LAX Begins

We're in the midst of our usual spring rite of passage where we stow away the hockey equipment and gear up for lacrosse. This year N is playing with the school and it's a little busy but the season is short. Fast and furious, as the saying goes. He has practice and games every day, which is kind of a pain, but I guess they try to cram it all in over a short period because the season lasts about a month. Seems kind of crazy to go so short, but what are you going to do?

This year they are combining two grades because the simple reality is not as many kids are playing the game. The numbers get diluted out as kids gravitate to other sports like track and baseball, but somehow lax still has that macho mystique that a lot of guys want to be a part of. There is huge crossover with hockey. I tried to talk N into playing for another program, maybe one that's more relevant to his school and hockey future, but he wanted to stick with his old program. It actually worked out because most of his friends are in the grade above him and since they are combining grades, he gets to play with them. This has not always been the case in years past.

They've been doing well, putting away the competition with some level of ease. I've noticed that many youth lax programs are not very strong, but somehow once these kids reach high school, the teams suddenly become good. Conversely, N's team kicks butt in youth lax but the high school competition is much stronger and there they no longer dominate. I find this fact very interesting.

On a bright note, though they are combining the two grades, not all the younger kids get to play with the older kids, just a few that the coaches pick out, and N happens to be one of them. That means he gets to not only play with his friends from hockey, all of whom are older than he is, but he also gets to play in both games, thus doubling the fun.

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I love when that happens. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Fred Backhaus for the pic.