Utah Lacrosse to see big changes in 2015 season

The 2014-2015 sporting year has been one of much change, namely in conference standings and regional outlines. For high school athletes, this is a matter of much concern, especially after the official announcement of new region alignments for school-sanctioned sports, only a few weeks back. However, not only have there been changes in scheduling for current school sanctioned sporting activities, but there has also been a great deal of change for the overall layout of the Utah lacrosse conferences across the state.

Lacrosse, one of Highland’s growing club sport outlets, is played across the state of Utah by 45 total high school teams. In the past, these teams were separated into divisional conferences, based on a pre-season assessment of overall team talent. Currently, for the 2015 season, this bi-divisional setup has been abolished, and replaced with a new, statewide conference based on geographic location.

In relation to the past divisional set-up, those assessments struggle to accurately project the stability of a specific program, and instead, pre-seasonally assess the difficult task of fairly differentiating between departing upperclassmen talent, and the overall talent of the underclassmen filling their place.

As a result, this new conference has been received with both open arms and skepticism for a number of different reasons, most controversial being the playoff structure in support of the new conference.

As suggested, although this conference would be unified, the playoffs could house two separate tournaments, one for higher seeded teams, and likewise, one for lower ranked teams. This brings up issues relating to programs with what could be considered a “low” Class A playoff seed, throwing games in order to drop into a high Class B playoff seed, resulting in an easy road through playoff matchups. Likewise, the Class B playoffs would be a source of statewide condescension; a baseline participation award for being the best of the worst, considering this was the pre-season schedule a program was given.

However, another suggestion, one supported by Highland lacrosse coaches and players alike, is that of a 32-team playoff for all high school lacrosse teams in Utah. This setup would not only allow for a more competitive seasonal play by each team, but would also unify all of Utah lacrosse in a drive for a sole championship title. Connor Weight, a senior defender for Highland lacrosse and participant of the club since freshman year, is excited about the possibility of a single tournament concept.

“I think that the best option would be for a single, 32-team playoff,” Weight said. “This opens a door for the growth of lacrosse across the state, and will motivate both players and coaches to work hard to guarantee a good seed in the tournament.”

Likewise, Weight expressed little concern in relation to the possibility of facing Utah high school lacrosse powerhouses, like defending D1 state champion, Brighton.

“Yes, some of the teams out there like Brighton, and Corner Canyon are good, and it would be difficult to put up a win against them,” Weight said. “But aside from that, the chance to compete in a state wide tournament, at any seed is something I feel excited about, and something I hope comes into play this season.”

Hopefuls like Weight, and a number of other Highland lacrosse participants wait anxiously for the final decision to be made before the beginning of spring lacrosse in March. Until then, Highland will have work to be done in the next few weeks in preparation for a season that could change the face of all Utah lacrosse from this point forward.