What was the highlight of my Memorial Day weekend? It wasn’t the omnipresent cloud cover, chill and drizzle. It wasn’t the Coca-Cola 600 or even the Indy 500.And it certainly wasn’t the Yanks coughing up the AL East lead to the Red Sox (I’m not too worried though – When
the temperatures go down and the geese go south, so do the Boston Red Sox).
No, the highlight of this Memorial Day was the fact that the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championships were on ESPN and I got to sit inside on a lousy weekend and watch them.
Having grown up right outside of Syracuse in the land of the Iroquois and cradle of the sport (pun intended to those familiar with the game), lacrosse was everywhere and everything in my formative years. If you went outside for a catch it was hardly ever with a mitt – in fact, most of the baseball players in my high school faced ridicule for playing a wussy sport. While I’ve matured enough thoroughly enjoy the skill and thrill of baseball, it still doesn’t hold a candle to lacrosse.
Attempting to fully explain the game in the space I’m given here wouldn’t even come close to doing justice. It’s billed as "the fastest game on two feet" and lives up to that boast with lightning quick passes that take the ball from one end of the field to another in no time and shots on goal that would make Marty Brodeur’s head spin. As one ESPN announcer accurately put it this past weekend, "It’s like a major league pitcher running half way to the plate then firing his fastball exactly where he wants it to go."
And the violence – let’s not forget the violence. The most common reaction I hear from people who have never before seen the game is, "are they really allowed to hit you like that?" Nine times out of ten the answer is yes. The speed, skill, smarts, strength and stamina needed to play lacrosse can make it appear to be an awesome, elegant orchestra of controlled mayhem when it’s played at a level like that which was played this past weekend in Baltimore. Congratulations to the Virginia Cavaliers on their well-deserved National Championship.
But you don’t have to wait until next Memorial Day to catch great lacrosse, and you certainly don’t have to travel to Baltimore, Syracuse or Long Island (three traditional hotbeds of lacrosse) to see it. The New Jersey Pride of Major League Lacrosse begin their season this Saturday and have their first home game next Saturday, June 5 at Commerce Bank Park in Bridgewater. But if Bridgewater is too far out of the way, the Pride has made its home right here in Hoboken, using at DeBaun Field at Stevens Institute of Technology as a practice facility. For more information, check out www.newjerseypride.com or www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.
Speaking of Stevens, congratulations to coach Byron Collins and his Ducks on their appearance in the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Tournament and third straight Knickerbocker Conference Championship. I was lucky enough to see the team in action this season and let me say that DeBaun Field is one of the most impressive facilities I have seen in the area and an ideal place to watch great lacrosse – within walking distance of anywhere in Hoboken. I’ll be sure to post next season’s schedule in a future article, or check out www.stevensducks.com for more information.
As for me, I was given a terrific opportunity to coach the JV Boys’ Lacrosse team at St. Peter’s Prep in downtown Jersey City this past season. It was a fantastic opportunity for which I am exceedingly grateful and I look forward to working with the program in the future. While my boys had a pretty good season, the varsity program saw its first ever post-season play making the state playoffs.
Congratulations fellas and best of luck to Head Coach Steve Hamp as he moves on to bigger and better things in his future. For more information on Prep sports, check out www.stpetersprep.org.
It’s been a great spring for me getting reacquainted with an old passion. I missed the hands-on experience of coaching and playing lacrosse, something I was forced to walk away from when I moved down here and one of my few regrets about leaving the Syracuse area.
But after this season I feel like I’m back in the game – plus I lost about 15 lbs. and a good two inches off the Buddha.
To the rest of you fat, balding, out-of-shape, semi-retired lacrosse players, I recommend getting off your asses and finding lacrosse again. If you’re interested in playing, checkout the indoor league at Rexplex in Elizabeth (www.rexplex.com).
Meanwhile, yours truly is looking into what it would take to play outside somewhere in Hoboken. Keep reading and I’ll let you know more when I do.
If you know how I can effectively waste $50 in the
Metro-area, please write to:
Hal Wastes His Wages
c/o The Hudson Current
1400 Washington Street
Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
or email c_halleron@yahoo.com.