Since I was able to help out at Chapman University this year, and was able to travel to Denver last week to be apart of the MCLA tournament, I've been getting a lot of questions on different social media outlets about my thoughts on the MCLA, and I wanted to take a second to address all of the questions!

The most asked question clearly was..

What do I think of the MCLA?

The MCLA is definitely a good thing for the sport of lacrosse. The fact that there are SO many teams that are apart of the MCLA was very surprising to me. To be completely honest, I definitely didn't know anything about it in college, nor did I know much about it my first few years out of college. It wasn't until I got to spend some time with the LMU (Loyola Marymount University) kids (which is located literally 3 minutes from my condo in LA), then got to start helping out down at Chapman that I was able to gain a bit more insight to exactly what it was. The kids work hard, and LOVE the sport of lacrosse, which was all I needed to see to get me interested.

When I showed up to my first Chapman game, and the kids were all shooting in shorts, sun glasses, and had no shoes or shirts on, I couldn't help but wonder how long it would take before Coach Petro form tackled one of us at Hopkins if we came out to warm up like that! So, there are definitely some glaring differences, but all in all, my first impression of the MCLA was a good one, and the biggest surprise was definitely how big it is.

Do I think any of these teams could hang with a top Division 1 team?

This question was asked often as well. In my opinion, there's absolutely no way that any of the teams I saw this year could beat up any top level Division one team. I saw some SERIOUS talent on some of the teams we played this year with out a doubt, and individually, there are definitely some kids who's game would translate to big time college lacrosse. The kid Elliot Grow could definitely have gone and played somewhere with out a doubt. He works hard, is athletic enough, and plays extremely hard. I was fortunate enough to get to see him play a few times this year and I'm confident he could have gone D1 if he wanted to. The kid Yealy on Michigan has a game that would translate pretty well to the D1 game as well. He's an inside guy who catches, and finishes. The kid gets the ball in and out of his stick so quickly that I'm not sure it matters what level he's playing, he'll be able to do that. As long as he plays around people who can dodge and draw slides to get him open, I'm pretty sure he'll be successful. The midfieder from ASU can ball as well, he's got a pretty serious shot. I don't think he'd get the same amount of opportunities playing at a higher level, but could he do it and be successful? Definitely, no question about it. Clearly, I think there are a few guys on the Chapman team who can ball as well. Everyone loves Conor (Con Bro Chill), and people are patiently waiting to see if he'll play at the next level. Keep your eye out for a pole named Matt Walrath (sophomore) at Champan, who I think could be the next Eric Martin. This kid is absolutely out of control and has an endless motor. He was the MVP of the team this year and the dude has got two years left.

So, to answer the question, no, I don't think there are any teams in the MCLA currently that would beat up a D1 team, but, I do think there are individual players spread through the league that could make an impact at the D1 level.

Overall, I commend these kids for putting as much into the MCLA as they do as that tournament schedule is BRUTAL! I heard some teams bussed 25 hours just to get to the tournament to play!!! That's CRAZY! I can't imagine riding a bus for 25 hours, then getting off that puppy and trying to win 4 games in 5 days! Definitely takes some heart, and passion for the sport, and there's no shortage of that in the MCLA.

Any other questions you've got, please feel free to fire them my way, and I'll gladly answer them!

Hope all is well and I'll talk to you soon!

Kyle