April 13, 2010
Cannons keep the dream alive
by Scott Souza/
Chris Ajemian is one of several local lacrosse players hoping to find a spot with the Boston Cannons. (photo: Fairfield University)
Mike Stone followed the path worn under the pounding of decades of lacrosse cleats across New England.
When he was in fifth grade, he joined a youth league in Wellesley, Mass. When he got to high school, he soon made the varsity squad. He become good — really good — good enough to play in college.
He didn’t go to one of the major lacrosse powerhouses filled with players from traditional hotbeds like Maryland, New Jersey and Long Island. Instead, Stone went to Division 3 MiddleburyCollege, where his game developed and his love for the sport grew.
But when it neared the time when most collegiate players start thinking of moving on from lacrosse, Stone couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“When it came down to my senior year,” Stone said, “it occurred to me that I didn’t want to stop playing.”
Just like Duxbury, Mass.’ Chris Ajemian didn’t want to stop as he was closing in on his final game at Fairfield University. Just like Worcester, Mass.’ Patrick Gaffney didn’t want to stop when his time at Endicott was drawing to a finish. Just like Cumberland, R.I.’s Matt Smalley didn’t want to give it up upon graduation from Hobart College.
They all knew the days of a secure spot on a team were over. They knew lacrosse would soon morph from something they dedicated their life to into something they made time for as the real world beckoned.
But they wanted a reason to hang on, maybe for just a little while longer, but possibly for a lot longer if they got the opportunity to show another coaching staff what they had.
This month, the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse will give them that opportunity. Ajemian, Gaffney, Stone and Smalley, and several other local players, will arrive at training camp with a practice uniform waiting for them. Just like the Boston Blazers of the National Indoor Lacrosse League provided some of the same players an opportunity this winter with clinics and workouts to keep their skills sharp and keep professional lacrosse dreams alive, the Cannons are giving them a chance to keep their playing dreams alive.
These are the unknown guys vying for a spot on the opening day roster. Some will earn a place on the Cannons’ newly expanded practice squad. Others will leave training camp knowing they took their best shot. But all arrive with the idea that — given a good camp and a favorable look from the coaching staff — they’ll show that they deserve to stick around.
“Really, all you can ask for as a lacrosse player growing up,” Smalley said, “is to play at the highest level possible.”
It won’t be easy. One look across the MLL landscape shows a league loaded with the best players in the world. Carving out a niche alongside World Cup-bound talents is a daunting task. But these New Englanders wouldn’t have dedicated themselves to that pursuit unless they felt they had a chance to achieve it.
“The odds are stacked against them — no doubt,” said Cannons general manager Mark Kastrud. “You look back at the history of the league and it bears that out. You look for practice-squad players who have made a big impact and it doesn’t happen very often. But there is a certain confidence with any athlete who has gotten to their level. These guys have had enough success in lacrosse over their lives that they all think they can play. I think if you ask any one of these guys, they will all say that if given a shot, they will make the most of it.”
The generation of lacrosse players coming out of college these days is in the middle ground between the sport’s trailblazers of last decade and the youngsters today who go through the select-team circuit like its youth hockey or Little League.
“I’ve seen it explode,” said Ajemian, who also coaches in Duxbury’s youth program. “It’s not a spring sport anymore. It’s year-round. It’s amazing how it’s grown.”
Not only are kids playing more lacrosse, but they are following more lacrosse. As the Cannons near their 10-year anniversary, a star like Paul Rabil has become as much an icon to kids on the lacrosse turf as Paul Pierce is to those on the basketball court.
“I really had no idea about the whole world of lacrosse growing up in Worcester,” Gaffney said. “I came through during the era when Syracusewas the dominant college team. I followed them a little. I knew I was a good player, but I didn’t know what else was out there.”
Other Cannons prospects came through the high school ranks when the sport was just starting to get a hook. Smalley said he followed former Cannons and San Francisco Dragons player Chris Rotelli because he came from the same hometown. Stone said his grandmother put a stick in his hand when he was in fifth grade and that his family used to travel to Lowell, Mass., to see the Cannons when the team played its home games there.
Cannons head coach Bill Daye said he’s now beginning to see players come through the draft with longtime aspirations to play in the league.
“I remember when we drafted Chris Eck last year he told me he grew up and went to high school watching the MLL,” the coach said. “That was one of the first times I’d heard that. Jake Beebe (of Sudbury, Mass.) was a ball boy at one point when we were playing in Lowell.
