Valley Tigers' Lax Schedule

The full Valley High School Lacrosse Club schedule is now available!

I want to draw your attention to Saturday, May 2 and Saturday, May9; there will be three home games at Valley Stadium! Be sure to come check out the only active lacrosse team in the Des Moines metro area!!!!! Bring your friends, family, and anyone else that is marginally interested in lacrosse!

We are trying to add another game at Valley and I will post the update as it becomes available. Be sure to follow the team's season on their website!!!!

Sat 3/14 Omaha 11:00 AM vs Burke % 3:00 PM vs MN
Sat 3/21 Omaha 11:00 AM vs MW % 1:30 PM vs CP

Sat 3/28 & Sun 3/29 Lincoln, NE TBD *UNL High School Tournament
Sat 4/18 Omaha 4:30 PM vs BK % 6:00 PM vs Lincoln
Sat 4/25 Omaha 11:00 AM vs BK % 3:00 PM vs MS
Sat 5/2 WEST DES MOINES 11:00 AM vs CP % 1:30 PM vs Lincoln

Sat 5/9 WEST DES MOINES TBD vs BK

Teams:
BK = River City Knights - Council Bluffs
Burke = Burke High School - Omaha
CP = Creighton Prep - Omaha
Lincoln = Lincoln Rampage - Lincoln, NE
MN = Millard North - Omaha
MS = Millard South - Omaha
MW = Millard West - Omaha
UNL Tournament = Tournament at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, NE

**The roster has also been posted**

Valley Gets Press

Thanks to some work from your favorite blogger/webmaster, the Tigers are now officially listed on West Side Lacrosse. WSL is the unofficial home for lacrosse west of the Mississippi River.

The Des Moines Register is supposed to be attending one of our practices to do a feature on the team. Being the first team in central Iowa makes Valley lax that important. I had no part in setting that up, but I will let you know when it happens.

MLL Toronto Officially Announces Its Name!!!

Here is the introductory video for the Toronto Nationals:

From Lax United

Can't say I'm a huge fan of the name, but given their marketing concept (load the team full of Canadian & Iroquois players), I get it. The logo is pretty cool though. The Iroquois flag is integrated into the Maple Leaf. The team colors are listed as Black, Red, Stale Blue (looks purple to me), and White.

The Nationals are considered a new team rather than a continuation of the Rattlers. Despite the roster and coaching staff transferring to Toronto, the Rattlers name, logo, and history will remain property of the league. This is not a new concept at it has been used in the NFL (Browns-Ravens), MLS (Earthquakes-Dynamo), and more recently in the NBA (SuperSonics-Thunder). This arrangement allows Rochester to have an expansion/replacement team in the future.

Great Atlantic Deal of the Day

I just received word that Great Atlantic Lacrosse will be offering a new deal every day. The preliminary deal last Friday was a Brine 7075 Aluminum shaft for $15 (it has since returned to its original price). 7075 series aluminum shafts typically go for about $75-90.
I'm not sure at this point whether I will be notified of the daily deal or if you need to check out Great Atlantic Lacrosse yourself. You'll notice the new link on the side bar and below:

Great Atlantic Lacrosse is also offering a $25 gift card for purchases over $300!!!!! Use code 3TEAMS9 during checkout to receive a free $25 gift card with your order of $300 or more. **This offer cannot be combined with other offers and previous purchases are not eligible for this offer. Offer good for team purchases of $300 or more made before March 31, 2009. Merchandise total must be $300 before customization fees, shipping, handling, and taxes are added.
Also remember that for the remainder of February, the following deals are in place:

Receive 10% off on all orders of $99 or more from Great Atlantic Lacrosse! This offer is also available from Eurosport Soccer!*

Contact me for the full details!

*Valid: February 1, 2009 to February 28, 2009

Restrictions: 10% off on orders of $99 or more after any discounts with this source code (Lacrosse = 3FEB10 & Soccer = 1FEB10). Excludes items where extra fees apply, team orders & delivery outside continental U.S. Not valid with other offers or previous purchases. Expires 11:59PM ET 2/28/09.

Get free shipping on any $75 (or more) order of heads, shafts, or complete sticks in the month of February by using the code 3NEWGEAR at checkout!

So head on over to Great Atlantic Lacrosse and get shopping today!

2009 MAJOR LEAGUE LACROSSE SCHEDULE

When things move, they move fast!!!! It is official and from the source. Who says six teams are not enough?

