Another lacrosse season ends...

Ouch! My legs are telling me that they did a TON of running yesterday at the GCLA Invitational Lacrosse Tournament...but it was worth it! We joined with the Pearland Panthers and had a blast playing first Metro, then the North Stars. So...much...running. Even so, I was thrilled to be there. You see, I thought my season was over already. Then the founder of the league, Steve Mathiason, called us up to play, and I was beyond ecstatic to have another two games this year. If you know me at all, you know how much I love to play lacrosse. Oddly, I seldom watch it on TV, except for the Division I college finals in May. I much prefer actually suiting up and playing to only watching it onscreen. I'm far from amazing on the field, but I score now and then, win a faceoff or two, and generally try to play tough enough defense that our opponents have to work to get around me. They still do, mind you...I just want them to work for it.

I started playing lacrosse at Texas A&M way back in 1988. I played on their club team that year, and loved every second of it. When I transferred to Brazosport College a year or so later, I thought my lacrosse days were over. I was lounging between classes wearing one of my lacrosse team shirts when a guy passed by and said "Hey, nice shirt. Are you playing in the summer league?" As I think about it, I have to feel so grateful to that guy for that passing remark. I had no idea that anyone played lacrosse outside of college, especially here in Texas! I jumped up and started asking questions, and discovered that there was a big summer league starting up in Houston the very next day. Of course, I went. And I had an absolute blast. Moreover, I became acquainted with the Southwest Lacrosse Association, the men's club lacrosse league in Texas.

The closest team to me was Bay Area Lacrosse, a great bunch of guys who played out of Texas A&M Galveston, and I happily joined up. I still have VHS tapes of some of those games! Some of my buddies came out as well, and it was sooo much fun. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to run a team of my own closer to home. I recall that some folks were somewhat doubtful that I could start a team in Angleton, Tx, where so few people had even heard of the game. I posted flyers everywhere, called everyone I knew from summer league, and held exhibition games in Angleton in an empty field next to the Kroger. Folks drove from Kingwood, Klein, and all over Houston to play with us, and it was fabulous. I remember one guy (who ended up playing defense for us for years) who literally walked up in jeans and said that it really looked like fun. We slapped gloves and a helmet on him, pushed him onto the field, and he was hooked. Lacrosse is like that. Even if you don't know what you're doing, it's still fun! Before too long, I had enough enthusiastic guys to start our own team, and the Brazoria County Lacrosse Club was born!

We played in the SWLA for years. The league assigned us the team colors green and white, which I found fitting since both of the baseball teams I played on as a child, the Birds and the Braves, were green and white. And my favorite color is green, so, there ya go. I have so many wonderful memories of those days. It was around 1991. I was in my early twenties, all full of energy and enthusiasm. I just wanted everyone to have as much fun as I did on the field, and we had such a wonderful bunch of guys, we had fun whether we won or lost. And to be perfectly honest, we lost a LOT. That never stopped us, though. We kept showing up and playing our guts out. It was great.

It just about broke my heart when I had to stop playing. I had moved to Houston, gotten a new job, and was spending every spare minute training in martial arts so that I could open a school of my own one day. It was all too much, so I handed the reins of the team over to the other guys. I played a bit for a year or so after I moved, but in the end, I had to prioritize my activities. I hated to give it up, oh yes. But I kept pursuing my dream, telling myself that I would play again one day. When I finally did start Jade Mountain back in 2003, I was still working at an engineering firm...I had even less time! But I still missed it. I finally made a promise to myself that I would play again when I left my day job to run Jade Mountain full-time.

I'd love to tell you when that happened. 2006? 2008? I'm not sure, but I immediately called Steve Mathiason and found that Bayou City was playing out of Katy at the time. And they were green and white. It could not have been more perfect! I was back on the field! The GCLA was a newer league that catered more to the 'everyman' lacrosse player. We wanted a game a weekend in the spring, not cutthroat competition, but competitive enough for us to have fun. I've been playing with Bayou ever since, and it's hard to explain just how much I enjoy it.

Another year of lacrosse is done for me, though. I'll cherish the time I spent on the field, and look forward to next year. I may be a bit slower then, but that's ok, I'll just pass the ball more often!