By Idaho Head Coach Mike Band

I’d like to (and will) begin by apologizing for my 2-week hiatus.  I spent my spring break in southern California, basking in warmth and sunshine and happiness.  I spent the subsequent week back here in Moscow, ID cutting myself and weeping quietly.

Myself and my boys returned from spring break refreshed and ready to get back to work.  If you don’t believe me, you can check the team’s Facebook statuses between March 18-24.  If you didn’t know what “lacrosse” was, you’d think my players were all pining for some lost lover.

Our enthusiasm was immediately tempered by the wintery extravaganza that we’ve experienced since midway through last week.  Apparently, the state of Idaho absolutely refuses to admit that it’s nearly April.

Additionally, spring intramural season has started and we’ve lost our evening turf access to a small army of frat boys in sleeveless shirts for whom it is evidently very important to the school to provide field access unfettered by bothersome club sports.  I’m not bitter, I’m just… bitter. 

Thus we have been forced to begin practicing at 6am, and forced to supplant enthusiasm with dedication.  It is a sterling testament to my boys’ commitment that they have been getting up at 5:30am to go run around in the snow and freezing rain and will continue to do so for the duration of the season.

This has got me thinking about all the things I’ve done or experienced in the name of this game.  Just a few of the highlights:

1. Spring 2002: Cracked sternum in first game of season thanks to a defender who thought that probably the best way to keep me from scoring was to spear me head-first (he was incorrect).  Push-ups thereafter found to be impossible for several weeks.
2. Summer 2002: Right thumb broken in half thanks to overly-zealous longpole and underly-zealous Bacharach gloves.
3. 2002-2007:  Informed at least two ex-girlfriends that if they ever were to make me choose between them and lacrosse, they wouldn’t much care for the outcome.
4. 2007:  Ran laps at practice until my right leg broke.  Then continued running laps because I couldn’t distinguish the pain in my muscles from the pain in my bones.
5. I’ve spent more time at practice, on the wall, at the gym, and shooting than I ever will in class.
6. I’ve spent more time administrating, emailing, attending meetings, on the phone, and filling out paperwork so that we could play than I ever will on homework.
7. I’ve played in 30 degree weather while it snowed and frost formed on my helmet and in 115 degree heat under the burning sun.
8. My shins are so scarred and ugly from stick checks and cleatings that they’re considering wearing masks and terrorizing opera houses.
9. I have been forced to conclude that Ultimate Frisbee players are the natural enemy of lacrosse players and now utterly despise anyone whom I suspect of participating in the wretched game.
10. I’ve completely changed my opinion on sock fashion and now believe with all my heart that quality lacrosse cannot be played on cold ankles.

I could go on and on but I think you’d rather spend time thinking of your own list, and I know you all have them.

I think that the point of all this is that lacrosse players, particularly those that care enough to dedicate their time and money to play in the MCLA for little more glory than the admiration and respect of those that care to join them, share a bond unique from that of any other sport and any other organization.

I would venture to say that you won’t find anything purer in the entire sporting world than what you find in the MCLA.  No one here is going pro.  No one here will be seen on SportsCenter.  The freshest polls in Inside Lacrosse’s MCLA section are over 3 years old.  There are no endorsement deals, no scholarships, no excused absences, and nobody rides for free.  No one is paying attention and no one is asking for attention.

From the top to bottom of this league, we’re all here because we love this game and because we’re grateful for the opportunity to play.

It’s not a rare thing for a conversation in our association to wander to the topic of whether or when a program will go NCAA. I wonder how many of the proponents of that course know exactly what that will mean for that program. If a program goes NCAA, the most likely result is that the entire coaching staff is fired and replaced and much or most of the roster is replenished with the new staff’s recruits.

I’m not saying that the proliferation of NCAA lacrosse across the nation wouldn’t be a good thing on many levels, but I wonder if most of you reading this article (and myself as well) wouldn’t be on the outside looking in were it to happen.

There’s nothing like the MCLA.  It gives thousands of us across this nation (and one town in Canada) the opportunity to play the sport we love at the collegiate level and feel proud of it.

And that’s why we’re better than Ultimate Frisbee.

Mike Band is the first year Head Coach at the University of Idaho in Moscow. Juggling law school and coaching responsibilities in Idaho is no easy task.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Blogs, Mike Band. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.