by Riley Bauling
Daily Lobo
No, really, the lacrosse sticks don't hurt when they come smashing down on a forearm.
At least, that's what James Simermeyer, UNM lacrosse president, said.
"A lot of people view it as a real violent sport, but if you talk to the players it's not as violent as it appears to be, especially with the technology now," he said. "Sticks are made out of titanium instead of wood like they used to be. It isn't nearly as bad to get hit with titanium."
The UNM lacrosse team, composed of Albuquerque residents and UNM graduate and undergraduate students, is a club team at UNM.
Simermeyer said the team competes in summer club tournaments with other college and club teams from Colorado and Arizona. There is a college lacrosse conference for teams in the southwest - called the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference - but Simermeyer said UNM doesn't compete in that conference because the rules are strict about players who are not students, and even players who are graduate students.
Because of harsh regulations that disallow players who are not students and some graduate students who have played for a college team, Simermeyer said UNM would have trouble fielding a full squad.
Simermeyer, a graduate student in community and regional planning, said UNM has had a lacrosse team since the 1970s. Despite the longevity of the team, he said lacrosse hasn't become big in New Mexico like it has in the East because of a lack of organization and resources at the youth level.
In the East, kids grow up playing lacrosse, Simermeyer said. In states like Massachusetts, New York and Maryland most kids pick up a stick at five years old, Simermeyer said.
Fellow teammate Phil Coppage, who graduated from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and now works in Albuquerque, said people from the East Coast bring the game with them as they travel west.
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"Easterners come out here and they just want to keep playing," he said. "It's just viral and once you start playing, you just start to love it. There's really nothing else like it. You don't have to learn to skate or throw a 90-mph fastball. You can just pick up a stick and start running around."
UNM's team has men who played in college, like Simermeyer who played at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and Coppage who played at Colby. Despite the presence of ex-college players, Simermeyer said the team is more concerned with having a good time than competing intensely.
"You hear a lot of guys saying how they wish they would have gotten to try it when they were younger," he said. "We're a fun team. You don't have to be a superstar to come and play. It's fun because guys come out and just teach each other."
Simermeyer said the vice president, Wes Stallcup, never played before last year, but decided to come out because he had a friend on the team. Simermeyer said Stallcup has improved tremendously.
Simermeyer said anyone can come out and play, and the friendly nature of the sport keeps players around.
"Lacrosse is a fun sport," he said. "During the game you'll pound and beat on the guy, and then after the game you'll go out and have fun together."
