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PNLA President David Vannoy on Club Lacrosse in Washington
Submitted by walax on Sun, 2006-03-19 19:51.
David “Guns” Vannoy is the current president of the Pacific Northwest Lacrosse Association. He has been a pillar in the club Lacrosse community leading teams, developing the game, and playing.
I have had the privilege of being on three of Vannoy’s teams and on several travel teams with him. Those that know him best, know him to be a commanding story teller, a Lacrosse diplomat and accomplished father; he loves Lacrosse and has seen the growth and development of Lacrosse in Washington near its inception. Here is his perspective…
How long has the PNLA been around in the Northwest?
I am not absolutely sure, but I think since around 1980 or so. Tim House, the Northwest Hall-of-Famer, was instrumental in forming the league back then. I think that PNLA club lacrosse was the first lacrosse available in Washington, since schools had yet to develop programs.
How many teams did it start with, and how many teams have you been a part of?
The league started with just a few fledgling teams. As you know, it has expanded somewhat steadily since then. Now the PNLA represents 17 teams in three divisions from Oregon, Washington and Canada. I believe that of all the club leagues in the nation, the PNLA is the only “international” league with Canadian teams participating. How many club teams have I played for? Well, somewhat chronologically it goes: Ol’ West, Mambosok, Maple Leaf, Red Hook, Roanoke, Corillian, Sound, Seattle and now I’m with Blue Collar. Despite the many uniforms in my drawer I, unfortunately, have yet to drink from the coveted Everett Smith Cup.
As a local lacrosse product, what are some of the things you remember most from your formative lacrosse years?
When I started playing lacrosse it was 1984, I was a junior in high school. I played for Eastside LC and we took players from three or four high schools to make the team. High School lacrosse was just a year or two old here in the Northwest, so we didn’t have much school or community support. There were only four high school teams and one middle school team in the whole state, so that was who we played. We had to pay for everything ourselves, and our team was so broke that our uniforms were just red t-shirts with numbers written on them with an ink pen. I remember arriving at one of my first games and no referee showed up and we didn’t have nets for the goals. But we loved the game and knew we were part of something special.
Where did you play in college?
Washington State University, the Mecca of Northwest lacrosse. Once again, we didn’t have much school support for our club team, had to pay for everything ourselves and even took old “hand-me-down” uniforms from the football team.
After college, what do you think is the biggest motivator for continuing lacrosse?
Well, that’s easy. I loved to play the game and loved the people and friends I met while playing. It is safe to say that some of the best friendships I have came from the lacrosse community. What other game allows you to play at such a level after college? If you play baseball, after college all you have is softball and you’ll never swing at a fastball again. Football? If you don’t make the pros you’ll never wear the pads or take a snap again. Lacrosse is different. It is one of the only full-contact sports an adult can take part in after college.
How do you see the growth of club lacrosse taking shape over the next few years?
Club lacrosse has been on a slow but steady increase over the last 10 years, expanding from about 10 to 17 teams. I think that in a few years there will be more teams as our local middle school, high school and college players graduate. There are a lot more players in the Northwest now and the club league will have to expand to accommodate the demand.
Can you talk about the new “C” league and how that came about?
We started up a C-League in 2005 as a clinic and this year we have a full season of eight games for them to play. Basically, the C-League came about as we realized that there are a lot of men who want to play lacrosse but didn’t have the opportunity in high school or college to gain any experience. As you know, lacrosse takes a lot of practice and time to master, and guys who didn’t play in their youth never really had any opportunity to play at the club level. So, the C-League was formed to provide new, adult players a way to learn the game and a team to play for.
What do you think the major inhibitor to the growth is, and how do you feel you contribute?
I think the major inhibitor to growth, at the club level, has been our team’s inability to grab players graduating from college. That is where the new blood comes from, and often when teams are formed they stay with the original core of about 15 guys for several years and don’t recruit enough from the college players. That is changing, though, as teams like Kavu and Crease Monkeys do a great job of recruiting younger players.
At what point does it make sense to have one unified league of players and teams?
Well, we are one unified league. We have three divisions divided by competitive level, but still one league. Do you mean a unified national league? I can see that, but the administrative demands would be enormous. Besides, I don’t want some East Coast dude telling us from Baltimore how to do things in Seattle.
Should we have a unified post-collegiate club tournament, allowing local club teams to play nationally?
Now you’re talking. Yes, I think it would be fantastic to have a national club tournament where the champions from all of the club leagues compete for a national title. We talked about doing so at the US Lacrosse Convention a couple of years ago, but that has yet to take full shape. I expect it to happen within the next five years or so.