NLL Insider

“Stewy, what were you thinking leaving Minny for New York? You don’t actually think you can win with a bunch of  American field players do you?”

If I had a nickel.

The U.S. born player straight out of college. The drill killer. The four-pointer. The jump shooter. The great athlete who learned to shoot hard so he wouldn’t have to go near the middle.

Any of these sound familiar?

This is the overall attitude toward the U.S.-born player in the NLL. Are these stereotypes fair? It has always been the attitude that Canadians will always dominate box lacrosse and the Americans will always stake claim to field superiority. But then a few strange things started happening.

Any Canadian lacrosse fan who was as lucky as myself and got to be a witness to Canada winning World Championships in London a few years back knows that we witnessed something truly special. After nearly 30 years of  talent stacked teams being unable to unseat the champs, we finally did it. What was different this time? It’s really quite simple, the athlete.

Canadians finally realized that in order to be the ultimate lacrosse team comprised of the ultimate lacrosse players, you had to take all of the best qualities of our two countries and unite them. A box lacrosse player had to become a stick wizard who could run all day.

Now enter the young American player. You have grown up with a passion for field lacrosse, and you feel a sharp sting whenever you think that another country has laid the claim to being the world’s best. How do you fix this?

You pick up an issue of Inside Lacrosse and read about your idols like Casey Powell and Ryan Boyle proclaiming their love for indoor lacrosse. You hear of leagues popping up in Philly, Baltimore, and even San Jose. You are suddenly able to get NLL games on TV and, like a cherry on top, you have access to a Web site like this where you can read a great coach like Chris Hall explain why a Canadian offense is so good, and you can learn from it.

In my mind, the NLL is a hybrid league and the future of the league will be to be able to field and cultivate a hybrid team. The skill sets from both lacrosse worlds need to be combined perfected.

Much like the early days of Europeans in the NHL, this will no doubt be met with skepticism, but I truly believe that the influx of different styles will only make the league stronger. Where would the Leafs be today without Mats, or the Rangers without Jagr?

So do I really think we can win with a bunch of field lacrosse players?

I certainly do.

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