Lacrosse season starts too early

I have to disagree with Virginia head coach Dom Starsia when he in essence said he supported the early start to the collegiate lacrosse season.

Following his team’s thrilling victory over Loyola he said: “People that don’t want us to start the season this early would miss out on games like this.”

First of all, the game still would have happened, just at a later date, but it probably would have been even better. Instead of running around outside in frigid temperatures, trying to breathe sharper, heavier air, the players would be getting their sweat on a little bit more in some nicer spring weather.

The lacrosse season starts too early. College lacrosse used to start in late February, now, it’s the second weekend and we’re playing games that count. And this is not one of those old crusty “back in my day” type statements. I’m talking as recent as last year teams would begin their season on the final Saturday of the regular season.

But the NCAA’s demand to stretch seasons out, to start them earlier and end them later, to make it more of a year-round type thing, has diminished the product.

Last fall, I was on the Pete Caringi radio show and asked my opinion about the concept of making soccer, currently a fall-sport, a year-round sport with a two-part season. I quickly said it was a terrible idea and laid out a few reasons.

First, it’s hard to follow a team that long. Major League Baseball, the NBA and NHL are all too long on the pro level, how could a college program really go that long without being a drag? Also, the sports are competing with themselves. It’s basketball season right now, in the home-stretch of conference play with March on the line. But at the same time it’s lacrosse season. Just exactly how much time does a student at University have to watch sports all day on a Saturday when considering their workload and other jobs they might have? If anything, seasons should be sorter.

And what about injuries? It’s hard to keep and entire team healthy for three months as it was, now we’re making it four months.

Anymore, college athletics are just as exciting and sometimes even more exciting that pro sports. It brings even more of a sense of community with the alumni and student body and the fact that many people either grew up with the student athletes or watched them grow up but at this point, we’re talking about a spring lacrosse season starting just two months after the fall soccer team ended. Just one month after the fall football season ended.

The NCAA should look to make these sports more of a spotlight of their own. Instead, by the time winter seasons are over there will be over a month into the lacrosse season. If a team goes to the NCAA Tournament, potentially two months into the season.

Plus, it’s cold out. Let’s stay indoors watching basketball until it gets warmer out.

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Corey Johns

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You could say Corey was born to become a sports journalist. His father won a national championship coaching college soccer. His mother is a baseball fanatic who hasn't missed seeing an Orioles game since 1983 (literally, sometimes it's annoying). His great uncle was a big-time boxing promoter and his maternal grandfather was once a department head at the Baltimore Sun. Basically, sports and journalism run through his blood. He played just about every little league sports there was when he was a kid and was a multi-sport athlete in high school; even playing in the first-ever high school sanction Rugby game in the country. Eventually he retired from sports as an undefeated Maryland state Rugby champion as a high school senior. Perhaps lack of athletic talent has more to do with the retirement, but he will tell you that it more had to do with a great desire to jump right into media. Upon his graduation from University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a triple communications major, Corey started the So Much Sports network and has continued to grow his websites and continues to work to make them premier sports media outlets.

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