Why We Love This Game
We remember vividly the feeling of waking up on Saturday mornings with butterflies in our stomachs, eagerly anticipating the opening faceoff whistle of a new tournament. We look back on the team dinners, bus rides, and time spent with our teammates with fondness and joy. We channel the silent bus ride before games whenever we approach an important life event. We still envision the crowd on the sidelines standing up in anticipation of a fast break.
Lacrosse has not only become a sport we love dearly, it has become part of our identity. We are not only people, we are lacrosse players. Every time we hear the National Anthem, we are delivered back to that field, standing in a row with our teammates and feeling the breeze against our cheeks. We still smile at the unselfish assist, a big hit, delivered cleanly, the smell of a freshly mowed field. As adults, we want lacrosse to be the pure, untainted blessing for today’s youth that it was for us; the place they run to when the world is too much to handle, rather than the thing that becomes too much to handle and makes them run away. That’s why we get involved in growing the game the right way.
Even though we all love lacrosse, we all love it in a different, unique way that is all our own.
These are stories from lacrosse players from different backgrounds; some who were born with a stick in their hand and some who picked up the sport in high school. All of their tales boil down to one thing: the love of the great game of lacrosse.
Chris Weed
4-year starting midfielder at MCLA Purdue University
Head Coach at Wheaton North High School
New Wave Elite Coach
“Lacrosse has given me more than I can ever hope to give back. The game is; the mutual interest I share with my first boss which started my full time career, the passion shared by my group of lifelong friends and the unique story that introduced me to my wife. Coaching is the beginning of my purpose of giving back to the game, but what I aim to accomplish through lacrosse is to create the same opportunities for the young men I coach by growing their passion for the game.”
Kyle Sullivan
MCLA All-American and SELC Collegiate All-Conference at Eckerd College
Co-founded Eckerd’s Lacrosse program
Head Coach of Batavia High School Lacrosse
New Wave Director & Elite Coach
“My very first Lacrosse game was in March in Connecticut. I was probably 10 years old. It started snowing during the game. I just remember watching the snow fall and thinking how cool it was that lacrosse players were allowed to play in the snow. I also scored my very first goal of my life in that game…definitely a good memory. Spring became my favorite because it was lacrosse season. To me, being cold, wet, and uncomfortable is just how you’re supposed to play the game. It’s the price of playing the best sport in the world.”