“These kids now have experienced the sport at a young age and want to play professionally.”
The key remains building a connection between the fan base of youth teams that fill whole sections of Harvard Stadium on a Saturday and the players whose jerseys a few of those young players may aspire to someday wear.
Having Sean Morris, of Marshfield, Mass., in the league the past four years has helped tremendously. It was like the Red Sox having a hometown hero to excite the fans. With Morris now moving on to play on the LXM Pro Tour, the Cannons are eager to develop the next local star.
“It benefits us on the field and off the field to have local talent,” Kastrud said. “It helps create interest. I hope a Chris Ajemian or Mike Stone makes the team and has a lot of productive years for us. That will bring in a bunch of people from Duxbury or Wellesley to the games.
“Plus, there is a local pride aspect to it too. There is a pride in knowing this area is producing athletes who are good enough to play at this level.”
Life as an MLL player can be hectic. During the season, those with full-time jobs often must cram five days of work into four so they can be at practice the day before a game. Out-of-towners typically head home the morning after a game. It’s a routine that comes with the territory, but also one that wears on players as they get older; in many cases, travel demands and schedule juggling cuts short playing careers.
That’s where it helps to have a core of players — even if they are just role players or on the practice squad — who are only a short drive from Cannons headquarters in Allston.
“It’s great knowing that I am 35 minutes away and can be more a part of the team than I would be if I had to travel,” said Smalley, one of three Cannons prospects to also make up the Blazers’ practice squad. “Even if I am not getting in a game, I can head up and be a part of a shoot-around with 12 or 13 guys on a Tuesday or Thursday. It gives me a huge leg up.”
That convenience is another reason the Cannons have sought to increase the New England stamp on the squad in recent years.
“Our ultimate goal is to become as local as we can,” Daye said. “That’s something Mark and I have talked about. The more players we have from New England, the better it is for travel, and the better it is for the team.
“It definitely helps at a practice. The more guys you get from the area, the more things you can do. We are allowed one full practice a week, and right now it’s on a Friday because that’s usually the day before the game and the only time we can get everyone together. But if we can become more local — and that may still be a few years away — we could have our practice on a Tuesday, and go a heck of a lot harder doing more things, and then reconvene a few days later for the game.”
Kastrud acknowledges that lesser-known college stars definitely have a better chance to extend their playing careers as role players or practice-squad members if they are local.
Gaffney knows that location is part of his value to the team.
“Without a doubt,” he said, “I am 45 minutes down the Pike (from Worcester) so it’s not an issue for me to be there whenever something comes up. If it’s a clinic, or an event they’re running, I can be there to help get better and help grow the sport.”
With only six teams in the league, and a draft class of elite college players coming out every June, there’s not much dead weight on an MLL roster. Competition is fierce, and there’s always another player working his hardest to earn one of the few coveted spots on the active roster each week.
But there are chances for these players to make an impact, if they can raise their game to the pro level.
MLL rosters have expanded for 2010; each team keeps 23 players on the active roster, and will dress 19 — up by one from last year — on game days. Practice squads have been increased from three to eight players.
With the World Cup taking a chunk out of the league during the season as well, teams will be scurrying for talent in the short-term with an opportunity that could pay long-term dividends.
“The influx of talent we get every year makes it tough,” Daye said. “But there are always spots out there for a role player.”
That fuels the workouts and gives hope to local players who aren’t giving up on the notion that they can play professionally the sport they loved in high school and college.
“I went to one of the clinics this winter and saw (assistant) Steve Duffy there and was talking with him about what they need out of a guy who is trying to break through like me,” Smalley said. “He told me that if you have a specific skill, like picking up ground balls, that’s so important. If you can give the team an additional three, four, five possessions a game, there’s a spot for you on the team. That was great to hear for me because I was a defensive midfielder in college and that’s what I did. I always thought a good defensive midfielder can help you win games.”
Smalley said his goal for the Blazers this winter was to crack the roster and his next step is to get out on the floor for some games. Gaffney had a short run with the Cannons at the beginning of last season, and is eager to make it an extended run this summer.
“Making the practice squad last year was great,” the St. John’s of Shrewsbury graduate said. “Now I’m hoping to make it to the next level.”
That’s a level that thousands of young players in New England now strive for as they watch the red, white and blue uniforms storm the Harvard Stadium turf on a warm Saturday night, while picturing themselves someday being part of the charge.
