Overcoming the Truth

This weekend, Homegrown Lacrosse will be playing a large role in the operation of the Upper Midwest Lacrosse League's Conference Tournament. It is the event that leads to the decision of who will receive the conference's sole automatic bid to make their way to the MCLA National Tournament. As a member of the Homegrown Lacrosse staff and as a player from a participating team, I'm taking a lot of pride in this year's tournament; both in my personal presence and my involvement in the organization of the event.

The truth is that this year's tournament is the most anticipated since I can remember, not necessarily in the eventual outcome but the actual operation of the event. The truth is that lacrosse is growing at an alarming rate.

Stakeholders at the high school level know this and are taking appropriate action. This is clear in the development of www.mnlaxhub.com and the introduction of the Mr. Lacrosse award.  Furthermore, the league (UMLL) administration is taking notice of this due to their motivation to collaborate with Homegrown in running the event. The tournament needs to be taken to the next level in order for our state's continued growth in lacrosse. This is all great and I couldn't be more excited about everything that is Minnesota lacrosse.

However, another truth is rumbling around. The outcome of the Upper Midwest Lacrosse League's Conference Tournament has been pretty consistent. It is a difficult truth to recognize for all the teams in the conference. The truth is that we lost to Duluth 2-16. The truth is that we had a couple close games with other teams in the conference. As I'm sure there are individuals and teams in the same place I am in, we are all just trying to overcome the truth and make it happen on the field in order to get to our preferred outcome: a conference tournament win and a national tournament birth. A team needs to be better than another for 60 minutes. The truth is that I want to go to Denver more than anything. All of my finals got moved to outside of finals week, the same week as the national tournament, so I'm in the clear there. My collegiate lacrosse career is culminating soon and I'm going to do everything in my power to delay it. As of right now, I can't imagine a better feeling than gasping for my breath through the thin Denver air, yeilding a lacrosse stick.

Good luck to everyone this weekend, from here in Minnesota to across the country.