Boys lacrosse now a school sport

Senior Dillon Christine (right, far right) plays for the Tomahawks Lacrosse Club. He and other Tomahawks players will join the school’s lacrosse team.

The boys lacrosse team is looking to start off its inaugural season well and beginning preparations right away. The team got the green light to play after parents and players proposed solutions to field space, coaching and funding issues.

Andy Cohen, chair of the parent organizing committee, said the effort has gotten a lot of support from parents, students and the school.

“Athletic Director Kim Cave was very supportive of adding a lacrosse team, and came up with a plan to allow the lacrosse team to use the turf field during zero period, late evenings and Saturday mornings,” Cohen said.

Cohen said the school and district wanted to be sure there was enough financial support for a lacrosse team.

“Supporters pledged $12,000 in start-up donations,” Cohen said. “90 percent of the necessary funds have been raised so far.”

The school’s lacrosse team will be a newcomer in the SCVAL El Camino Division. Although the team will not hold tryouts until February next year, its goals are already clear.

“If we’re going to have a lacrosse program, it’s going to be the best around,” Head Coach Greg Mengis said. Mengis expects the team “to be competitive in every single game.”

Mengis also thinks his ability to help kids pick up the game quickly will be very beneficial. This “specialty” is rooted in his experience as a player. Mengis did not start playing lacrosse until college but became team captain and a top 10 scorer nationally by senior year. Mengis has also coached at the Palo Alto-based Tomahawks club.

Senior Ken Anderson, who played for the Tomahawks, says the key for the school team to be competitive will be the fundamentals.

“[It’s important to] have a team knowing the way lacrosse is played, the rules and how to improve the game,” Ken said.

Ken, being a trained lacrosse player, will have responsibilities helping the entire team learn the basics of the game. He will be asking potential players to meet on weekends for optional practices to help with “stick skills, get the fundamentals down and learn how to pass and shoot.”

Also, because Mengis cannot begin coaching until February, Ken and other senior players will be leading conditioning and endurance clinics to prepare for tryouts.

Junior Leo Funaki said the key to having a competitive lacrosse team will most likely be confidence.

“Because lacrosse is a very fast sport, you don’t really have the time to think about [the] decisions you make on the field,” Leo said.

For the first year, there will only be a varsity boys team with just 24 spots available. However, since there are not as many players who have played lacrosse before, students new to the sport will have an opportunity to make the team.
Mengis is also planning on carrying a “practice squad,” which, he said, will be necessary to build up the lacrosse program at the school until a JV team is created. This practice squad will allow players who did not make the team to continue playing the sport and improve, even though they will not receive credit.

“We’re going to have a JV team next year or the year after—[the] sooner the better,” Mengis said. “And I think the girls teams will be right behind. So we’re going to have a full lacrosse program here at the school within two or three years at the most.”