In its 25th consecutive year of existence the Glastonbury Lacrosse Tournament did not disappoint. THIRTY mens’ teams came together for play in 3 different divisions and the action kept up ALL Day Saturday and for most of Sunday on the 25th and 26th of July.
Wheniwasakid brought together a team comprised of primarily Wesleyan University graduates in the second division. We went with some old school, mesh and stripes style uniforms and had to deal with a rash of last minute drop outs, no shows and injuries. Ah, the wonders of summer lacrosse where priorities are often elsewhere. So while we didn’t do that well on the field, going 1-3 on Saturday and missing the cut for Sunday, we still had a great time, played a ton of lax and got some pretty sweet gear out of it. After all the three main elements of summer lax are: fun, playing a lot and sweet gear. Winning comes in at a distant fourth and if you think differently then you clearly just aren’t very good at making excuses. We also made the mistake of buying heavier beers instead of sticking with Coors Light or Keystone. If you want to stay hydrated, stick to the really light watered-down lagers. Otherwise you are in for a long and unstable day.
The top division at Glastonbury saw some of the usual suspects from the New England Club scene like Shocker, the Boston Crabs, North Shore LC, the Ankle Breakers and Mohawk as well as some other clubs that have really made a name for themselves at Glastonbury like the Peeping Toms, Rip-It and Power-Tek. The Crabs dominated on Saturday as they went 4-0. This team is made up of Boston Area guys who just barely miss the cut for the Cannons. Some are practice players, others are just a little too old. The rest of the team was made up of a solid contingent of Tufts players. Power-Tek also ripped it up going undefeated at 3-0-1. Yes, there are ties at Gbury. Games run 1 hour, start at 9am and don’t finish until the 6pm game is wrapped up. Four games in one day is tough for anyone but when you see some of the guys out there [some well over 50 years old] make it through, you tend to complain a little less. Team Bass Masters and Rip-It each suffered a loss on Saturday and that rounded out the top 4.
On Sunday, both the Crabs and Bass Masters lost while Power-Tek and Rip-It made it to the Finals. Power-Tek took home the win in the Finals. Rip-It lost to my Wesleyan Alumni team in the 2nd division championship game back in 2006. We moved up to the top division and Rip-It won the 2nd division in 2007. Ever since then, they have been in the top division and have competed for a championship every year.
In the second division Pig Pen, Silver Sounds and Slash and Burn all did very well on Saturday as each team picked up 3 wins. The parity in the second division was evident all day long as teams won and lost almost at random. Somehow, the 8th place team tied the 1st place team in their last game of the day to make our last game a must win against Slash and Burn. We came up a goal or two short and had to call it a tournament but it was still well worth it and with our low numbers, we definitely would have struggled on Sunday. Silver Sounds used a mix of youth and experience to best the be-Argyled shorts Pig Pen squad in the Finals. For their efforts, SS will be rewarded with a trip to the top division next year.
In the bottom division Beale Street took down Rock Lobstah in the Finals. CVLC had gone 4-0 but their “experience” must have caught up with them. and by experience, I mean old age. CVLC is a classic CT lacrosse club [that I used to play for in the A.L.L.] that places a lot of their top talent on the Shocker team in the first division.
Overall, it was a great tournament where young and old play together, stories are told and good times are had. There is a level of lax for everyone with the three divisions, the tournament is run for a good cause and the teams are all there to have a good time while playing to win. Next year, my team might even make the playoffs like we did in 2006 when we won it all. Salud, to memories!