Comments on: Where Is The Next Great Lacrosse Mecca?

By: Zachary Williams

Zachary Williams — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:15:00 +0000

I am thinking Florida. If one of the big schools down there can get a D1 team in the nar future it could really take off. I know more and more high schools are starting to offer it and St. Andrews plays alot of good high schools around the country.

By: Josh "Chewy" Acut

Josh "Chewy" Acut — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:27:00 +0000

Thanks Chris! You know… when you look at the map above it is obvious where the current LAX Mecca is, but at some point people are gonna stop traveling Coast to Coast (gas prices may halt this faster), and everyone will NEED a more Central location to hold LAX tourneys. That and people often get bored with the same ole’ tourney… Enter the Mardi Gras tourney in New Orleans, Louisiana… which is right next to TEXAS.

By: ChrisRosie22

ChrisRosie22 — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 04:52:00 +0000

Some excellent points by the Representative from Texas. Thanks Chewy.

By: Josh "Chewy" Acut

Josh "Chewy" Acut — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:09:00 +0000

The next lacrosse mecca will be Texas for sure, and yes I might be biased because I love here, but I have some pretty valid supporting statements…

Professional lacrosse players need to be able to play in a market that will help supplement their not so huge MLL salaries… Texas is the epicenter of all things energy related Oil, Gas, etc… there is a ton of money to be made here.

Youth – HS aged kids have over saturated the sport of football, to the extent that there are even 4th string players that never get to play. There are a ton of kids ready to play, they just need the avenue in which to play.

Weather in Texas is great, all year round… Winter lasts about two weeks, and yes there might be some rain to deal with, but generally you can play field lacrosse all 12 months.

Texas, mainly San Antonio, TX, has been recently named the NEW military town USA…. meaning we get a ton of players from ALL OVER the US who come through San Antonio. Many aspiring military pilots must come through Corpus Christi, TX. Each time a laxer gets stationed in Texas they always play for a season and drop some serious LAX knowledge. (I.E. Dan Gnazzo (Air Force))

We have a little movement with a really cool catch phrase… The GTL Tour: Grow Texas Lacrosse!

Chazz Woodson, professional lacrosse player who balls out of control, is sponsored by a lacrosse company based out of Texas… 1Lacrosse.

In a HeadWrapz Head to Head contest… the Pabst Blue Ribbon Lacrosse Helmet beat the K18 lid and the Bomber lid… @PBRLAX:disqus is based out of Texas.

Hmmm…. what else, did I mention that all the “bros” head South to Texas at some point… either to try and tackle 6th Street in Austin or go to South Padre Island for Spring Break… Laxers like to Party… Texas KNOWS how to party!!!

Some of these reasons are rather trivial but the main points: Economy can sustain the sport both at the Club level and Professional level, the abundance of athletes looking for a sport to play is very high, the weather means you can comfortably play lacrosse 12 months out of the year, lacrosse players already come through Texas via the military, and Texas party’s like its a whole other country…

On that note, if Texas were ever to secede…. it could have it’s own international lacrosse team… SWEET!

Peace, Love, and Laxiness,

Chewy

By: chrisrosie22

chrisrosie22 — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 07:08:00 +0000

Good call with Atlanta. It’s getting a lot bigger in Georgia; Mercer college just went D1 in Macon, and I’ve heard a lot about Liam Banks’ LB3 programs spreading the game in the south.

By: NELaxBlog

NELaxBlog — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:43:00 +0000

New England is catching up to Upstate NY, Long Island and Baltimore hot beds. We are sending players to D1 and top D3 programs every year.

By: Jack Huber

Jack Huber — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:30:00 +0000

No love for Chicago? Northwestern University a perennial NCAA champion on the women’s side…New Trier High School beats teams like Brother Rice and Georgetown Prep year in and year out…Steve Brooks is one of the best midfielders in the game today….I’d guess that there are atleast 30 kids from Chicago currently playing on Division 1 teams and that number grows every year. It’s just a matter of time before a school like DePaul goes D1. I would put Chicago over Wisconsin and maybe even Detroit/Michigan. But I guess time will tell.

By: Joseph Eck

Joseph Eck — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:15:00 +0000

Boise. No Question

By: Austin Mueller

Austin Mueller — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:17:00 +0000

In the Southeast I would say Charlotte and Atlanta are set to explode. Greenville, South Carolina is smack in between the two and is also seeing a lot of growth. I would say the I-85 corridor looks like its going to be a hot region in a few years. Charlotte is getting some pro teams and there is a lot of talent at the HS level. Furman University (in Greenville) is getting a D1 program in a few years and the MCLA National Tournament is going to be hosted in Greenville as well. High School Lax has exploded in Greenville. Limestone College is located right along the I-85 corridor which links the 3 cities so in future years they could benefit from “local” talent. Atlanta is seeing as much growth as Charlotte and Greenville and already has some nationally known schools such as Lovett and Lassiter.

By: Ken Wineberg

Ken Wineberg — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:11:00 +0000

Arizona is growing FAST! The talent at the youth and High School level is steadily improving. ASU has a great program as do NAU and U of A. Also many more players are being recruited to D1 programs.

By: Bryan D. Braddy

Bryan D. Braddy — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:01:00 +0000

As a native North Carolinian, I would have to agree with Jake. However, I don’t believe that Charlotte is the end all for lacrosse in North Carolina. Playing lacrosse in High School here, Charlotte teams were always outstanding like Latin, Country Day, Providence Day, Catholic etc. but the Triangle (Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham) has been traditionally just as strong as Charlotte with teams such as (Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill, Durham Academy, Ravenscroft, Cardinal Gibbons, Apex, etc.). I agree that from a professional lacrosse experience, the new teams are HUGE for the area and great growth. But, with the Triangle having two top tier D1 schools in UNC and Duke I would say it is equally as strong. Long story short, I believe that the Old North State as a whole deserves the South East nod, not just Charlotte.

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:20:00 +0000

San Diego is the next hot bed. You could already consider Denver as a hot bed. New York will always be the place to be if you are a laxer.

By: Jake Reiger

Jake Reiger — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:43:00 +0000

Of course I’m going to be biased when I say Charlotte/ the southeast because that’s where I lived most of my life and that’s where I first began to play lacrosse. I want to say that over the past 5 or so years lacrosse has exploded exponentially in Charlotte. It went from being one of the kind of important sports to more important (at a high school level) than football at certain schools. And it seems like it’s not going to slow down anytime soon. I don’t know what it is but it seems like every kid is picking up at lacrosse stick now a days in Charlotte and it’s a great thing to see. You say we are far away from the real NCAA action that is true, but then you can say the same thing about NCAA Division 1 football and basketball. People still root for Duke and Carolina (and the small group of state fans.) Even if it doesn’t become the next Mecca, it will still be a hotspot for lacrosse.

By: LISquid31

LISquid31 — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:42:00 +0000

Denver. No question.

By: Bill Mensch

Bill Mensch — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:12:00 +0000

I’m from Philly, and I would agree that being close to hotbeds kind of means we get bypassed, same thing for Boston or any place else in the Northeast.
I’m going to say Texas. Football is so big there and they are going to be attracted to the physical nature of lacrosse. Brandon Mullins is just the beginning.