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NFT: NFT - Lacrosse Fans - Denver Pioneers

Pete in CO : 5/26/2015 10:36 pm
...just won the NCAA Championship yesterday over UMD. First ever national championship for this team, and first ever D1 school west of the Mississippi River to win the trophy.

Even more impressive, statistically, is that DU's win made them only the 10th school in the 44-year history of the D1 Lacrosse Title game to be crowned champs. That list includes:

Syracuse - 11
Johns Hopkins - 9
Princeton - 6
Virginia - 5
North Carolina - 4
Duke - 3
Cornell - 3
Maryland - 2
Loyola (MD) - 1
University of Denver - 1

Notre Dame and Ohio State stand the best chance to be added next.
Good for DU...  
trueblueinpw : 5/27/2015 12:08 am : link
They've had an outstanding men's ice hockey team for as long as I can remember. Tierney's a great coach from a great lacrosse program. I'm not surprised they finally got some good lacrosse players. West Coast lacrosse is better than its ever been. DU had a lot of players from California, Washington and BC. That's a big story in itself.

I'm glad to see lacrosse has grown into a national sport. Its a great game!
I like seeing Tierney  
PaulBlakeTSU : 5/27/2015 12:12 am : link
rewarded for being a trailblazer out west for the sake of growing the sport.
Best HC in lacrosse  
WideRight : 5/27/2015 7:15 am : link
Puts Tierney up there with Wooden, Auerbach and others as best HC of any sport.
Lacrosse  
Old Dirty Beckham : 5/27/2015 9:06 am : link
is tough for me to get behind. It's a north east sport played by privileged white kids who get to play a division one sport because of a lack of competition throughout the country.

That and I always hear about how it's "growing." No it's not.
that's just a factually ignorant statement  
PaulBlakeTSU : 5/27/2015 9:12 am : link
Lacrosse is the fastest and most rapidly growing youth sport, high school sport, and college sport in the country.
paul  
Old Dirty Beckham : 5/27/2015 9:22 am : link
misleading. The other sports don't have to grow. Nobody gives a shit about lacrosse besides white suburbanites.

The kids playing D1 Lacrosse would be out of a scholarship if black athletes decided to pick up a stick.

What an ignorant comment...  
FatMan in Charlotte : 5/27/2015 9:25 am : link
lacrosse is the fastest growing youth sport in the US. That is a fact.

Not only that, the number of black kids playing lacrosse is also rising. Saying it is a sport only for privileged white kids is like saying baseball is only for scrappy whites based on a snapshot taken in the 20's.

Those who can't hit play lacrosse.  
Victor in CT : 5/27/2015 9:25 am : link
per HS baseball players :-)
RE: Lacrosse  
BurberryManning : 5/27/2015 9:25 am : link
In comment 12302029 Old Dirty Beckham said:
Quote:
is tough for me to get behind. It's a north east sport played by privileged white kids...


- Jim Brown
The Thompson..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 5/27/2015 9:27 am : link
brothers should whip your white ass with their long ass ponytails.
RE: Lacrosse  
njm : 5/27/2015 9:28 am : link
In comment 12302029 Old Dirty Beckham said:
Quote:
is tough for me to get behind. It's a north east sport played by privileged white kids who get to play a division one sport because of a lack of competition throughout the country.

That and I always hear about how it's "growing." No it's not.


That comment might have had some truth in 1970, but it's a whole different story now. D1 lacrosse has the problem of Title IX compliance with respect to it's growth, but there are several hundred schools playing D3 and high school lacrosse has exploded over the last 30 years. I've linked a listing of HS programs. Check it out. 100 programs in Texas. 200 in Florida. 250 in California. It's not just the Northeast anymore.


Link - ( New Window )
The irony..  
BurberryManning : 5/27/2015 9:28 am : link
of posting on the fan forum of a team representing a sport that may be under existential threat from lawsuits...but yet claiming that a sport enjoying an explosion in popularity is tough to support
I played lacrosse  
TJ : 5/27/2015 9:32 am : link
So did my boys. We're not particularly privileged though we are about as white as a person can be.
I'm not sure why you're resentful about the "lack of competition." Do you think you could have been a big time college athlete if only you'd been part of the white northeast elite?
Girls  
Old Dirty Beckham : 5/27/2015 9:33 am : link
softball gets more airtime than Men's lacrosse. Sport is a joke.

