Blog #19- The challanges of club lacrosse

Today's blog is a real life example of the struggle in scholarships for lacrosse players in Utah. Specifically the University of Utah. “Rumors have been swirling the past few days that the University of Utah was considering adding Men's Lacrosse as an official NCAA division I sport. Utah already has a men's lacrosse team, however it is not an official division I sanctioned team at this time. Then today reports began to surface that Utah had indeed decided to add Men's Lacrosse in either 2019 or 2020. Lax Sports Network tweeted this: @LaxSportsNet BREAKING: Sources confirm to LSN @utahathletics official announcement about adding DI lacrosse is expected Thursday http://goo.gl/iZociu 11:43 AM - 12 Jul 2016 12 12 Retweets 28 28 likes However almost as soon a Lax Sports Net sent out that tweet, the University's official athletic department twitter account refuted the report. Utah Athletics ✔@utahathletics @LaxSportsNet @UUtah There is no plan by Utah Athletics to add lacrosse or any NCAA sport at this time. 11:46 AM - 12 Jul 2016 26 26 Retweets 38 38 likes So what's going on? Is Utah really considering men's lacrosse as an official sport? While the twitter can be less than reliable at times for factual information, it is strange that so many reports about Utah adding lacrosse would come out of thin air if there was indeed nothing in the works. Adding to the speculation was the recent news that Seth Neelman, a former Loyola Maryland recruit would be joining Utah as member of the 2020 class and August Colonna was transferring to Utah from Wagner, a division I program back east. The thought was why would these players choose to give up playing division I lacrosse to play for a club team at Utah? If the speculation is true, Utah would be the first Pac-12 school with division I lacrosse and also the westernmost division I program in the country. Currently the University of Denver and Air Force are the westernmost division I programs. Currently division I lacrosse is primarily an east coast sport, with 85% of the programs being located on the eastern seaboard between New Hampshire and Maryland. Obviously the sport is becoming more popular every year out west and the sport would love to see expansion into the Pac-12 market. As of now the University has denied they are adding lacrosse, so this is all speculation at this point. We will keep an eye on this topic and update if anything changes.” I looked farther into the Utah Utes men's lacrosse club program and found this article from the daily chronicle. “Practicing from 10 p.m. until midnight isn’t ideal, and neither is the alternative — practicing at 6 a.m. That’s the hand the majority of the club sport teams on the U campus have been dealt, and one they make the best of. To put it bluntly, it’s a hand they have to get over if they are going to find success on field. The lack of scholarships also isn’t ideal, so the players who participate are primarily doing it for the love of the game and not much else. These programs often get overlooked, however; in these club sports are people dedicated to not only performing well on the field, but also academically. Although they are dealt a tough hand, it’s one they live with, and one that’s better than the alternative — not competing at all. Women’s and men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, and rugby are just a few club sports at the U. PAYING TO PLAY Typically when the words “pay” and “play” go together, it’s associated with the debate over whether or not college athletes should be paid to play. But for some club sports at Utah, it means having to pay to play — as in students who participate with these club sports are often paying their own money so they can continue playing a sport they love. While the thread of paying to play isn’t a theme with all the club sports, it is the hardship some have to overcome. The women’s lacrosse team recently hosted tryouts and while the girls were competing for a spot, the coaches were not sure there was even going to be a team. Club president Janessa Milne said they had to decide whether or not having a team would be worth it. It was something she hated saying out loud because she thinks the girls on the squad out-work most anyone else and she did not want to let them down. But the team is alive and well. While this is certainly the best outcome they could have hoped for, it seems to be something that probably wouldn’t have taken the players off guard. Head coach Tracy Pati mentioned that a few of the girls from last year decided to focus on their schoolwork and others decided they would rather save their money for a study abroad. The girls who stayed committed to the team would do anything to continue competing though. “As soon as a few players started changing their priorities and commitment, it changed the team dynamic,” Pati said. “It was nerve-wracking, because they could have picked not to be there and we wouldn’t have had a team. But they have chosen to be there and I think we are going to have an a amazing season.” This year, Pati estimates each player may end up paying around $2,000 for travel arrangements, field times, officials, gear, etc.. They will do some fundraising to combat the costs, but it will most likely stay in a thousand dollar frame. As for the rugby team, other programs in the country offer scholarships, but sometimes it is not enough to cover tuition for out of state students.” It then continues on talking about waking up for early mornings to practice. From the article it is easy to tell how inconvenient club lacrosse is in college, it can be done but it is harder.