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.

Watershed Weekend for Northern Minnesota Lacrosse!

For the first time in the history of the Grand Rapids Shootout, two northern Minnesota teams battled for the

Clearing fields for the tournament

Varsity championship when Duluth squared off against Grand Rapids on Sunday.  It was a watershed moment for northern Minnesota lacrosse and perhaps an indication that northern Minnesota lacrosse has taken a big step forward.

In it's 5th year, the Grand Rapids Shootout has grown into one of the top tournaments in the state of Minnesota.  Drawing teams from throughout the state, North Dakota and Canada, this weekend of lacrosse is remarkable, even more so this year with the late April snows and cold weather.  Tournament organizers went above and beyond to pull off the tournament this year, clearing 8 fields of snow a couple weeks prior to the event.  Heavy equipment and snow piles over 10 feet high were required to allow the tournament to go on.  A huge thank you and congratulations to all of the tournament organizers and volunteers who worked so hard to make this tournament happen.  Under very difficult circumstances, the tournament came off without a hitch and had to be the best yet!

Duluth and Grand Rapids battling for a ground ball

With teams from Varsity down to U13, there was something for everyone.  Northern Minnesota teams fared well.  In the Varsity Championship, Duluth won their first ever Grand Rapids Shootout with a 6-4 victory over Grand Rapids.  To get there, Grand Rapids defeated perennial power St. Louis Park 9-3, while Duluth beat St. Cloud North 8-4.  In the championship game, it wasn't easy for Duluth.  Grand Rapids jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before Duluth even knew what hit them.  The Chargers however didn't panic and methodically chipped away at the Grand Rapids lead, rattling off 6 unanswered goals and helped along the way by several Grand Rapids penalties and a stellar Man Up unit.  It was exciting game and bodes well for lacrosse in northern Minnesota.

At every level, northern Minnesota teams fared well.  The U13 tournament, which included two teams from

James Holak of Duluth U13 moves upfield against Grand Rapids

Duluth and two from Grand Rapids, an exceptional showing of growth at the younger levels, grew tremendously from the previous year and featured some excellent lacrosse play.  The Fargo U13 team fielded one of the top teams in the tournament as another testament to the tremendous growth of the sport in the north.

Teams are already looking forward to next years Grand Rapids Shootout.  Looking forward to more growth for the game of lacrosse in northern Minnesota!

Potential Big Step for Northern Minnesota Lacrosse

Duluth School Board considers adding lacrosse as club sport

The Duluth Chargers and Nighthawks boys and girls lacrosse players who attend Denfeld and East high schools may be able to earn varsity letters this year if the Duluth School Board approves it next month. By: Jana Hollingsworth, Duluth News Tribune

The Duluth Chargers and Nighthawks boys and girls lacrosse players who attend Denfeld and East high schools may be able to earn varsity letters this year if the Duluth School Board approves it next month.

Duluth Chargers youth player in action

Board members for the Chargers program spoke to the School Board on Tuesday asking for lettering approval for the local club teams and building interest for eventual varsity status within the school district.  Andy Holak touted the fast-growing nature of the sport, noting growth of the boys team from 100 students last year to 142 this year.  Students within the program include those from Hermantown, Cloquet, Superior and Marshall, but the majority of players come from Duluth schools.

“Lacrosse attracts that nontraditional student that might not participate in a team sport otherwise,” Holak said.

The most growth is coming from younger kids, he said.

Board members said they supported the effort but were concerned about adequate funding for another varsity sport.

“That’s the difficulty here,” Chairman Tom Kasper said. “We support this if funding can come into place.”

Member Mike Miernicki said planning needed to involve Title IX logistics, ensuring there are equal numbers and expenses for boys and girls, and getting southerly teams to come play in Duluth.

The hope, said youth lacrosse coach Pat O’Connell, is to have lacrosse sponsored and funded by the Duluth district in 2016. Players from other schools would remain as a club team. The 12-year-old club has wanted to build a varsity program for years, he said. If it achieved that status in Duluth schools, it would probably play against schools already in the Minnesota State High School League such as St. Cloud Tech, White Bear Lake and Roseville.

The Grow Lacrosse Experiment in Minnesota

Like Kevin Flynn, I like maps too.  And, I like Kevin Flynn's idea for growing the game in more remote areas.  Let's take a look at Flynn's idea and see how we can apply it to Minnesota.