And that's the bottom line cause stone cold said so!!
priviledged white kids...  
Greg from LI : 5/27/2015 9:34 am : link
...oh, and lots of Indians

What a fucking tool..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 5/27/2015 9:38 am : link
Quote:
Girls
Old Dirty Beckham : 9:33 am : link : reply
softball gets more airtime than Men's lacrosse. Sport is a joke.

And that's the bottom line cause stone cold said so!!


Yeah. That's why a professional girls softball league folded after one year while MLL has been around for much longer.

10 years ago, South Carolina had no public schools with school-sponsored lacrosse teams. Now, the number is over 50.

But you know, SC is all privileged whites.
congrats to Denver and Tierney.  
Enzo : 5/27/2015 9:42 am : link
And that win by Loyola a couple of years ago is still pretty impressive considering they're the smallest school to ever win it all.
RE: Girls  
njm : 5/27/2015 9:43 am : link
In comment 12302074 Old Dirty Beckham said:
Quote:
And that's the bottom line cause stone cold said so!!


GET OFF MY LAWN!!!
There always seems to be resentment towards lax for a few reasons...  
BurberryManning : 5/27/2015 9:53 am : link
sure, the socioeconomic background of many players is priveledged and the most successful collegiate programs tend to skew towards elite but for some reason many folks think that simply because these athletes dont look like JJ Watt or Calvin Johnson that it must be an easy sport to excel at. I'd argue that its similar to hockey in this respect.

In my opinion, lacrosse is one of the most exciting sports out there and the skill level of the top players is simply incredible.
I understand Old Dirty Beckham  
PaulBlakeTSU : 5/27/2015 10:06 am : link
is a troll, and just wants attention. But whenever a proud idiot wants others to learn of his idiocy, I am happy to indulge.

Then again, it's likely that he's so unhappy in his regular life, that his only joy is to go online and try to ruin other people's conversations.
ODB's..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 5/27/2015 10:06 am : link
comments reek of somebody who has no clue what's going on. Maybe he's also of the belief that hockey is only played in cold weather areas by a bunch of idiot Scandanavians, Canadians and Russians.
RE: Those who can't hit play lacrosse.  
JCin332 : 5/27/2015 10:24 am : link
In comment 12302055 Victor in CT said:
Quote:
per HS baseball players :-)


If you look at the athletes that played in the Final 4 last weekend methinks not many HS baseball players could compete..
RE: RE: Those who can't hit play lacrosse.  
Victor in CT : 5/27/2015 10:40 am : link
In comment 12302161 JCin332 said:
Quote:
In comment 12302055 Victor in CT said:


Quote:


per HS baseball players :-)



If you look at the athletes that played in the Final 4 last weekend methinks not many HS baseball players could compete..


It's a joke JCin. The boys needle each other. LAx players say baseball players don't exert themselves.
Its called Gaysball  
WideRight : 5/27/2015 10:54 am : link
by the lax players around here.

I know that's innappropriate and I apologize, but its cruel out there in ways that are much worse than that slur. Its North Jersey, so take it for what it is, but there are no more athletes playing baseball anymore; if they can play lacrosse, they do.
Happy to see the discussion...  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 7:35 am : link
...Lacrosse is gaining more traction since youth programs are seeing moderate growth every year. As for diversity, young athletes of all color and financial standing are picking up the sport. Out here in Denver, I coach for a youth club that gains financial and coaching support from the Denver Outlaws and University of Denver - both the school and its individual coaches.

Those $$$ provide free equipment and dues to kids who need it and apply for assistance. We now see a few commitments each year from young black or Latino players to top private HS around Denver area. Some even go through their HS experience to become D1 players. That is progress, and the sport is benefitting from this diversity. There is most likely a program like this in every major youth lacrosse community.

There have always been minority players who've excelled at lacrosse. Even at D1 level - Jim Brown (SU, Manhasset HS) Rodney Dumpson (SU, Port Washington HS) the Bratton twins (UVA, Huntington HS) But the sport is now garnering more attention, and rightfully so. I hold a respectful dislike for baseball, just like baseball guys do for lacrosse. Just as I couldn't hit a ML curve ball, I doubt many baseball guys could routinely win a face-off or dodge as an attacker against a 6'-6" 250 lb defenseman. Each sport holds its own challenges and with practice, anything is possible.
BTW, Greg from LI...  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 8:08 am : link
...the Thompsons are some of the nicest young athletes I have ever met. Saw them play out here last Summer for '14 World Games. They were mobbed by young players wanting photos and autographs after a game.

The Iroquois team bus idled nearby for 30 minutes waiting for these guys, but they met with EVERY kid around them...and I watched them do it. Truly humble, gifted, outgoing people. Ambassadors of the sport.

