Mexico Lacrosse

It was a gorgeous, sunny, Saturday afternoon in San Jose, Ca. when history was finally made. On June 28th, 2008, Team Mexico took the field at San Jose State University to battle the Palo Alto Lacrosse Club. It signaled the birth of a new and exciting international lacrosse program.

Team Mexico jumped out to a quick 4-2 first quarter lead behind 4 goals by midfielder Rod Sweet (Sonoma St.), and the strong defensive play of d-man Paul Morgan (San Diego Junior College), and goaltender Chris Santos (San Jose State). In the second quarter, however, Palo Alto bounced back to tie the score up at 5-5 at halftime. Team Mexico’s fifth tally of the day came on a score by attackman Kevin Katerndahl (Dominican College). Little did Team Mexico know that it would be their last goal of the day.

The second half of the game was a back and forth affair with middies on both teams pushing the tempo and scrapping for possessions. The Palo Alto defense rose to the challenge and shut down Team Mexico’s scoring. Several near misses by attackman Tyr Rodriguez (San Jose State), and David Palacios (Dominican College) only added to Team Mexico’s frustration. Palo Alto pulled away for good when they were able to score on an extra-man opportunity after a slash call on defenseman Rene Kozarsky (Texas A&M) left Team Mexico short-handed.

When the final horn sounded, Palo Alto had earned a well deserved 10 to 5 victory over Team Mexico. Even though the team was disappointed with the loss, they were thrilled to be a part of such an exciting venture and groundbreaking experience.

However, the day’s festivities had only just begun. After the conclusion of the game, Team Mexico presented the Palo Alto players with gifts of maracas with notes of thanks for having helped make this game a reality. All the players took pictures and then retired to the far side of the field to thank their families and friends for their cheers of support. Mexico Lacrosse’s fans were thrilled to enthusiastically root on their boys, shaking maracas and Mexican flags throughout the game while wearing traditional Mexican sombreros.

The day continued with a barbeque meal of chicken, ribs, sausage, salads, and plenty of garlic bread catered by the Smoke Tiki Lounge. Palo Alto also provided adult beverages for all players and fans to enjoy. The festive atmosphere of brotherhood and comraderie continued throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

When darkness began to descend, the players threw on their new Mexico Lacrosse sweatshirts and entered Spartan Stadium to watch the MLL’s San Francisco Dragons take on the formidable Boston Cannons team. Boston dazzled the crowd with spectacular goals from Mikey Powell and Paul Rabil. Just watching them play catch on the sidelines was a clinic itself. Team Mexico captain Iliad Rodriguez (San Jose State) represented Mexico Lacrosse in a half time shoot out contest against Palo Alto captain Craig Conover. After thoroughly embarrassing himself, Iliad returned to his newfound Team Mexico friends to a chorus of boos and jeers (and he couldn’t have been happier!).

This whole day was an experience beyond description for Team Mexico’s players and fans. For some, it was a lifelong dream come true. For others, it was just the beginning of something greater to come. The Team Mexico players couldn’t stop talking about the upcoming Lake Tahoe tournament and their next chance to prove themselves on the field of battle. It’s sure to be another memorable experience no one will forget.
 

On the weekend of January 18-20, 2008, US Director of Mexico Lacrosse Iliad Rodriguez traveled to the US Lacrosse Coaches Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On Friday evening, Rodriguez met with many members of the International Lacrosse Federation's Development Committee at a social gathering hosted by the ILF's Director of Development Joe Gold.

Rodriguez met ILF delegates from Germany, England, Japan, and several members from the United States. All of the ILF members present received Rodriguez and Mexico Lacrosse with excitement and enthusiasm. The ILF members seemed impressed by the rapid progress of Mexico Lacrosse, yet cautioned Rodriguez about the harsh realities of developing lacrosse in a foreign country. The members made it clear that Mexico Lacrosse's petition for ILF membership status hinges on their ability to develop and establish lacrosse leadership and programs in Mexico.

The ILF members present at the convention met earlier in the day to discuss the business of the ILF and potential development issues. Even though Rodriguez was not able to make it to Philadelphia in time for that meeting, he provided a detailed update memo that was presented to the members by Development Director Joe Gold. (see Documents link) Rodriguez' memo explained to the ILF the progress of Mexico Lacrosse's development to date. The members were hopeful that Mexico Lacrosse would be able to acheive the necessary standards for inclusion in the ILF as an associate member.

Stay tuned for more developments on Mexico Lacrosse's petition to become an ILF associate member.

Since the debut of Mexico Lacrosse's new website, www.mexicolacrosse.com, eager lacrosse players, coaches, and enthusiasts have been joining the Mexico Lacrosse movement at a rapid pace. The Men's Elite team has shown the most growth with about 15 eligible players signed up to date. The Women's Eltie team has just begun to draw interest and recently registered their first member, and more are sure to follow.

Word of Mexico Lacrosse has swept like wild fire through the California lacrosse community and players are signing up to participate in this unique opportunity to represent their heritage through their favorite sport. Most new registrants to date are Mexican-American players with both high school, and college experience. Most of the players who have signed on with Mexico Lacrosse are from the San Francisco Bay Area (California) and the San Diego area. However, Mexico Lacrosse has registered players as far away from Mexico as Minnesota!

Interest in Mexico Lacrosse is sure to grow as program director Iliad Rodriguez will be traveling to the US Lacrosse Coaches Convention in Philadelphia on January 18th to promote the program and meet with International Lacrosse Federation officials. Rodriguez is asking all new registrants to send him the contact and player profile information requested on the website and to spread the word amongst their lacrosse playing friends and opponents. "This program can only grow if everyone helps promote it." Rodriguez said.

The interest in the Men's Elite team is so strong, Rodriguez has decided to pursue some competition this summer. "Guys are stoked to join a team like this if they know that they will be competing against top notch competition and get some playing time." Rodriguez said. "They have to have something to shoot for",  he added. Rodriguez will most likely register Team Mexico in a summer tournament on the west coast. His favorite is the Lake Tahoe tournament which takes place the last week of July every summer at Incline Village, Nevada. "Tahoe will be a perfect testing ground for us. The competiton is strong, but the atmosphere is very casual and comraderie amongst players and teams is always very good." Rodriguez said. Since so many current Mexico Lacrosse members are Californians, Rodriguez is going to try to schedule at least one practice and scrimmage before the Tahoe tournament.

Stay tuned to www.mexicolacrosse.com for more details as they develop.

December 10, 2007
from press releases