While growing up in the D.C. area, lacrosse captured the attention of Doug Dresser at an early age. His progression from the pee-wee level, to travel team, to high school squad and finally to the collegiate club level seemed natural — until he realized that lacrosse didn’t carry quite the same swagger in his new area code.
“There are no youth leagues here,” Dresser said.
However, that should soon change. Mirroring the recent nationwide surge in the popularity of relatively anonymous sports such as ultimate frisbee and rugby, lacrosse has expanded over the past decade.
“It’s an amazing game,” Dresser said. “Lacrosse is so well established on the East Coast, and now local colleges and schools are finally starting to notice and field teams.”
While most of the 25 members of the NU club still hail from the East, Dresser has noted that more players now claim midwestern roots. Still, lacrosse has a long way to go on the road to widespread popularity. Dresser cited the frigid temperatures as a huge deterrent to playing lacrosse in the Midwest.
“Playing in the cold, it completely changes the game,” the junior said. “Everything just slows down and the speed of it all isn’t the same.”
Dresser has had some of his sticks literally shatter due to the cold air, and sees less extreme temperatures as a better backdrop for a good match.
Still, Dresser can’t complain. His squad has looked good this fall, shutting out Loyola in a friendly match two weeks ago. Conference play begins during the spring, but the importance of staying sharp drives the Cats to practice throughout the year.
BUMP, SET, SPIKE: Pardon men’s club volleyball president John Szafraniec for feeling like Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Kindergarten Cop”. He is the only upperclassmen on a young team that is quickly improving.
“This year we should be a lot better,” Szafraniec said. “I’m pretty optimistic.”
While the season doesn’t really start for the Wildcats until winter quarter, they have practiced more than six hours a week in preparation for the last week of fall, and with it, the first tournament of the year. The schedule for the Cats this coming season includes matches against three or four Big Ten schools, and the matches have become fiercely competitive in recent years.
“As a varsity sport around here, volleyball isn’t that big, so club volleyball tends to be played at a pretty high level,” said Szafraniec.
The average height of the Cats — six-foot-two — seems pretty imposing, but in the world of club volleyball, 74 inches doesn’t really measure up.
“We’re actually a little under-sized,” said Szafraniec. “We’ve got some shorter guys, but they can all play.”
Height, though important, hardly ensures victories. More necessary to success, according to Szafraniec, is competent setting, which the Cats have lacked in the past but feel comfortable about this year.
“The setter is like the point guard in basketball. He runs the offense,” Szafraniec said.
The Wildcats’ one and only home appearance will be at Welsh-Ryan arena towards the end of winter quarter.