Wahoo wah.

What age do kids start playing Lacrosse?  
Giants2012 : 5/28/2015 8:23 am : link
As a baseball fanatic who coached for years I'm not sure which sport by son will play.

T--Ball is babysitting so that's out but curious when kids begin lacrosse b/c it's obvious the sport is capturing marketshare from both baseball and soccer.

I heard the Air Force Academy also is getting traction  
WideRight : 5/28/2015 8:25 am : link
setting up a great D1 lacrosse program out there too.
My son has..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 5/28/2015 8:28 am : link
been playing since he was 8. He played baseball two years and declared it "too boring".

The Charlotte area has a really fast growing lacrosse scene and even the schools who are predominantly black are starting to develop programs. My son plays U-13 which means kids 13 and under, but they've scrimmaged some of the new teams U-15 and you can see where if those programs develop some stick skills how good they will be.

Like I said above, SC high schools have grown exponentially on how many have lacrosse programs. What was only a handful a few years ago is over 50 now.
RE: What age do kids start playing Lacrosse?  
WideRight : 5/28/2015 8:29 am : link
In comment 12303681 Giants2012 said:
Quote:
As a baseball fanatic who coached for years I'm not sure which sport by son will play.

T--Ball is babysitting so that's out but curious when kids begin lacrosse b/c it's obvious the sport is capturing marketshare from both baseball and soccer.


Many start very early now, 2nd or third grade. But truth is, its not necessary. The basic elements of the game speed, dexterity, hitting, draw a little from alomost all the other sports (except baseball). So athleticism wins out. Strong althletes can probably pick the game up in middle school and contribute significantly in high school.
Wide Right and FMiC  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 9:06 am : link
...yep. Right around that time.
We have a mighty mites program in Denver (www.denverlacrosse.org) that takes kids who want to learn at age 5.

May sound strange, but for parents who've played, it is a great outlet for young kids. They like the gear, there is no contact, and in 5 years, we have gone from about 40 kids in one session (1 day week/ 6 weeks) to over 100 kids in each of two sessions. Amazing to see.

My unsolicited advice is research your local clubs about coaching. Do they have good, dedicated coaching? Is the club over saturated? (Getting playing time is key.). If they seem good, getting your kiddo used to the stick and equipment at a young age (when contact is extremely limited) like 8, will give him the best chance to like the sport. Hand eye coordination is key, and a young player builds skill when they are confident enough in their stick skills to play "looking at the field" instead of at their stick.
RE: I heard the Air Force Academy also is getting traction  
njm : 5/28/2015 9:11 am : link
In comment 12303687 WideRight said:
Quote:
setting up a great D1 lacrosse program out there too.


Although it has gotten very little press over the years, the AFA has had a fairly good (though rarely Top 20) lacrosse program since the early 70's.
Wide Right  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 9:13 am : link
...the AFA is getting very strong. About on par with a Villanova, St Johns or Lehigh.
Team is coached by Eric Seremet, who won an NCAA National Championship in '91 w/ North Carolina. He has coached there for years.

Last season, he was driving his wife and young daughter on a day off from school and work. Lost control of the vehicle and over corrected, causing his wife to be ejected from the car. She died, and the daughter, despite injuries, lived. At the funeral, all his players showed up in their lacrosse uniforms (rather than military dress) to show their support. He struggled through the season, but all his fellow D1 coaches appointed him Coach of Year. That shows the closeness of the community...
Lacrosse..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 5/28/2015 9:13 am : link
is one of the few sports where the service academies can still compete at a high level. My wife's cousins went to Army, played four years and her one cousin ended up playing on the US team, won championships with the Denver Outlaws and now plays for the Florida Launch.

And really, he still plays for the love of teh game because the MLL pays peanuts.
RE: RE: What age do kids start playing Lacrosse?  
Giants2012 : 5/28/2015 9:26 am : link
In comment 12303693 WideRight said:
Quote:
In comment 12303681 Giants2012 said:


Quote:


As a baseball fanatic who coached for years I'm not sure which sport by son will play.

T--Ball is babysitting so that's out but curious when kids begin lacrosse b/c it's obvious the sport is capturing marketshare from both baseball and soccer.




Many start very early now, 2nd or third grade. But truth is, its not necessary. The basic elements of the game speed, dexterity, hitting, draw a little from alomost all the other sports (except baseball). So athleticism wins out. Strong althletes can probably pick the game up in middle school and contribute significantly in high school.


