Practices in Full Swing Throughout the North

With new teams entering the MBSLA North Division and new youth lacrosse teams also participating in the MBSLA this Spring, lacrosse in the North is as strong as ever.  One of the longest running northern Minnesota lacrosse teams has also revamped their coaching staff for the coming year.  As practices shift into full gear throughout the North, we'll start to look at team schedules and team previews in preparation for the first games of the season on April 14.  We'll also look at can't miss games in the North during the season.

Grand Cities and Proctor are the two new teams in the North in 2012.  Grand Cities is a co-op based team out of the Grand Forks, ND area that includes players from Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, MN and Warren, MN.  Grand Cities head coach is Aaron Cabanaw and he will be assisted by Cameron Willox and Kelly Hurt.  Grand Cities will play their first game on April 14 against Duluth in Duluth, MN.

Proctor will also be competing in the MBSLA North for the first time in 2012.  Initiated by player interest, the team is looking forward to the coming season under the guidance of head coach Steve Lokken.  Those familiar with Lokken, a former St. Johns University attackman, know that he will prepare his team well for their inaugural season.  Proctor opens play against Duluth on April 14 in Duluth, MN.

Another great sign for the growth of the sport in the North is the addition of a 5/6 level team in Duluth that will compete in the Spring MBSLA league in 2012.  The team presently has 25 players on its roster and the interest in the team has been almost overwhelming.  The team will have an 8 game schedule with an additional tournament to be added at the end of the season.  They will have a couple of scrimmages against the new Grand Rapids 5/6 team this Spring.  In another great development for northern Minnesota lacrosse, Grand Rapids will also be fielding a 5/6 team this Spring.  They won't be competing in the MBSLA this season but will be playing a series of scrimmages against other 5/6 teams including Duluth.

Stay tuned for more updates and the Spring lacrosse season in the North unfolds!

WDIO.com - Duluth Summer Lacrosse

Nice news report from the WDIO Up North segment on August 10, 2011 about lacrosse in Duluth featuring the YMCA youth league and Tuesday night pick-up games for middle school, high school, college and adult players.

Highlights from Duluth YMCA Youth League

The Duluth YMCA Youth Lacrosse League is in full swing and the kids are improving by leaps and bounds with each practice and game.  The passing and catching is improving, the kids are understanding what to do and more goals are being scored.  The parents are having fun watching the games and the kids are having more fun playing!  Here are some scenes from league play.

Duluth Area YMCA Youth Lacrosse League - Youth Lacrosse in the North

The Duluth YMCA is going into its third year of youth lacrosse instruction this summer.  The partnership with the UMD Bulldogs lacrosse program, offers this league high level instruction for youth in grades 3 through 6.  UMD players and coaches have been partnering with the YMCA the last two years and provide all of the coaching and instruction.

The league hopes to offer even more in 2011.  With the anticipation of an increase in numbers, the league is planning to offer teams and league competition in addition to the quality instruction.

Open to any kids in grade 3 through 6 in the Duluth area and beyond, growth in the YMCA youth lacrosse league will create a fun and dynamic summer of lacrosse.  Greater numbers will allow for the creation of more teams and more fun games for the kids.  Learning the game at a young age will give kids a head start if they decide they want to keep playing lacrosse in middle school, high school or beyond.

The league runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 7 to August 2.  You can go to the YMCA Website for more information and to register online.  You may also register at the downtown Duluth YMCA.

If you'd like to see what lacrosse is all about, the Duluth YMCA and UMD Bulldogs lacrosse team are also offering a free lacrosse clinic this Saturday April 16 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the downtown Duluth YMCA.  The UMD lacrosse team will be providing the instruction and it will be a great introductory opportunity for new players and refresher for returning players.  The clinic is open to boys and girls in grades 2 through 6.

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

Homegrown Lacrosse to Spend Week in Duluth P.E. Classes

Homegrown lacrosse, a world class non-profit organization dedicated to growing the sport of lacrosse in Minnesota and encouraging positive change in the lives of youth lacrosse players, will be bringing their In School P.E. Program to Duluth elementary schools during the week of March 14-18.  The In-School P.E. Program is a week-long unit that introduces elementary, middle school and high school students to the sport of lacrosse.  Students are taught the history of the game, the evolution of the game, and lacrosse basics with both boy’s and girl’s lacrosse sticks.  The innovative program gives girls and boys a chance:

• To discover something new
• To be part of an emerging sport
• To be engaged
• To have fun  

Homegrown measures their success by the students’ and teachers’ enthusiasm, as well as by the number of students who want to participate in after school lacrosse programs.

Along with the in-school programming, Homegrown will offer two after-school youth lacrosse clinics during the week.  The first youth clinic will take place on Wednesday March 16 at the downtown Duluth YMCA starting at 6:00 p.m.  A second clinic will be conducted on Thursday March 17 at Lowell Elementary school also at 6:00 p.m.

Homegrown is providing Northern Minnesota with a great opportunity to grow the sport of lacrosse in the Duluth area.  Homegrown's efforts should significantly help the area youth lacrosse programs and give them a major boost in numbers.  In Minnesota, we're very fortunate to have an organization like Homegrown Lacrosse working hard to grow the sport of lacrosse across the entire state.  Please visit their website, check out the wide array of things they're doing and consider donating a little to them if you feel strongly about the growth of lacrosse in Minnesota.

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.