Ticket To The Dance

Friday, April 14, 2023

Sixteen games later, and it all comes down to our final two contests. There are quite a few scenarios around the league in terms of playoff seeding, but one thing is very clear for us: a win this weekend would go a long, long way towards securing a playoff berth.

This weekend will be our second straight trip to Canada, and it will be nice to be back on home soil. For those from Texas who may not be aware, Vancouver is a beautiful city and a must-stop on the NLL calendar. If you are looking to plan a trip in future years, be sure to make Vancouver a priority.

This week was a busy one in the office. Monday brought the WNBA draft, an exciting time for our organization. In planning for the draft, my own draft day story came up. I will always remember that as a somewhat bittersweet day, and something that will be hard to explain in a few years. Obviously getting drafted to PCLC first overall was an incredible honor and a tremendous joy. But my draft was pushed to virtual shortly before it happened due to COVID concerns. While my family celebrated at home, I watched the draft with a couple roommates. Still a great night but will be a reminder of what a weird time that was in the world.

We also hosted a great event Monday night at Lacrosse Unlimited in Plano. Huge shoutout to everyone who made it out. It was great to talk shop with some local fans and we hope to do a bunch more of those type events in the future.

Last weekend was a disappointing one for our group. Calgary is a veteran; talented group and they beat us in all aspects. We need to give a better effort and we are focused on that this weekend.

One of the cooler parts of last weekend was getting to watch different members of our team experience different parts of their careers for the first time. For my fellow rookies Mathieu Gautier, Ronin Pusch, and Cam Wengreniuk, it was their first time playing back in Alberta in front of their parents. I have written a lot over the past few weeks about that experience, which is even heightened by playing at home.

At the same time, Tyler Burton played in front of his son Brixton for the first time in the NLL, and it was pretty clear how much that experience meant to him. Cute kid, Burtsy.

At every other stage in lacrosse, you play with and against athletes who are mostly the same age. Even in college, 4 years of difference seem so significant, when the only difference is the legitimacy of your id, the amount of treatment you get before practice, and your claim to the back seats of the bus. At this level, the differences are much more significant, but also rewarding. It was cool to see everyone who had family in town (myself included) share the experience after the game.

On a personal level, it was great to play in front of family last weekend and I have cousins coming again in Vancouver. Having family spread around Canada isn’t easy for most things, but it actually fits okay into the NLL schedule.

Obviously, we have already played this year in Vancouver, but it will be more of the same for our large BC crew on the team. We will need every last one of those family and friends this weekend as we try to clinch a spot in the dance for the first time as a franchise.

Thanks for reading as always,

Go Club.

Donny