Thinking about coming to Mines? Can't go to a college unless its got a Lacrosse Team? We know exactly how you feel.
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The Colorado School of Mines is located on the edge of Denver in Golden, Colorado. It is a prestigious technical and engineering school with a vast history, great campus, and many opportunities to Alumni. Programs at the school include every type of Engineering you can think of as well as Graduate and PhD programs in many fields. One of the many options for students is the "5-year program" where you can finish your Bachelor's in four years and just one more year gets you your Master's Degree. There's a great abroad program if you want to go global and classes aren't that bad as long as you put in your time. |
Two big parts of being a freshmen at this school is getting accustomed to the work load and finding your own personal release. This "Release" could be taking bike rides up Look Out Mountain to see the view and grave of Wild Bill Hickhock, taking the day off to go snowboarding in the mountains, kayaking down Clear Creek's kayak course, or taking a tour of the Coors Brewery Factory. For us, its playing Lacrosse. Without it, we wouldn't be at this school.
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HISTORY: The Colorado School of Mines is a Division II school and had a Varsity Lacrosse Program from 1992 to 1998. The switch to club status came as the Head coach as well as Athletic Director for Mines went on to another job. Mines Lacrosse has been a student-run organization ever since. From '98 to '04, the team had some rocky trails to climb. Unable to find a steady coach and team commitment, there weren't many upsets to be heard of or much success in playoffs. That all changed in the 2005 season with the addition of Head Coach Dan Hunter.
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Hunter made many changes, rallied the team to come together and made them remember that Lacrosse is more than a sport. With his leadership, Mines went from a win-less season in 2004 to a record of 3-8 in 2005, 6-6 in 2006, and a current record of 7-4 in 2007. There's no doubt his leadership has turned the team around.
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Fall Ball Tournament in Gunnison |
SET-UP: In Men's College Lacrosse, there's Five Divisions: Div I, Div II, Div III, Club A, and Club B.
The Division I, II and III are the varsity programs you here about. Last year's champions were Virginia for D-I, LeMoyne for D-II, and Cortland for D-III.
Well, an even larger lacrosse community is the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). This is for all those schools without enough Varsity funding or Title 9 restraints. Within the MCLA are Divisions A and B and among those: nine conferences. Last year's champions were Colorado State for Division A and University of San Diego for Division B.
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Mines plays B Division in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC). Teams we play include Utah Valley State, Regis, Fort Lewis, Montana State, Northern Arizona, and Westminster.
The team is constantly growing. This past Spring Break, Mines traveled to Huntington Beach, California to play Occidental, Pepperdine, and UC Irvine. Trips like these are common every year, but this was the first time we traveled so far (while stoping one night in Las Vegas). Other trips have included Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, and primarily Utah.
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SCHOOL: School is not a problem. Quite frankly, it shouldn't be compared to lacrosse because lacrosse comes second to it. This year, Coach Dan Hunter initiated a study session on Tuesdays instead of practice. This was for the student's benefit and not the player's. It has worked surprisingly well and allows players to come to every practice for the rest of the week since they've already gotten their homework out of the way. This will most likely be done every year from now on for your benefit.
TEAM: The lacrosse team is a closely knit group of guys that watch out for each other. There's no single guy that everybody doesn't like and there's no-one better than anyone else. We're together and do EVERYTHING as a team. Guys even go to each other for homework help. We also hang out on the weekends and most guys are roommates. Finally, we've had a lot of good times with the Rugby Team, so we see their games and they see ours.
FALL BALL: Lacrosse is a Spring sport, so we only play in the Spring- right? Wrong. The skills shown in the Spring are dependent solely on off-season work. This includes individual training, weight lifting, running, and hitting the wall by yourself. In the fall, practices are usually once a week and a game or tournament every weekend. That will include about five weekends of fun and three tournaments total. Its like an introductory course to Mines Lax, but still reflects nothing of the Spring season to come. Guys typically pay nothing or only $50 for about 8 games. Some guys only play in the Fall because they can't afford the time-commitment in the Spring. That's fine by us- the more, the merrier.
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PARENTS: Well, of course, now you're wondering how much, right? Well, truth is: its not that bad. Mines Lacrosse does a LOT of fundraising. This year alone, we did our annual Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament, sold King Soopers gift certificates all year long and sold Denver University Lacrosse Game tickets. Those three events made the team somewhere in the range of $4,000. A player's dues is dependent STRICTLY on how much fundraising they do themselves. It is entirely possible for a player to not spend a single penny if they raise enough money themself.
So, what's the price tag? Almost there- The team works on a "declining balance system". As an example, this means that if the season dues was $300, you'd owe $300. However, if you raised $75 for the team, you would be accredited with that money and only owe $225. If you raised $125, you'd only owe $175. With that said, dues usually runs around $250. If you figure it out over the year, that's 68 cents a day or 34 hours of work at minimum wage. Why give you those random numbers? No idea. I guess we go to Mines...
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Also, parents: your job doesn't end there and I'll tell you why- Mines Lacrosse is a highly commited team. What's better than the players being commited? The fans and family being commited!! Of course!! If you live in the state and can make it to a game- come on up! Get cheering and hoot and holler for your boy! Get excited and follow the action! It's going to be the best days of your life! (Well, besides that one time...)
LAST SEASON: Just as a reminder, last season, Mines had five players make All-Conference Teams and goalie, Mike Stone, made All-American. Also, Coach Dan Hunter recieved the RMLC Division B Coach of the Year Award. That's a little indication of where the team is headed.
FINALLY: If all of this didn't convince you that Mines is a great school, with a booming lacrosse team, in which you have the opportunity to set records, recieve awards, and battle the best in the nation, then you don't know what you're missing out on. Most importantly: It's Do-able! Most guys worry its too much commitment, but its fine! Have a good time and enjoy it! Ask any guy on the team.
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FUTURE: If you take a tour of the school, ask your contact ahead of time to meet with a member of the lacrosse team. We will gladly meet you and answer any questions you may have. Also, this webpage will soon have a form for you to fill out to let us know you're coming! Check it out in the future! Finally, if you have any questions now, send them my way. Mike Stone
Thanks for taking the time to look us up and have a great rest of your season! See you in the Fall! |
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