Week Date Visitor Home Local Time
1 Friday, May 15 Toronto @ Washington 7:30 PM
1 Saturday, May 16 Long Island @ Boston 7:00 PM
1 Saturday, May 16 Chicago @ Denver 7:00 PM

2 Thursday, May 21 Washington @ Long Island 7:00 PM
2 Friday, May 22 Denver @ Boston 7:30 PM
2 Friday, May 22 Chicago @ Toronto 7:30 PM

Wednesday, May 27 Warrior Major League Challenge and MLL College Draft

3 Friday, May 29 Long Island @ Toronto 7:30 PM
3 Saturday, May 30 Boston @ Chicago 3:00 PM
3 Saturday, May 30 Washington @ Denver 7:00 PM

4 Thursday, June 4 Toronto @ Washington 7:30 PM
4 Friday, June 5 Boston @ Long Island 7:00 PM
4 Sunday, June 6 Denver @ Chicago 3:00 PM

5 Saturday, June 13 Chicago @ Boston 7:00 PM
5 Saturday, June 13 Long Island @ Denver 7:00 PM
5 Saturday, June 13 Washington @ Toronto 7:00 PM

6 Friday, June 19 Boston @ Washington 7:30 PM
6 Saturday, June 20 Toronto @ Denver 7:00 PM
6 Saturday, June 20 Chicago @ Long Island 7:00 PM

7 Thursday, June 25 Toronto @ Boston 7:00 PM
7 Saturday, June 27 Washington @ Chicago 7:00 PM
7 Saturday, June 27 Denver @ Toronto 7:00 PM

8 Saturday, July 4 Toronto @ Chicago 7:00 PM
8 Saturday, July 4 Boston @ Denver 7:00 PM
8 Saturday, July 4 Long Island @ Washington 7:00 PM

9 Thursday, July 9 Boston @ Long Island 7:00 PM

Thursday, July 16 MLL All-Star Game 8:00 PM
(Denver, CO)

10 Saturday, July 18 Chicago @ Boston 7:00 PM
10 Saturday, July 18 Denver @ Washington 7:00 PM
10 Saturday, July 18 Toronto @ Long Island 8:00 PM

11 Thursday, July 23 Boston @ Toronto 7:30 PM
11 Saturday, July 25 Washington @ Chicago 7:00 PM
11 Saturday, July 25 Long Island @ Denver 7:00 PM


12 Saturday, August 1 Denver @ Long Island 7:00 PM
12 Saturday, August 1 Chicago @ Washington 7:00 PM

13 Thursday, August 6 Washington @ Boston 7:30 PM
13 Saturday, August 8 Long Island @ Chicago 7:00 PM
13 Saturday, August 8 Denver @ Toronto 7:00 PM

Saturday, August 22 Semi-Final #1 12:00 PM
Saturday, August 22 Semi-Final #2 3:00 PM
Sunday, August 23 Championship Game 1:00 PM
(Annapolis, MD)

Major League Lacrosse will announce the 2009 ESPN2 Television Schedule in the coming weeks.

MLL Officially Goes to Six

The official contraction announcement was made today. Just a couple of hours after we learned that Toronto was a go, Major League Lacrosse confirmed that LA, SF, NJ, Philly, and (technically) Rochester are officially dead for 2009.
The good new is that they also released the pre-season rosters with the new team assignments for each player! My first impression is that Chicago came out as the biggest winner with the addition of Liam Banks, Matt Streibel, and other high profile players. Denver landed Kyle Harrison & Ryan Powell, which was expected. Toronto looks a little short because they plan on having Canadian and Iroquois players try out. More information can be found here.

MLL Toronto is a GO!

It is now official! Major League Lacrosse has its first ever Canadian team. A press conference will be held in Toronto at 3:30 pm (2:30 our time) to make the formal announcement. The team's new name, colors, logo, and preliminary roster will also be announced. More details can be found here.

Rest In Peace

Mother Nature Is At It Again!

Predicted highs in the 20s and snow/sleet are preventing us from playing on Saturday (2/21). The early forecast for next week looks great, but I'll keep watching it. If things start looking bad early enough, I will try to get us into the Soccer House next Thursday night. If that happens, it should be $10 per person for 2 hours. The information will be provided once a decision is made.

The Current Status of the MLL

Okay, I'm reporting this as good news. It has all but been confirmed that Major League Lacrosse will field six teams this year. They are Chicago, Denver, Washington, Boston, Long Island, and Toronto. It is practically official that the Rattlers will be a Canadian team this year with a new name and everything. BMO Field will be their home turf.