Outside the Twin Cities Metro area, where 85% or about 71 of our total of 84 boys teams in the state reside, Minnesota is a big state as well.  With a total of 84 boys lacrosse teams in the State of Minnesota, you could say we're doing pretty darn good here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  In fact, of states with lacrosse west of the Mississippi River, only California with 245 teams (Texas has 82 and Colorado has 66 school sanctioned teams) has more lacrosse programs than Minnesota.  But, with some relatively large cities and towns in Minnesota with almost no idea what lacrosse is, much less programs there, we can always do better.

Let's take a quick look at what Kevin Flynn is proposing to do for lacrosse in the Big Sky country of Montana.  Despite the spread out nature of cities and towns in Montana, Flynn believes if Montana can make football work for these spread out communities, lacrosse will work too.  He sees lacrosse fields everywhere.

By the end of this year, Flynn is planning to arrange and host lacrosse clinics at 50 high schools across Montana.  He'll bring a few well known friends along, teach whoever shows up and hopefully leave one or two people in each community with the inspiration to start their own team.  He'll have a team of game growers from across the state to help and enlist the support of the larger lacrosse community.  He'll bring in some big names, give away some cool stuff and bring the infrastructure to communities so they can get started.  With passion like this, I think he can get it done.

So, now let's take a look at Minnesota.  Where can we most likely grow the game here in Minnesota where it isn't already being played?  Let's first break it down into large (population 10,000+), medium (6,000 - 10,000) and small towns (less than 6,000) where we might be most likely to grow the game of lacrosse in Minnesota.  Let's also break it down into cities North of the Twin Cities and those South (using Highway 12 as the dividing line).

North:

Large Communities (7):  Hibbing/Chisholm, Bemidji, Fergus Falls, Cloquet/Esko, Alexandria, North Branch, Virginia/Eveleth (Iron Range)

Medium Communities (8):  Thief River Falls, Detroit Lakes, Little Falls, Crookston, Litchfield, International Falls, Morris, Montevideo

Small Communities (10):  Wadena, Two Harbors (North Shore), Cook County, Ely, Hinckley, Mora, Cambridge, Princeton, Baudette, Walker

South:

Large Communities (11):  Winona, Austin, Faribault, Willmar, Albert Lea, Red Wing, Marshall, New Ulm, Worthington, St. Peter

Medium Communities (5):  Waseca, New Prague, Stewartville, Kasson, Glencoe

Small Communities (5):  Redwood Falls, Cannon Falls, LaCrescent, Pipestone, Fairmont

Some of these communities may combine with other communities to form lacrosse associations and collaborate.  However, especially in the larger communities shown above, these are likely communities with enough youth to support a thriving lacrosse community with the right motivation.  Just focusing on the large communities and a couple medium sized communities in the North and the large communities in the South would be a great place to start.  Pick 25 total in the state and start there.  Hibbing/Chisholm, Bemidji, Fergus Falls, Cloquet/Esko, Alexandria, North Branch, Virginia/Eveleth (Iron Range), Thief River Falls, International Falls, Crookston, Morris, Detroit Lakes, Cambridge, and Princeton in the North and Winona, Austin, Faribault, Willmar, Albert Lea, Red Wing, Marshall, New Ulm, Worthington, and St. Peter in the South.  This would spread the game much further than its current boundaries.  Minnesota Native American communities are also growing the game and are locations that we can look to spread the game of lacrosse across the state.

The hope is that, like wildfire, once it catches on in one community it continues to spread until the entire state is populated with youth and high school lacrosse programs.  Just like the effort going on in Montana, we CAN make this happen here.

The Minnesota lacrosse community is a thriving one.  If any state can make this happen, we can.  With organizations like Homegrown Lacrosse which works to grow the game in Minnesota and provide lacrosse opportunities and the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association (MBSLA) which helps communities get started with club lacrosse programs before moving up to the state high school league, Minnesota has leaders that can make this happen.  The Minnesota Swarm have also been active in growing the game of lacrosse in Minnesota particularly in the Native Communities.

Let's all say we've got it pretty good here, but we can make it even better.  Here's to growing lacrosse in the Land of 10,000 Lakes!

Fargo Fall Ball Tournament

Several Northern Minnesota lacrosse teams participated in the 2012 Fargo Fall Ball Tournament in Fargo on October 20-21. Brainerd, Fargo and Grand Cities joined Winnipeg for the first ever Fall lacrosse tournament to take place in Northern Minnesota.

 Brainerd finished as the runner-up in the tournament, losing to Winnipeg in the Championship game. Grand Cities began the tournament with a win over Fargo and then dropped consecutive games against Brainerd and Winnipeg. Congratulations to Winnipeg as the first Fargo Fall Ball Tournament champion! Looking forward to more lacrosse action in the North in the off-season.