TY

I agree with your last few lines too. Athleticism wins out.
RE: Wide Right  
WideRight : 5/28/2015 9:33 am : link
In comment 12303767 Pete in CO said:
Quote:
...the AFA is getting very strong. About on par with a Villanova, St Johns or Lehigh.
Team is coached by Eric Seremet, who won an NCAA National Championship in '91 w/ North Carolina. He has coached there for years.

Last season, he was driving his wife and young daughter on a day off from school and work. Lost control of the vehicle and over corrected, causing his wife to be ejected from the car. She died, and the daughter, despite injuries, lived. At the funeral, all his players showed up in their lacrosse uniforms (rather than military dress) to show their support. He struggled through the season, but all his fellow D1 coaches appointed him Coach of Year. That shows the closeness of the community...


Wow. Didn't know that. RIP. I know of a few east-coasters on that team. Thanks
I agree wholeheartedly with Giants 2012  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 9:38 am : link
...the current head coach of Johns Hopkins quit baseball in HS (St Mary's Manhasset) to play lax by 9-10th grade. He became a 3x All American while playing at JHU.

Athleticism (and good hand eye) are key.
Most of the schools...  
FatMan in Charlotte : 5/28/2015 9:38 am : link
West of the Mississippi still rely on East Coast talent. More than half of the Denver roster came from the East Coast. I think 28 players were from Ohio and eastward.

You will know lacrosse has arrived when Pac 10 schools start competing at a high level. It is still not common for high schools on the west Coast to have lacrosse programs
FMiC-  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 10:41 am : link
...you are correct. NY-PA-MD-DC-MA will always provide the deepest pool of talent. However, I do think that the Canadian players are making just as important an impact (if not more) on Division I lacrosse as are recruits from non-traditional states.

What could be the result of DU's win is that nationwide recruiting becomes more mainstream for D1/D3. There are great lacrosse players in all states, and players have been taken from CO, OH, TX, CA, FL for decades by top D1 programs. Those choice schools will always have their pick of the litter. But now, with the youth and HS talent base becoming broader, outlier programs will get much better. Schools and players will extend themselves further just to play in college. DUs win shines a brighter light on that probability.
Garret Thul?  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 10:43 am : link
...right, FMiC? He is a VERY GOOD player.
Pete  
njm : 5/28/2015 10:47 am : link
NJ is putting more players in D1 than MA.
I started playing in 4th grade  
nygiants16 : 5/28/2015 10:54 am : link
back then though it was not as big and they were just starting a program at my HS...crazy how big it has gotten...

The people who make fun of Lacrosse have never picked up a stick and actually played..they watch it on tv and think it is easy so they make fun of it...

Loved playing wish i could of kept playing after High School...

Still love watching College lacrosse
NJ has been a tremendous feeder of talent for a while....  
BurberryManning : 5/28/2015 11:08 am : link
I can't imagine MA producing DI athletes at nearly the same clip (perhaps not even PA until late).

You're also seeing the blue blood programs in NJ (Delby, Summit, Bridge-Rar, Ridgewood, Lakes) play many of the top teams in LI and surrounding areas with great success. I know Summit beat up on Sudbury (Mass) and beat Cherry Creel (CO) this season along with many LI teams in recent years.
The freshman at the X for Denver...  
BurberryManning : 5/28/2015 11:10 am : link
is a NJ athlete, I believe from Mo-Beard. How the heck did Delbarton miss on not scooping him up from Mo-Beard?
NJ is also in my list. Sorry...my error.  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 11:16 am : link
...posting while distracted.
My senior when we played Delbarton and Lakes  
nygiants16 : 5/28/2015 11:16 am : link
they each had 6 D1 players...

Delbarton had 2 defenseman and their Goalie going D1 made almost impossible to score on them...
Denver has..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 5/28/2015 11:16 am : link
brothers from Cazenovia, right outside of SU. The nationwide and Canadian recruiting is playing a huge factor in which teams are able to compete for a title. I'm pretty sure Denver had about 5 Canadians on the roster.
And Pete..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 5/28/2015 11:17 am : link
Thul is a monster. His combination of size and speed is seldom found on the lacrosse field.
Hill School in Ontario  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 11:32 am : link
...coached by Brodie Merrill. Puts out D1 players each year. DU has 3 kids on their roster from Hill School. British Columbia as well.

Mea culpa again to you NJ guys for my error in omission...
RE: My senior when we played Delbarton and Lakes  
BurberryManning : 5/28/2015 12:15 pm : link
In comment 12304057 nygiants16 said:
Quote:
they each had 6 D1 players...

