Inside Lacrosse Article

October 29, 2007
Jim Dunlap

If a tree fell in the woods and there was nobody around, would it still make noise? In the past you could rephrase the question to encompass lacrosse in the Midwest. If great lacrosse was being played in the Midwest, would anyone notice? If no one from the East Coast noticed before, things are certainly changing.

A couple weeks back, the MLL’s Chicago Machine hosted their Fall LaxFest, a youth clinic hosted and run by US Lacrosse and members of the US Team, followed by a well-attended high school recruiting combine, and ending with an exhibition game between the University of Illinois Fighting Illini Club team versus a collection of local Chicago club and MLL players. This was a very busy Saturday of lacrosse. However, for some of us, the Fall LaxFest began on Friday.

With a number of coaches coming into town to attend the combine, a friend of mine, himself a growing lacrosse junkie, who by his own admission, knows jack squat about lacrosse, but whose son is a terrific high school player, and I offered to take a couple guys out to lunch.

We met at the bar at Harry Caray’s. (For those that don’t know, Harry Caray was the iconic voice of the Chicago Cubs). When the waitress arrived to take our drink orders, most of us ordered beers. One member of our group, a reasonably well-known defenseman who plays for the Chicago Machine, ordered a “Coca Cola Classic.” Why not just a “Coke”? When informed that the restaurant only served Pepsi products, this tough defenseman ordered a “Shirley Temple with extra cherries.” I’m serious. I couldn’t make this stuff up. I’m a big fan of the Machine and wish them only success, but when John Grant Jr. hears that Mike Culver drinks “Shirley Temples with extra cherries,” my guess is he’s going to have his way with Mike.

Lunch ended around 3:30, “Shirley Temple” had already left to go back to the office, I went back to my office and the three other guys went out from there. I don’t know the details, but I heard that my friend, who was celebrating his 22nd wedding anniversary, celebrated with his newfound lacrosse buddies. This proves that perhaps lacrosse is more exciting than romance?

Things would get more serious on Saturday.

The recruiting combine was a tremendous success. All told, there were 12 coaches from various collegiate levels and 84 local high school players. The players were put through a number of drills and evaluations in the morning and then divided into four teams for the afternoon session. Each team would play three games consisting of 25-minute running time halves.

Photos: Stephanie Boissonnas

The quality of the play was terrific. The coaches in attendance were impressed with the level of athleticism of the players as well as the overall organization of the combine. Following the event, several coaches commented that they had identified several prospects that they would not have known about if not for this opportunity. Lacrosse in the Midwest is growing rapidly and the talent is very competitive. It’s ok not to believe me, but have you seen Danny Nathan, recently named tri-captain at Cornell? He’s a graduate of Highland Park High School. Highland Park is not a suburb of Baltimore or across the Island from Massapequa; it’s 25 miles north of Chicago. Culver calls Nathan a “pure stallion.” I think that’s a compliment, but then, Culver drinks Shirley Temples at lunch.

Following the recruiting combine, there was an exhibition game between the University of Illinois “Fighting Illini” Club Lacrosse Team and the “Chicago All-Stars."

Photo: Stephanie Boissonnas

“Virtual Varsity?” Hardly. The Illini, coached by Machine assistant AJ Stevens and All-Star Doug Shanahan, could really play. The Illini players arrived for the game in their pristine Nike warm-ups and orange Riddell helmets. While the Illini warmed up with crisp line drills, the players from the All-Stars arrived a bit more casually, changing into their uniforms and other “protective equipment” on the sideline in front of the approximately 250 people who had come to watch the combine and exhibition game.

The players on the All-Stars ranged from high school seniors to players who were a bit “long in the tooth.” The team included several current Machine players as well as current MLL players David Mitchell of the Boston Cannons and Brian Clayton of the Rochester Rattlers. Apparently Mitchell and Clayton both live in Chicago. Why they don’t play for the Machine, I have no idea. They’re both exceptionally talented and smart; they went to Cornell. Wouldn’t it make sense for them to play locally and save their respective teams some travel money? Some of the All-Stars warmed up by playing catch, while some prepared for the game by getting directions to the local bar that would host the post game party.

When the game was ready to begin, Coach Stevens gathered the Illini into a huddle, gave them final instructions and then with a cheer, “Illini on three…One, Two, Three, ILLINI!” Illinois took the field.

The de facto coach of the All-Stars, Culver, who couldn’t play because he had been “bitten by a squirrel,” gathered his team, provided a last comment of encouragement, (Directions to the bar) and led the cheer, “Free Beer on three….One, Two, Three, FREE BEER!”

Photo: Stephanie Boissonnas

The game itself was very close. The Illini played the All-Stars very competitively. The All-Stars had to draw upon their professional talent, maturity and the outside shooting of a high school player from St. Charles, IL to win by the score of 11-8.

The Machine will be sponsoring another combine in Chicago over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, January 20-21. This is another opportunity for Midwest kids to get a good look, but an even better opportunity for coaches to observe the growing talent out here on the frontier of lacrosse. Any coach interested in attending the combine should contact the Machine office directly for further details.

And let me know if you’re coming to town. The Machine will buy the Shirley Temples.