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Bodies crashing together and sticks colliding with arms were just some of the sounds that announced the arrival of the lacrosse season Saturday.
The Wildcats won their first scrimmage against UC Berkeley but fell in the final two scrimmages to University of Nevada, Reno, and St. Mary's.
The scrimmages, along with a youth clinic earlier in the day, started the era under head coach Paul Rocchio. The clinic, which included apparel sales and other fundraisers, was a success by all accounts.
The clinic had around 45 kids in attendance, and they all seemed to have fun, said club president Eric McVey.
One of the retailers who helped with the gear for the kids at the clinic was Sling It Lacrosse, which had a booth at the games. Mike Sheridan, who manned the booth, has worked with the lacrosse program in the past, supplying gear for the team.
It costs around $300 to buy all of the equipment to play lacrosse, but players can spend more than $1,000 for top-of-the-line gear, Sheridan said.
Younger players are flocking to one of the fastest-growing team sports in the country. Lacrosse players tend to pick up the sport quickly and stay involved as they get older. Many of these younger players were in attendance when Chico State took on UC Berkeley.
"It's called the fastest game on two feet," said John Weil, the club's vice president. "It's pretty much all of my favorite sports combined into one."
The scrimmage against UC Berkeley was a regular one-hour game, but the games against University of Nevada, Reno, and St. Mary's were 45 minutes each.
Chico State played its starters most of the game against UC Berkeley, but in the final two games everyone got a chance to play,
McVey said.
"We have a lot of work to do and are a little rough around the edges," McVey said.
Rocchio expressed these same thoughts when he addressed the team after the first game, emphasizing that it wasn't Colorado State, the No. 1 team in the country.
"We are playing a ridiculously hard schedule, but you don't get better by playing bad teams," Rocchio said.
The Wildcats will travel to Colorado to play Colorado State and the University of Colorado, the fifth-rated team in the country, over spring break. It will be for eight days and seven nights and will be the top trip of the year, McVey said.
Douglas Benton can be reached at
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