New men’s and women’s lacrosse org

By Emily Tuttle

Among the array of varsity, club and intramural sport offerings, there is something missing: the fastest game on two feet.

Lacrosse’s high intensity and fast-paced nature make it a unique blend of strategy and physicality, and sophomore Ben Konicki has missed opportunities to play the game since being at Cedarville.

After playing lacrosse in high school and for ULax, a men’s league, he fell in love with the sport but found limited playing experience available in the area. 

To provide competitive men’s and women’s teams, Konicki is starting a Cedarville Lacrosse Organization that hopes to begin games next spring. The org will oversee both of the teams to coordinate practices, help to get equipment and fundraise. The team will start as an org, and after about two years of stability and forward planning, it can become a club sport, which Campus Recreation would help to organize. Konicki would love to see it one day even become a varsity sport with the funding and backing of the athletic department. 

In the meantime, he is looking to recruit players for the men’s and women’s teams, both those with experience and those new to the sport.

“I want to make sure it is accessible to new players, and there has already been interest from people who have never played the sport before,” Konicki said. 

He has put two ads in the Daily Buzz, Cedarville’s daily email newsletter, to gauge interest for both teams. He plans to do more advertising through posters and potentially fundraising to have enough people for a team next spring. 

Konicki would like the org to be able to provide practice equipment and uniforms for players. Joining may be more expensive for new players because of the initial equipment costs that come with a stick, protective gear and cleats. Still, Konicki is working to offset these costs and provide equal opportunities to experienced and inexperienced players. 

Ultimately, he wants to see interest and learning in the teams’ early stages. He hopes to have a teaching mechanism and competitive practices to assist those who have never played lacrosse. 

“We definitely want new players,” Konicki said. “We want the sport to grow at all levels. All players are welcome. The best practice is to be involved with the people who are experienced, and if there’s additional training that needs to happen to get up to the same level, that can be arranged.” 

He says he has never met a lacrosse player who does not want to teach someone else, and he hopes to build that environment within the organization. 

Konicki envisions a competitive team supported by Cedarville students that will eventually play against talented programs.

“If we can start playing up at the higher levels, that introduces us to schools that we don’t normally have connections with,” Konicki said. “That gives us another mission field that we can represent Cedarville, but also Christ through.”

Those interested in joining the lacrosse team should email bkonicki@cedarville.edu, and he will add them to a GroupMe to join the community and learn more information. 

Emily Tuttle is a sophomore journalism major and the sports editor for Cedars. She is passionate about Philly sports, weight lifting, and all things silly.