Delbarton had 2 defenseman and their Goalie going D1 made almost impossible to score on them...


2003ish? Those Delbarton teams were incredible and Lakes was the only team that really challenged them, IIRC, with a small smattering of teams (Chatham, Summit, Ridgewood, etc) right behind. It was easy to root for Lakes, as they were the small public school going up against a private that could poach the best talent across the region. At some point it becomes more than annoying to see much of the Delby success built off of the backs of athletes that you went to public middle school with.

Since then, Summit went on an absolute tear and unseated Delbarton from the ToC on multiple occassions. At one point Summit did not lose a game for two seasons or some ridiculous period of time, before Bridgewater-Raritan came along and also demanded to be recognized as a state power.

The sport seems as healthy as ever on the high school level in New Jersey with the blue bloods perennially maintaining their place within the State Championship conversation but it seems as if more and more upstarts are breaking into the Top 5-10 each season. Just yesterday Delbarton, the overwhelming #1 this season, was knocked off by Bergen Catholic while Mountain Lakes was taken down by Rumson-Fair Haven.
.  
RB^2 : 5/28/2015 2:02 pm : link
RE: RE: My senior when we played Delbarton and Lakes  
nygiants16 : 5/28/2015 2:05 pm : link
In comment 12304208 BurberryManning said:
Quote:
In comment 12304057 nygiants16 said:


Quote:


they each had 6 D1 players...

Delbarton had 2 defenseman and their Goalie going D1 made almost impossible to score on them...



2003ish? Those Delbarton teams were incredible and Lakes was the only team that really challenged them, IIRC, with a small smattering of teams (Chatham, Summit, Ridgewood, etc) right behind. It was easy to root for Lakes, as they were the small public school going up against a private that could poach the best talent across the region. At some point it becomes more than annoying to see much of the Delby success built off of the backs of athletes that you went to public middle school with.

Since then, Summit went on an absolute tear and unseated Delbarton from the ToC on multiple occassions. At one point Summit did not lose a game for two seasons or some ridiculous period of time, before Bridgewater-Raritan came along and also demanded to be recognized as a state power.

The sport seems as healthy as ever on the high school level in New Jersey with the blue bloods perennially maintaining their place within the State Championship conversation but it seems as if more and more upstarts are breaking into the Top 5-10 each season. Just yesterday Delbarton, the overwhelming #1 this season, was knocked off by Bergen Catholic while Mountain Lakes was taken down by Rumson-Fair Haven.


Yeah i graduated 04 from Randolph...

Those Delbarton teams were tough to play, we played them tough my Junior year but thats because our defense was very good and we were a physical team...

My Senior year they ran us off the field we stayed close in the 1st quarter because we played physical but you can only play on one side of the field for so long before it gets out of hand...
yeah Summit just started getting good  
nygiants16 : 5/28/2015 2:06 pm : link
my junior and senior year...they had 1 middie that was really good i forget where he ended up going...

RE: Pete  
WideRight : 5/28/2015 3:45 pm : link
In comment 12304007 njm said:
Quote:
NJ is putting more players in D1 than MA.


Looks like NJ puts out more college players, but Mass has more D1s in 2014
States - ( New Window )
RE: RE: Pete  
njm : 5/28/2015 3:57 pm : link
In comment 12304847 WideRight said:
Quote:
In comment 12304007 njm said:


Quote:


NJ is putting more players in D1 than MA.



Looks like NJ puts out more college players, but Mass has more D1s in 2014 States - ( New Window )


That's a confusing chart. However, I think you might be looking at the wrong column. To tie into the total, you have to use the last 3 columns for D1, D2 and D3, even though they do not fall below the titles. If I'm right, then NJ put 292 players into D1 and Mass. only 163.
Hill School in Ontario  
Pete in CO : 5/28/2015 10:11 pm : link
...coached by Brodie Merrill. Puts out D1 players each year. DU has 3 kids on their roster from Hill School. British Columbia as well.

Mea culpa again to you NJ guys for my error in omission...
RE: RE: Lacrosse  
montanagiant : 5/28/2015 10:37 pm : link
In comment 12302056 BurberryManning said:
Quote:
In comment 12302029 Old Dirty Beckham said:


Quote:


is tough for me to get behind. It's a north east sport played by privileged white kids...



- Jim Brown

You need to drop the Mic after that one
The BUNK!  
Pete in CO : 5/29/2015 3:20 pm : link
"...Prep school boys used to pee themselves when they saw old Bunk comin at them..."
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