Players will be reassigned based on their proximity to these teams. Essentially, players on the west coast will be split between Denver and Chicago while players on the east will be divided between the other four. Expect those in the northeast to hit Toronto and Boston while the relatively southern eastern based players will land on Washington or Long Island. Most likely, the New England area guys will find a home in Boston (which should be fairly stacked); the Upstate New York (Mikey Powell is in Syracuse), northern Michigan, and Canadian guys will be placed in Toronto (the goal is an entirely Canadian & Iroqouis team); NYC area boys will be Lizards; Maryland and Virginia area guys (including Boston's Paul Rabil) will become Bayhawks (another stacked team); former Dragons & Riptide players living in California and the west coast (including Nike's Kyle Harrison & Ryan Powell) go to the Outlaws; and everyobody in between ends up in Chicago (including Matt Striebel, who is currently attending the University of Iowa).

I predict that the league will go to a single table since there is not good way to balance the divisions. Denver will remain competitive as always. Chicago's chances improve with the veritable flood of talent. Long Island is the league standard. Toronto will put a good product on the field, and the home crowds will be tough (especially if they are like Toronto FC's crowds), but they will fall short. Washington and Boston will dominate - one of these teams will win the championship. Rabil will be league MVP with the previously underperforming Bayhawks.

Everything indicates that the league will make an announcement sometime soon; maybe as early as Friday. The meeting is taking place today and the season is scheduled to start on May 16. That is a little less than three months away...

RIP

My Gear Set is Nearly Complete

As I play more and more lax, I'm understanding the importance of lax-specific gear. Through the Valley practices, I've come to realize that my Nike Bauer Vapor XXX hockey gloves are too cumbersome to properly handle a lax stick. The palms have the perfect amount of grip for the ice but are way too grippy to get a proper lax cradle going. I realized that I would have to get myself some proper lax gloves.
I shopped around, read various reviews, consulted my wife, and tried on gloves at practice. I considered Brine Mogul, Gait Anarchy, Reebok 5k, and STX Agent. Eventually I settled on Warrior Hypnos. Great Atlantic Lacrosse has them for $83 ($75 if you are a Club Lax member). I like these gloves because they feature a VaporTek moisture wicking liner, vented backhand, vented palms, a contoured split cuff, and precise fit. Basically you get many of the same features that the $170 Mac Daddy gloves have at a fraction of the price.I also wanted to get a new head for the Warrior Krypto pro that I got for Christmas. To do that, the wife said that I needed to sell one of my sticks. Luckily I had the STX AV8 that my mom gave me for Christmas. Other than working the mesh, I had not used it. One of the newest members of the Des Moines Lacrosse League, Caleb, was eager to participate in the second toss around. He needed a stick, so I sold it to him (with a free ball) for just under retail less shipping.
After considering the Brine Answer, Brine Motive, STX Bionic, and Gait Triton, I decided to get the Warrior Mojo. A variety of factors were once again considered including consumer reviews, weight, stiffness, and stringing style. At $55 ($52 Club Lax) on Great Atlantic Lacrosse,the Mojo had the best of combination of what I was looking for.It looks pretty good on my Kpro too...
I also ordered a couple more orange lacrosse balls, which is especially important because one of mine was lost at the last Valley indoor practice. How that is possible, I'll never know. Also, I can see the orange a lot easier than the white. I ship everything to my mother-in-law's house and her dog, Baloo, got a hold of one of them. He is a "Bug" (half Boston Terrier, half pug) and loves to play. He went crazy for the bright orange ball and chased it all over the house. Up close you can see his teeth marks, but they did not show very well in the pictures.Now all I really need is a proper lax helmet (I'm currently rocking my Nike hockey lid w/ a face mask), some shoulder pads and elbow pads. Some lax shoes would be great too...

Valley Lax Site Goes Live Today!

The official site for Valley Lacrosse is now up and running. It is fairly bare bones, but it will serve our needs for the 2009 Season. Hopefully I can reinvent the site for fall ball and the 2010 season to be more sophisticated and more suitable for the team. For now, this site will have to do.
I do not yet have the complete roster* nor do I have the schedule as both are being finalized. As I receive them, I will post them. Team and player pictures will be posted as they are taken and uploaded as well. Hopefully some game videos will show up before too long too. Practices times and locations are also available on the website.

Swing over and check the site out. Unfortunately, the team is only open to Valley and Waukee students at this time, but we may make other considerations in future seasons. If you are a high school student in the Des Moines metro area and are interested in learning and playing the game of lacrosse, check out the Toss Around/Practice opportunities I post on this site or contact me. Come out and give it a whirl. Ideally, we would all love to see another metro club going in a couple of years...
*Valley Lax players need to contact me with their name, age, grade level, height, weight, jersey number, town of residence, school, and position. You can also give me this information at practice.