Area Coaches Weigh in on IHSA Lacrosse Series Delay

The latest news from the sport of high school lacrosse is—well, no news, at least for the rest of this academic year.

On Jan. 10, the board of directors of the Illinois High School Association, which oversees high school sports in the state, delayed the start of the boys and girls lacrosse state series until the 2011-2012 school year at the earliest.

In October of 2009, the IHSA Board approved the start of a boys and girls lacrosse state series as early as this spring, contingent upon 65 boys' teams and 40 girls' teams entering into the state tournament. But only 47 boys' teams and 33 girls' teams were entered to participate in the state tournament at the time of the January board meeting, and the board decided to delay the start of the tournament.

This decision only truly affects schools in the greater Chicago area, because most if not all of the schools currently hosting lacrosse teams are in Cook, Lake or DuPage counties. However, many schools in the Chicago area do not sponsor lacrosse teams, including Niles North, Niles West, Maine West and Maine East. Maine South started its lacrosse program last year.

The Illinois High School Lacrosse Association (IHSLA, www.ihsla.org), an organization run by Lacrosse America, has been hosting Illinois state tournaments since 1988 and New Trier has won the last six. In each of the last five state title games, the Trevians defeated Loyola Academy, which has won the state title eight times and won the three titles before New Trier starting winning championships.

"I think for the growth of the sport, an IHSA-sponsored sport is what we need,'' said Tom Herrala, who has been head lacrosse coach at New Trier since 1996. "There will be a couple of years where we will play Loyola while the western suburbs catch up, but they are going to catch up eventually. They have the youth programs now."

"By and large the lacrosse community wants to be a part of the IHSA and be a fully recognized sport,'' said Steve Rockrohr, the athletic director at Glenbrook South and a vocal proponent of high school lacrosse. "But I don't want to blame the IHSA. We (in the lacrosse community) didn't hold up our end of the bargain."

Herrala said lacrosse has been an official sport at New Trier since 1970. The Central Suburban League hosts lacrosse, and seven of the 12 teams in the league play (Deerfield, Evanston, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Highland Park, Maine South and New Trier).

Niles West, Niles North, Maine East and Maine West do not have teams. From the sound of things, the "Niles'' schools aren't going to join soon.

"We just don't have any interest at all,'' said Niles West athletic director David Rosengard. "No one has brought it up to me, coach or kid. I'm struggling to field two freshman baseball teams, and I think that is a crime. To throw another sport into our mix - if I throw lacrosse in here, it complicates matters."

Reached by email, Niles North athletic director Karl Costello had a similar sentiment.

"Niles North and Niles West have NO PLANS for lacrosse, NOW or in the FUTURE,'' Costello wrote.

"If you have an athletic director who is a football, basketball or baseball guy, he isn't going to want players going away from those sports to play lacrosse,'' Herrala said. "But those A.D.s are going to lose out because lacrosse is exploding."

Herrala admitted this is a bad time for schools to think about adding lacrosse because "lacrosse is an expensive sport, second to football. For liability reasons, schools have to supply helmets, but kids buy their own gloves and sticks. Then there is the cost of uniforms and field space."

"One of the problems with lacrosse is that it is another spring sport and it takes up space in the spring, and nobody has field space in the spring,'' Rockrohr said. "With a new sport comes financial restrictions, and it takes athletes away from the baseball teams and track teams."

Herrala said Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is a proponent of lacrosse and wants to get the Chicago Public Schools involved but can't because of the economic state of the CPS.