College Crosse Prospectus: Bad News For Lacrosse In Early Specialization

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Let’s hit the links!

WHAT YOU MISSED

We continued our 2017 schedule previews with UMass.

Peep Monmouth’s new locker room.

LACROSSE THE NATION

Not good.

Notre Dame’s men’s team will take on the U.S. men’s national team at the IMG Academy in Florida on January 15. Meanwhile, the U.S. women’s national team will take on Florida twice, as well as Notre Dame, during that same weekend. To the press release.

“This event is a great opportunity for Team USA to take on top competition on our home soil as they train to compete against the world’s best,” said Lance Basler, US Lacrosse national teams manager. “We are excited to welcome Florida and Notre Dame to a world-class venue this January.”

“It is a great measuring stick for our team to be able to compete against the best players in the world on Team USA,” said Florida coach Amanda O’Leary. “It gives us a tremendous opportunity to see what our strengths and weaknesses are in a game scenario, and be able to work on them before the regular season begins.”

"This is the third time that we have gone down there to play the national team,” said Notre Dame men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan. “First of all, it's always an honor to play against the best in the country. More importantly, it is a team-building opportunity for us. It is an unbelievable way for us to start our preseason. To know that from day one, we are going to have to compete and play at a very high level to get out of the scrimmage what we want to get out of it. Playing Team USA is all positive for our program in so many different aspects."

Members of Ohio State have spent nearly 270 hours volunteering in the fall.

Providence will host the 2017 Big East Men’s Lacrosse Championship in early May. Also from the press release.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to host the BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship in 2017,” Athletics Director Bob Driscoll said. “Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium is an incredible facility, which has already hosted a number of high profile events during BIG EAST and NCAA Championship play. We are looking forward to showcasing our facility and hosting a top-notch event in May, in addition to welcoming the participating teams and lacrosse fans to Friartown and the City of Providence.”

The Friars boast one of the finest dual facilities in the BIG EAST Conference in Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium. The facility opened in the spring of 2016 for its first full lacrosse season. This fall, the venue hosted a BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Semifinal game and a NCAA Men’s Soccer First-Round game.

The stadium features seating for over 1,500 fans, chair back seats, a new press box and two luxury boxes for entertainment. The venue also is equipped with locker rooms for home and visiting teams and a 13HD Daktronics video board.

“It’s an absolute honor to host an event as prestigious, and far reaching, as the BIG EAST Lacrosse Championship,” Providence College Head Coach Chris Gabrielli said. “The evolution of our lacrosse facilities here at Providence College have allowed us to accept this honor, and this platform will help the lacrosse community realize how committed we are to the sport, as well as the overall athletic standard of excellence Providence College has reached.”

Virginia announced season tickets for their two lacrosse teams.

Looking at the men’s home games, they’ll be on the road against Loyola, Penn, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Richmond, Syracuse, and Duke. That looks like their list of teams they’ll face next season. We won’t officially know until the team releases their schedule.

US Lacrosse Magazine asked sports experts how they grow the game.

It's About Communities

"You can't have a conversation about growth without talking about diversity and inclusion. We're not talking about giving a kid a stick, and expecting it to stick from there. We have to do better. We have to build and resource communities, so those communities can grow the sport with us."

— Susie Chase, vice president of philanthropy and partnerships at US Lacrosse

The Hockey Parallel

"Over the last 10 years, only two team sports have grown consistently: hockey and lacrosse. Lacrosse is still in a better position. In the last three weeks, I've probably been to five of these meetings. There was the hockey summit in Canada. USA Football discussed modified rules with half the field, where everybody plays every position. Does this sound familiar? MLB the week before. They put a million dollars into Play Ball. In tennis, there was a huge change, fighting industry actors about using different equipment sizes."

— Tom Cove, Sports Fitness Industry Association

PHILLY JAWNS

Temple football is getting ready for their second straight AAC championship game, this time against Navy, on Saturday.

WORLD NEWS

Oregon football head coach Mark Helfrich has been fired after four seasons. He lasted one more than Chip Kelly did in Philadelphia.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

An honest movie trailer to The Secret Life of Pets.

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Managing Editors: Safe Fekadu, Chris Jastrzembski, Ryan McDonnell