"Lacrosse is Life"

My junior year of high school I was asked what I thought about the sport lacrosse and my dedication to the team. I answered "Lacrosse is Life" That later appeared on the 2nd page of the yearbook in the random quotes section. Still pretty funny.

So if you haven't met me or haven't really talked to me you will benefit from this posting. My sophomore year of high school my school (Sheldon H.S.) started a lacrosse team. A new science teacher was willing to be the head coach and run whatever team we could throw together. That first season was pretty funny. We were a rag-tag group of kids. Wearing whatever lacrosse/hockey/modified football pads we could find. But to our surprise and the surprise of others we weren't too bad! We played the two other teams that formed in our city that season 2-3 times each, winning every time and ended that year with a win over a Southridge JV team 10-0. I played defender during the season.

Excitement was brewing as we looked forward to next season which would be our actual inaugural season.

My junior year we went undefeated in league play, winning the conference title and the #1 seed for the playoffs. During the season we had travelled to play a very seasoned and very good West Linn team. We stood toe to toe with them and finally lost in 3OT. We were disappointed in the loss, but very pleased that we were able to run with them as well as we did. Back to the history, after we won our first game in the playoffs we were paired up with West Linn once again. This time the Irish would not fall. We left the field with a decisive 9-5 victory and a spot in the Oregon State Championship game....as a first year team. We went on to lose to an excellent Lakeridge team 11-3. It looked like it would be close in the beginning, but after we had to play man down for 3 minutes they had taken a 5 goal lead that would not be relinquished. When the buzzer sounded to end the game we were clearly devastated. We had wanted so badly to bring a State Championship home, especially in our first season of league play. As we were sitting on the field changing and consoling each other, the league commissioner came over and talked to us as a team. Saying that he was very excited for us and that we should keep our heads up after having such a great inaugural season. He was right. We had a lot to look forward to for next season. During this season I made the transition from defender to goalie to fill a vacancy in backup.

My senior year was similar to the year before. We played through our conference and captured our 2nd straight league title with an undefeated season. Emotions were high as we prepared for another run at the state championship. A lot was different this season from the season before. We were plagued with injury for the majority of the season. I personally was unable to finish the regular season and the post season due to a torn patellar tendon suffered during a PE class. We made a good run, ultimately losing to our non league rival from Portland, West Linn. I was very disappointed to end my high school lacrosse career with an injury. Very un-satisfying.

The year after I graduated I was lucky enough to come back and coach the JV2 (Frosh) team for Sheldon. It was a great experience, being able to teach a sport that had given me so much and knowing that what I was teaching was going to help Sheldon Lacrosse future/domination live on. I don't remember our overall record or anything like that. I just remember the goalie I trained AJ, was the starting varsity goalie his sophomore year and would start the next 2 years. I also remember our season ended playing North Eugene and two huge fights broke out during the game. Pretty intense.

Lets jump forward to the year 2009. Now a student at Utah Valley University I was looking for a way to come and support the UVU Lacrosse team. I hoped to play for them during the 2010 season and just be a fan this season. But after talking a coach on the phone, I was encouraged to come out and play! I was pretty hesitant. I hadn't played competitive lacrosse since 2003, I was recovering from a recent Gastric Bypass surgery. Luckily for me the coaches were very willing to work with me and allow me to do what I felt comfortable doing. I hated feeling like I was being left off the hook, so I really tried to push myself during practices and games. I can easily say that playing lacrosse this past season at UVU was one of the greatest experiences of my life and am so grateful the oppurtunity to be on this team. This team was so close and I felt so comfortable just being myself. We finished the regular season with a 5-4 overall record, this does not reflect how good we really are though. We had great wins over Western Oregon, Utah State, Montana State and a sound beating of Westminster College. Next season we should pose a strong threat in the league, we will be returning the majority of our team and adding numerous past and new players to the squad. It is exciting to think about. Our goal will always be a National Championship...

So lacrosse is life...I have been so glad to start playing again. It was opened many doors to new friendships that mean a lot to me, it is also a great way to remain active and release energy that gets pent up. If anyone ever wants to go throw around...I will always be down for playing!!