Crease Monkeys Northwest Lacrosse Club

The Crease Monkeys Northwest Lacrosse Club was formed in the Fall of 2002 by the merger of the long standing Steelhead Lacrosse Club and members of the Roanoke Lacrosse Club. The idea was to create one great club that sported teams in each of the various NW Lacrosse leagues. The CMNW "A" team won the PNLA Championship in its first year 2003, and the "B" Team won the PNLA "B" Championship the following year in 2004.  In 2005, the "A" team again won the PNLA "A" Championship.

The NW team's mission is two fold: Field competitive teams who adhere to the Crease Monkey motto: "Great Lacrosse, Great Trips, Great Places and Great Friends" and The Crease Monkey club is focused on giving back to the local lacrosse community through programs to develop youth players in the Northwest. The Monkeys run a Summer Camp series and a Youth Team.  Growing the game of Lacrosse is community service the Monkeys enjoy providing.

The Seattle based Crease Monkeys NW club is one of the newly formed subsidiaries of the world renowned Crease Monkeys. Crease Monkeys teams compete in tournaments all over the world including Japan, Prague, Amsterdam, World Cup, Hawaii, Mardi Gras, PNLA and Lake Placid.  Current trips include Hawaii and Victoria Summer Slam.

History of the Crease Monkey Nation:

The Crease Monkey Nation was formed in April of 1998 to promote the sport of lacrosse by bringing together players from across the United States and overseas to play in lacrosse tournaments and provide instructional clinics.

In their first attempt at tournament play, the Monkeys did not fare very well. However, their performance off the field, in the social arena, was legendary. They made many, many friends, as well as contacts through out the lacrosse community. The basic philosophy of the Crease Monkeys was born – Make great friends, Visit Great Places and Have Fun!! The team name was instantly popular for its uniqueness and originality.

The following year, because of their gregarious reputation, getting players involved with the Crease Monkeys team and in tournaments was a bit easier, and the second portion of the Crease Monkey creed was solidified – play great lacrosse. Current and former Monkeys include some of the sport’s elite players, including World Team members from the U.S., Canada, the Iroquois Nation, England and Australia, College All Americans and professional all stars from Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League.

The Crease Monkeys team set modest goals for itself in the early years. The team has not only met those goals but far exceeded them. The popularity of the team is unrivaled. No matter what city or country the team visits, the locals want to interact with the players and lacrosse fans everywhere highly covet Crease Monkey gear and apparel.

The Crease Monkey Lacrosse Camp is a wonderful, non-profit, summer camp held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 2002 there were over 150 campers. There are also numerous free clinics through out the season to teach lacrosse to children from all walks of life. The emphasis of the camps and clinics is on teaching basic skills and instilling a love of the sport of lacrosse to the participants.
The team has won tournaments in Australia, Hawaii, Chicago, New Orleans and Lake Placid. The Monkeys have toured Canada, England, Ireland, Amsterdam and Japan playing exhibitions and spreading the good will of lacrosse.

The Crease Monkeys have been featured in Lacrosse Magazine, Lacrosse Talk Magazine, and Inside Lacrosse Magazine and on many lacrosse websites including e-Lacrosse.com and AllLacrosseAmerica.com. The team’s award winning web site (www.creasemonkeys.com), which includes thousands of pictures of all the Crease Monkeys games and events, went live on August 20, 1999 and was called the ‘Worlds Best Club Lacrosse Website’ by Lacrosse Talk Magazine (UK’s official lacrosse magazine). The current visitor count is rapidly approaching 200,000.

In the summer of 2002, the decision was made to expand The Crease Monkeys phenomena into club lacrosse. Transforming what had previously been a tournament and touring team, new clubs from Northwest County, Maryland and Seattle, Washington will begin play in the American Lacrosse League and the West Coast Lacrosse League respectively. The new teams kicked off their inaugural seasons in the spring of 2003.

The new club teams are  patterned after the English and Australian style of club sports whereby all members, from the pee wees (6-7 year olds) to the grand masters (over 45), and their families, interact both athletically and socially. Both new teams will be governed by a set of approved By-Laws and a Board of Directors elected from the membership. There will be a high level of organization, with the each team’s goal being long-term success, on and off the field.

While the tournament and touring version of the Crease Monkeys included all-stars from all levels of lacrosse, the new club teams will include players of all ability levels who are looking to have a good time playing “social lacrosse.” We want to be successful on the field, but not at the expense of having a good time off the field.

Both of the new club teams have become very successful and were successful from the beginning. You can also be assured that these new teams will adhere to the Crease Monkeys motto: Make Great Friends, Play Great Lacrosse, Visit Great Places and Have Fun!!

Don’t forget to look for our tournament teams in the coming year. Where there is lacrosse, there will be Crease Monkeys, including past events such as: Japan/Hawaii Fall Tour 2002; Amsterdam Open 2003; Mardis Gras 2003; Lake Placid 2003; Atlanta 2003; Placid '04, Mardi Gras '04; Hawaii '04 with more tournaments in the works!