Arizona Wildcats Lacrosse: LaxCats, Hidden Gem in the Desert

The Men’s Lacrosse Team at the University of Arizona is a club sport which is not yet mainstreamed on campus, but it definitely has its own swagger on and off the field.

Arizona Wildcats

Part 1 of 2: Who is Coach Pedrick and who are his Arizona Laxcats?

Derek Pedrick, Coach of Laxcats, has been coaching all over the United States for the last 10 years.  Most recently he was coaching up in San Francisco at an NCAA Division 2 school.

He had a buddy from college who lived in Phoenix (the head coach at GCU) who reached out to him to see if he was interested in the Arizona job. He was curious about the offer at first, but was hesitant about the commitment with regards to the club level opposed to the NCAA.

Then coming down to Tucson he found out that the current players, alumni and recreation program were committed to the Lacrosse program. Pedrick also realized there was a lot of great talent already on the roster that rivaled many of the schools he was at before in the NCAA, so it was an easy decision.

“Fortunately it’s been great! U of A is an awesome school…atmosphere is amazing, great education and the kids are very happy, along with that you get to play at a high level of lacrosse.”

Growing up in New York and going to school in Massachusetts, Coach Pedrick, grew up on the East Coast Style of Lacrosse. Craig Hassell, Adam Hopkins and Mickey-Miles Felton were three notable coaches in the Laxcats legacy, and they were all native New Yorkers, embraced the same style. It is a pretty unique situation for Coach but also could be in his benefit.

“We all enjoy a fast paced experience, the potential of what the west could do was always a draw to a lot of people.”

“We all enjoy a fast paced experience, the potential of what the west could do was always a draw to a lot of people. The weather is amazing and the U of A is just a great school to be a part of. As for our players they get to experience a high level lacrosse team along with being at a big time PAC 12 school. Our kids have a great situation,” said Coach Pedrick.

Arizona Lacrosse is unique in a sense like Hockey and Rugby are all club teams, not sponsored, no affiliation with the NCAA, and the team does not get money from the school or scholarships. That’s why you don’t hear about them much on the U of A campus.

There are over 50 years of alumni for Arizona Lacrosse, the team has existed since 1960 and the program is bigger than some NCAA division 1 teams, so the team has the same budget as most NCAA Division 2 or 3 teams.

“We rely on self funded dues, alumni fundraising and student supplements,” said Coach Pedrick.

The Laxcats play in the MCLA (Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association), virtual varsity which is very comparable to Division 2 and 3 NCAA leagues. The team works out by weight lifting in the offseason, completing winter conditioning, practicing six days a week and they also travel. They take this club sport seriously; it’s not like an intramural sport at all.

MCLA has some of its own stricter academic rules than the NCAA. Title 9 keeps them out of the NCAA due to scholarship limitations. The University of Michigan was able to make it into the NCAA through the school fundraising over $12 million. The Laxcats are just as excited being a club team in the MCLA.

Going into the MCLA Tournament this year they were pre-ranked 13th in the nation and are currently ranked #5. It is the Second year of a new system under Coach Pedrick, everyone knows what to expect; “I think the team enjoys the team more this

Photographer: Chris Hook hookphoto@gmail.com

year than last, a little bit more of a family atmosphere this year. You are going to build that over time.” said Coach Pedrick.

What about the new recruits next year? This year’s freshman class has around 18 guys and they already have 15 recruits signed for next year. Pedrick hopes to have around 20 recruited kids each year. The Laxcats will also get several players who will come and try out as walk-ons and many of those players are very talented and were great high school players as well.

Lacrosse is a fun sport, and it is booming with popularity.  This season there were only three home games, but those home games drew over 1,000 fans.  Next season many more games are going to be home games, and the team is hoping to get even more students and Wildcat fans to come and support their team.

Will you be one of them? ZonaZealots and the Laxcats sure hope so!  Stay tuned for Part 2 of 2 on our great Men’s Lacrosse team!

You can follow the Laxcats on Twitter at @ArizonaLaxcats!

Next: Final Four, who are you going to root for? Wisconsin or Kentucky?