North Coast Jaxx Complete Successful First Season

HGL Champions

The North Coast Jaxx team composed of players from the Duluth area, Grand Rapids and Proctor completed a very successful first summer in 2012, topping it off with the 2012 Homegrown Summer Varsity Prep League championship on August 8.  The NC Jaxx topped Eastview III 5-3 in the semifinal and Champlin Park 5-4 in the Championship game.  They finished the summer Homegrown League season with an undefeated 8-0 record and the season with a 13-3-1 overall record.

North Coast Jaxx in Michigan

Along with the on-field success, the team proved to be a success in many other ways.  The North Coast Jaxx proved that a summer travel team could succeed and flourish in Northern Minnesota.  The team brought together kids and families from rival programs and forged new friendships.  Most importantly, the kids and families had a lot of fun.  The team improved greatly during the Cherry Bomb Tournament in Traverse City, MI while playing some very good competition, and they also had a great time.

Kids in Northern Minnesota are finally playing lacrosse in the off-season and improving their games.  It's a new day for lacrosse in Northern Minnesota, and the North Coast Jaxx were part of the "lax revolution" in the North!  Here's to another successful and flourishing season of summer lacrosse for the Jaxx in 2013!

Grand Rapids Tournament a Huge Success

The lacrosse tournament in Grand Rapids continues to grow and get better each year.  In 2012 42 teams competed in 5 divisions and there were over 800 kids participating.  Teams from Canada, northern Minnesota and the Twin Cities all traveled to Grand Rapids to compete.

7/8 Champions Duluth-Superior Chargers

All tie games were determined by braveheart which resulted in several exciting finishes and cheers that could be heard on the other side of the golf course where the games are played.  An all team photo and hole shoot were fun events and many teams got together for dinner after Saturdays games.

Northern teams fared well, with the Duluth-Superior 7/8 team finishing the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record and championship in that division.  The offense was clicking the entire tournament for the Duluth team who scored double digit goals in every game they played.

The Grand Rapids Shootout is turning into one of the premier lacrosse events in the state of Minnesota.  The Grand Rapids lacrosse program should be commended for a job very well done.  Teams are already looking forward to next year.

Tribal Communities Celebrate Their Anscentral Sport

Wouldn't it be great to have a northern Minnesota lacrosse team from one of our northern Minnesota tribal communities?  Even better, lacrosse teams in all of our northern Minnesota tribal communities!  Great to see the sport spreading across the Northland!

Article from Northland Newscenter and video below




Cloquet, MN (Northland's NewsCenter) --- Members of the Minnesota Swarm, the state's only professional lacrosse team, were the guests of honor this week at the second annual Lax-4-Life lacrosse camp.

They said it's an honor to be able to work with the kids of the Northland.

"Working with these kids is even more rewarding for us because these kids really appreciate every word that comes out of our mouth," said Kevin Dunnigan, the Storm's director of lacrosse operations. "These kids really soak in every experience they get, and it's an awesome experience for us as instructors."

"Of all the things I do, I've coached from youth to the professional level, this is one of the most rewarding things," said Aime Caines, a Storm assistant coach. "To be able to give back, lacrosse has given me so much, to give back like this is special."

More than 50 kids from seven tribal communities across the Northland took part in this week's camp.

The Swarm coaches said, for most of them, lacrosse just comes natural.

"It's in their blood, and we see that," Dunnigan said. "These kids pick it up quick. We put a stick in their hands and they're catching and throwing. It's pretty amazing, actually, right off the bat. It's almost natural for them."

"Every one of these kids born in the tribal communities, it's their birthright to have a stick given to them," Caines said. "When they pass on into the afterlife, they're going to leave with that stick."

The sport of lacrosse has been gaining a fan base in recent years. Dunnigan said it's the Swarm's goal to keep improving the sport's popularity amongst kids.

"What we're trying to do is build a base or a foundation in a lacrosse community, and also reach out to these communities that might need some help," Dunnigan said. "They don't know where to start, so we're lucky to have that opportunity to go out and work with these new communities."

Posted by Zach Schneider
zschneider@northlandsnewscenter.com

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

Welcome to Northern Lights Lacrosse!

Northern Lights Lacrosse is the information source for lacrosse in Northern Minnesota.  Here we'll discuss teams, events, games, and the people and players of Northern Minnesota lacrosse.  We'll also discuss lacrosse gear and provide updates and news about lacrosse from around the world.  We encourage visitors to take part in the conversation and post comments about our blog posts regularly.  This blog is intended to be interactive.  Our hope is that this clearinghouse for Northern Minnesota lacrosse information will help to grow the game in the North and truly put Minnesota lacrosse on the map.