 20:

1.   Eden Prairie  289 points
2.   Benilde-St. Margaret's  287
3.   Blake  251
4.   Minnetonka  209
5.   Wayzata  163
6.   Burnsville  75
7.   Stillwater  62
8.   Eastview  56
9.   Centennial  16
10. Blaine  13
11. Totino Grace  13
12. Eagan  12
13. Woodbury  12
14. Edina  11
15. Maple Grove  10
16. Rosemount  8
17. Mahtomedi  1
18. Apple Valley  1
19. Prior Lake  1
20. Chaska  1

This is the WestsideLAX.com pre-season top 10:

1.  Benilde-St. Margaret's
2.  Eden Prairie
3.  Eagan
4.  Blake
5.  Eastview
6.  Edina
7.  Stillwater
8.  Wayzata
9.  Minnetonka
10. Blaine

In a couple of days we'll release our MBSLA pre-season Top 10 and see where the Northern Minnesota teams might stack up.  Let the season begin, and the rankings shake out!

Northern Lacrosse Nuts and Bolts

The facts about Northern Minnesota lacrosse:

High School teams in Northern Minnesota:

MBSLA teams:  MBSLA high school teams listed below participate in the North Division

Brainerd Warriors - location:  Brainerd, MN

Duluth-Superior Chargers - location: Duluth, MN.  Comprised of kids from Duluth area schools.

Fargo High School - location:  Fargo, ND

Grand Rapids Thunderhawks - location:  Grand Rapids, MN

St. Cloud North Knights - location:  St. Cloud, MN.  Comprised of kids from Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Apollo and other surrounding area high schools

MSHSL teams: 

St. Cloud South Tigers - location:  St. Cloud, MN.  The only MSHSL team presently located in the north.

Girls Lacrosse in the North:

Two active girls teams participate in lacrosse in Northern Minnesota.  In Duluth, the Knighthawks girls lacrosse team has been active in Duluth for several years.  The Knighthawks include players ages 13 and up, from all area high schools and middle schools.  In 2010, the team finished fourth place in the Northcentral Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association with a 4-3 record.  Girls lacrosse is also being played in Grand Rapids.  The Grand Rapids team also participates in the Northcentral Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association.  Here's a video of the Grand Rapids Girls Lacrosse team in action.  For more information about either team, go to the team contact page on the NSLA website.

Youth Programs and Lacrosse Associations:

Duluth YMCA Youth Lacrosse League - In 2011, this league will be expanding to include 4 teams at the 3/4 and 5/6 grade levels.  Practices will be held on Tuesdays throughout the summer (first week in June until last week in July) with games every Thursday.  The Y league is hoping to recruit more kids at the 3rd through 6th grade levels to allow for the formation of teams at both age levels and a more competitive and fun league.  In addition, a travel team will be formed at both the 3/4 and 5/6 grade levels to participate in a couple of tournaments later in the summer.  UMD Bulldog lacrosse players and coaches provide the coaching and instruction for this league, making it a very attractive league for kids just getting started.


Grand Rapids Lacrosse Association - Will have a 5/6 grade team play in the MBSLA spring league in 2011


Fargo Lacrosse Club - Fargo offers a youth spring lacrosse league for kids ages 9-14.


College Lacrosse Teams:

University of Minnesota - Duluth Bulldogs - MCLA Division I:  The UMD Bulldogs lacrosse team is one of the most successful college lacrosse teams in the Midwest.  Currently ranked #9 in the nation (MCLA pre-season top 10 - 1. Michigan, 2. Arizona State, 3. Chapman, 4. Colorado State, 5. Florida State, 6. Brigham Young, 7. Colorado, 8. Oregon, 9. Minnesota-Duluth, 10. Simon Fraser), this team plays, and quite often beats, the big boys.  Last year, the Bulldogs were one game away from the MCLA Final Four, finishing the season #5 in the nation.  The Michigan Wolverines were last seasons MCLA National Champion.  Though competing as a club team, UMD operates as a "virtual varsity" squad with top-notch coaches and players.  On an equal playing field, UMD would give most NCAA teams a run for their money.

St. Cloud State - MCLA Division I


Minnesota State Moorhead - MCLA Division II


Events:


Fargo Tournament - 2011 Fargo Ambush Tournament, May 14 & 15, 2011.  Each team is guaranteed 3 games.  Age divisions for boys are high school varsity, high school JV, high school 9/10, 7/8, 5/6 and 3/4.  There is a single division for girls high school varsity.  Contact Tournament Director, Matt Noah, matt@fargolacrosse.org if you have any questions.   

Grand Rapids Tournament - Grand Rapids Lax Shootout is scheduled for May 7 & 8, 2011.  This tournament will include varsity, JV, middle school and girls teams.  For more information about this tournament contact lacrosse@mchsi.com


Future of Lacrosse in Northern Minnesota:


At the present time, there are only 5 MBSLA teams in Northern Minnesota and one MSHSL team.  Where and how could lacrosse grow at the high school level in Northern Minnesota?  Here are some possibilities:

Duluth-Superior Chargers - This team will most likely eventually be composed of students from the two Duluth high schools - Duluth East and Duluth Denfeld.

A team on the Iron Range is a distinct possibility in the near future.  This team could be composed of Virginia-Eveleth-Mt. Iron and other Iron Range schools

Other possible northern teams could include a North Shore team composed of a combination of Two Harbors/Silver Bay/Grand Marais.  Some other combination teams similar to some of the hockey combinations could include - Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, Hermantown/Proctor/Marshall, and Mora/Hinckley/Finlayson.  Other teams located in the larger communities of Bemidji, International Falls, Thief River Falls, Grand Forks/East Grand Forks area, Moorhead, Fergus Falls/Alexandria, and a Northern Wisconsin team composed of Superior/Ashland are also possibilities.

Of the most likely teams, two solid Northern Divisions could be formed:

Northeast Division, composed of - Duluth, Grand Rapids, Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, Hermantown/Proctor/Marshall, Iron Range, International Falls and Superior.

Northwest Division, composed of Brainerd, St. Cloud North, Fargo, Bemidji, Grand Forks/East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls and Moorhead.

The North Shore, Mora/Hinckley,  and Fergus Falls/Alexandria may be a little further out based on their respective school sizes, proximity to other schools and distance between schools.