LaxTV Forums | A Forum About The MCLA

As posted in the Hot Dish results topic people were jumping on Wisconsin and talking about the GLLC.

The GLLC is a conference of 12 teams (rumor has it 6 are joining this year) of mostly schools in Wisconsin plus Northwestern, Loyola, and Northern Michigan. With the exception of those 3 schools, all of the Wisconsin schools are very inexperienced with talent. With the sport just begining to grow in the state most teams have players with not much more experience then 4 or 5 years. US at UW-Milwaukee have a roster off all Freshman and Sophmores with 2 juniors and a senior. Also most of the teams are relatively new so the organization is low right now. However Wisconsin's school brings in players from all over the nation so there talent pool is in excess and is the reason why they are so successful in the conference. Yet however all the teams in the conference are shooting for them every year and it is just a matter of time until all the teams start to play on a more level playing field. Wisconsin will be matched up soon enough

uwmlax2 wrote:With the sport just begining to grow in the state most teams have players with not much more experience then 4 or 5 years. US at UW-Milwaukee have a roster off all Freshman and Sophmores with 2 juniors and a senior. Also most of the teams are relatively new so the organization is low right now.

UW-Milwaukee is not any different then the vast majority of new teams that have joined the MDIA over the last 2 - 5 years. Most of these new MDIA programs are new-start collegiate club teams. I hope you aren't suggesting that the MDIA is only attracting new teams that are full developed and comprised of experienced lacrosse players. (Because that would be an incorrect assumption.)

uwmlax2 wrote:However Wisconsin's school brings in players from all over the nation so there talent pool is in excess and is the reason why they are so successful in the conference. Yet however all the teams in the conference are shooting for them every year and it is just a matter of time until all the teams start to play on a more level playing field. Wisconsin will be matched up soon enough

I maybe wrong. But from everything I've reads, it sure sounds to me that one person enjoys being a "Big Fish in a Little pond." With all the undergraduate lacrosse talent that is supposedly walking around the Madison campus, they would probably quickly develop into a MDIA power.

Talent may not be the main issue but one that is, is the financial issue. In the GLLC the dues to play in the league are 1000 and that includes 8 season games plus 3 tournament games. So compare that to the dues and cost of the USLIA. Also the restrictions are not as tough in the GLLC. Such as helmets and gloves do not need to be matching. Also the travel schedule is much lighter. I will admit though that I would much rather play in the USLIA then the GLLC. It seems the season goes on longer and resembles players that want to play lacrosse much more then in the GLLC where the commitment isnt as high. Sonny can you give me some information about the USLIA with budgets to join and rules and restrictions? just send me a pm

uwmlax2 wrote:Sonny can you give me some information about the USLIA with budgets to join and rules and restrictions?

Your team lies within the UMLL territory, so you should contact the UMLL leadership for more information. Here is a link to the UMLL contacts:
http://www.umll.org/contacts.cfm

I'm sure Rob Graff and/or Chris Larson can help you out. Good luck at UWM.

If you are serious about lacrosse which you have stated then the UMLL would be a great fit for you. The competition is a lot harder, but I think you will enjoy the league. I hope you join soon. Please contact the UMLL leadership about joining. Also try scheduling some of the UMLL teams.

Okay... yes the GLLC is up to 20 teams now, but here's some background on why UW-Madison probably won't compete in the UMLL in the near future

The rules governing club sports at UW-Madison are fairly tight when it comes to raising money... and they are prohibited from paying the coaching staff. They'd have to pay a trainer also and it would be a much bigger time commitment for all. So, money and time are the main driving forces. Another reason is that the players prefer shorter road trips and more home games.

Hal's brought this to a team vote on more than one occasion and it always comes up the same - no USLIA.

A few factors would have to change before you would see this likely:
1) UW fundraising rules would have to be loosened
2) the volunteer coaching staff would have to be available for more than one or two practices a week
3) the players would have to want to make a much bigger commitment to the team - including taking on some club leadership and organizational roles

dmsaban wrote:The rules governing club sports at UW-Madison are fairly tight when it comes to raising money... and they are prohibited from paying the coaching staff.

I've heard this repeatedly. Can you offer any explanation about why the rules are this way? I mean, obviously they're different at the majority of schools, so why does Wisconsin have such restrictive rules? Were there abuses or scandals in the past (and I'm asking in general; in no way to I mena to imply that the lacrosse team had problems that led to instituting these university-wide rules)? Have they ever explained the reasoning to you? Because if they don't even know why they have the rules, then there should be the potential to get them changed.[/i]