Kyle Harrison: Best Places To Lax
Welcome to the 4th edition of ‘Take 5 With Kyle Harrison’. Each week we dish Kyle a new topic, challenging him to pick his Top 5. This week: Best Places To Lax…
Well, for starters, there are GREAT places all over the world to play lacrosse. I’ve been fortunate enough to do a little traveling thus far in my life, and I’ve been able to see a few of them! So, this week for the Top Five I’m going to go with my five best places to lax.
#1 Homewood Field
Sorry guys, I know I’m biased, but as far as I’m concerned there’s no better place in the world to play this sport than Homewood Field (I’m sure a ‘Cuse guy would say the dome, etc). Growing up in Baltimore, knowing all of the great players and games that have taken place on that field, it was an honor to get to walk on it everyday to practice! I’m also very proud that my senior class never lost a game on Homewood field in 4 years. As I said, I know I’m biased, but there’s no better place in the world to play this sport than Homewood field.
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#2 Hawaii Lacrosse Invitational (Honolulu)
The Hawaii Lacrosse Invitational is one of the great fall traditions our sport has! Clearly Hawaii is an amazing place to visit without getting your lax on, but to be able to play a game on a field with the Ocean on your right and Diamond Head (mountain) on your left is absolutely incredible. I’ve been 3 times and the weather is usually perfect, the games are a lot of fun, and it’s just an all around great time.
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#3 Roppongi, Japan
I went over to Japan with my teammates my freshmen year of college and it was INCREDIBLE! For starters, the way we were treated by the lacrosse crowd was AMAZING! They definitely treated us like we were a whole lot cooler than we actually were. From taking pictures to wanting our bracelets, shoes, shirts, shoe laces and anything else you can think of! Definitely an amazing experience! We played the Japanese and had about 5K at the game! The energy in that stadium was out of control and it will forever be one of my favorite lacrosse experiences.
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#4 Ocean City, MD
Another great tradition our sport has every summer, the Ocean City Tourney is a GREAT atmosphere to play in. I’ll be the first to say, the fields are kinda wack… but with that being said, everyone in our sport comes together for a tournament at the beach, has a great time and plays the sport at a high level. It’s a family-friendly environment where kids get to interact with their college and pro hero’s and that’s something that not too many other sports have. I’ve played at this tournament at least 8 or 9 times and have had a blast every single time.
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#5 The Dome (‘Cuse)
I know, I’m not a NY kid, nor did I have any interest in going to Syracuse being a Baltimore boy, but you can’t beat the energy and hostility in that place on a Friday or Saturday night! I used to absolutely LOVE going up to the The Dome for a game against Cuse. All the history that has taken place in there and all the great players who have roamed that field makes it a special place. Add on the fact that the entire crowd hates everything about you and lets you know it all game long and you’ve got a GREAT venue to play in! The energy in there on game night rivals Homewood Field and definitely makes The Dome one of my favorite places to play.
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About the author: A Tewaaraton winner now playing for the MLL’s Denver Outlaws, Kyle Harrison has been a star in college and the pro’s. He is one of the few lacrosse players embracing social media and giving fans a way to connect with him online daily.
Tune in next week – same time, same place – for another round of Take 5 With KH18. In the meantime, follow Kyle on Twitter and check out his Yardbarker blog!