I like to think I know what's happening with college men's lacrosse in California. All of sudden, I look up and there's a school, Notre Dame de Namur, that is regularly knocking off the traditional power teams in Northern California (Sonoma State, Cal). What can you tell me about the (short) history of their program and the secret to their success? - J.D. Lanigan, New York City.
JD, I love your question. It allows me to talk about a guy named Doug Locker and the rise of lacrosse in the western half of the United States. From what I can tell Locker took over the lacrosse program at Whittier College in 1981 as a 24-year-old. Locker knew nothing about the game when he took over, but had big dreams. He began reading books and going to clinics and, perhaps most importantly, he started recruiting. By 1986, the roster of Southern California-based Whittier had 12 Canadian players (in Canada, lacrosse is bigger than hockey in some areas) and eight from the East Coast. By 1990, the Poets, despite being in the then-wasteland for lacrosse of Southern California, were a member of NCAA D-III and regularly crushing teams in the fledgling WCLL (West Coast Lacrosse League).
As for Notre Dame de Namur, located in Belmont, Cal., its rise from NAIA to NCAA Div. II this coming season has been quick. But guess who took over at the school as Athletic Director in 2002 after leaving Whittier? Yep, Doug Locker. Intent on making the college competitive quickly in all sports, lacrosse was a logical starting place. He hired his assistant at Whittier, Joe Romano, as head coach and the school started bringing in players from Canada and the East Coast just like at Whittier. But this time, the team also has a healthy diet of California players - a testament to the sports growth in the state. The Argonauts finished 14-3 last season and will be playing in D-III for the first time this coming season. AskJohnnyO has reached out to Locker and hopes to have his thoughts on the western expansion of NCAA men's lacrosse in a future mailbag.
If you follow men's college lacrosse you know that while there are only 55 NCAA Division I teams there are over 157 men's college club programs (that is teams that are not supported by a school's athletic department). Notre Dame is the western-most of those 55 schools, while a good majority of the 157 club teams are west of the Mississippi. To give you an idea of the sport's Western growth, in 1982 there were 50 D-I teams while club lacrosse has grown from nothing to 157 teams in that same time period.
Would love to hear from Locker on why more Western schools haven't made the jump to NCAA status like Whittier and Notre Dame de Namur.
LINK:
http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stories/110405aal.html
