(Photo by Bob White)

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Whether in business, sports or what have you, when you’re on the same team, logic would say you’re all pulling in the same direction. As we all know from life experience, that isn’t always the case.

Which is unfortunate, and hugely frustrating. It is certainly the case in the non-varsity lacrosse world when coaches, student leadership and the recreation/club administration do not have a shared vision for MCLA teams.

Before diving straight into the issues of misalignment between an MCLA team and their respective rec directors, it should be known that our membership has a lot – I mean a lot – of really good rec and club people who truly care about the student-athletes and what their goals are.

RESULTS: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY

Typically, those who are responsive to MCLA programs understand that the level of commitment, money and time involved with non-varsity lacrosse is unlike any other club, with the possible exception of ice hockey.

When the acknowledgement that an MCLA program has higher standards than frisbee, spike ball, climbing or the rest of the lot doesn’t materialize, there are going to be problems.

Most of the time, the failure to adequately understand what our programs need is typically out of benign ignorance. They honestly just don’t know.

To some degree, the onus falls on the student leadership of the teams to sit down with a rec director and outline just how one of our programs operates, including the eligibility and travel requirements, along with uniform expectations and dues.

On that note, if there is club or rec sports administrator who would like to talk about the MCLA and how we operate, shoot me an email and we can hop on a call. I’m here to help. The rec director position tends to have a pretty frequent turnover, so getting a new hire up to speed would be my pleasure.

Big plays = big win pic.twitter.com/CdP8jZ81Ey
— Liberty Men's Lacrosse (@LibertyLax) February 25, 2024

For the rec directors who act as a direct impediment – or at least a sizable hurdle – for non-varsity lacrosse teams, I wouldn’t chalk it up to anything sinister, per se. I would attribute it more to a blend of complacency and the Peter Principle.

Regardless, an administrator lacking the ability to work with the MCLA – or any of his club constituents – can put a serious monkey wrench in the machine. We’ve had canceled trips, mismanagement of funds, limited access to field space, failure to reimburse receipts, etc.

We’ve got teams that aren’t allowed to use the school logo despite literally paying to attend the institution while any serial killer can walk into the school book store and proudly wear a sweatshirt emblazoned with the graphic. Others have to wear the “CLUB” scarlet letter on their uniforms to ensure they are properly marginalized.

Madness.

At the end of the day, working within the confines of a recreational or club structure is a necessity. There is no getting around it, so MCLA teams must make it work. As with any interpersonal interaction, it requires communication, guile, effort and persistence.

And sometimes you just have to grin and bear it.

Logan Reynolds of @WFULacrosse received his Burn XP2-O – a $120 value – for being the @warriorlax Player of the Week. Who wants one this week?!?

Nominations for Player/Goalie of the Week to info at https://t.co/HtrCRxv6Re by noon on Monday. #mcla24 pic.twitter.com/EMMMQptfBM
— MCLA (@MCLA) February 25, 2024

MY TOP FIVES

Division I
1. Virginia Tech (5-0) – The Carolina OT win should nicely refocus this juggernaut squad.
2. Georgia Tech (6-0) – We’ll see if UNH or A&M can finally give the Wreck a game.
3. San Diego State (5-0) – The rare Monday tilt against Minnesota is a trap game.
4. Chapman (3-0) – A second one-goal win. Panthers are on the razor’s edge early.
5. Northeastern (2-1) – Toss up here with FSU, but the Huskies have the better win.

Division II
1. St. Thomas (4-0) – The Bobcats gave the Tommies all they could handle. Great game.
2. Air Force (4-0) – Just two more weeks before the Falcons go on a month-long siesta.
3. Montana State (4-1) – The Bobcats let one slip away. They had St. Thomas beat.
4. UNC-Charlotte (5-0) – Coastal gave the 49ers a run. Charlotte getting a bullseye.
5. Wake Forest (6-1) – Dayton is next up on the docket for the Deacons.

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SLIDES & RIDES
- Tennessee and Indiana have both raced out to 5-0 starts to the season. The Vols pocketed their first ranked victory of the season this weekend with a 14-11 road triumph over No. 23 Clemson. The Hoosiers won a couple of thrillers against Buffalo and Pittsburgh to put a cap on their non-conference portion of the season. We’ll see what the pollsters think of the overall résumés of these two, but it’s a promising start for a pair of programs with plenty of potential.

- Air Force caught people’s eyes after a dominant first weekend, but Denver jumped into the RMLC fray this past with an upset of No. 18 Utah State, 13-6. The Pioneers fortunes will be determined by games against the Falcons, Montana State and the conference playoffs, but this is an encouraging start for the second-year program.

- Colorado should find itself back in the New Balance Top 25 this week after a fruitful trip to the desert. The Buffaloes handled Grand Canyon relatively easily before pulling out a thriller against No. 14 Arizona State on Sunday, 11-10. Now that they’ve found their legs after an 0-2 start, CU gets an opportunity to make a big splash when the Buffs host top-ranked Virginia Tech a week from today.

- Minn.-Duluth may have been the only team to go 0-2 at the Minot, N.D., event and the Bulldogs may be currently 1-2 against D-II teams, but they easily have one of the toughest schedules in the country. As such, they may not have the prettiest record at the end of the season, but if they qualify for nationals, they are going to be a grizzled bunch no one wants to see.

- Houston has run its record to 5-0 to start the season…Simon Fraser posted a 2-1 mark in its opening trio of games…you’d have to classify Worcester State’s 3-2 victory over Maine as a shocker. The Black Bears were picked second in CLC-II and were stymied by a D-III outfit…the nets got a workout in UC Irvine’s 20-15 win over Fullerton…Grand Valley State outscored a pair of UMLC-I squads by a combined 34-6…it was just a scrimmage, but Westcliff and Arizona Christian went five overtimes…tidy little Minnesota business trip for Southern Methodist with wins over the Gophers and Illinois.

- Head coach nominations for the PEARL Goalie of the Week and Warrior Player of the Week are due my Monday by noon. Nominations for Lacrosse Specialties Player of the Month are due by Feb. 29. All nominations go to [email protected].