It’s 10:00 p.m. on Aquinas’ campus and all is well. Students are buried in their studies, The Moose is providing a steady stream of caffeine, and 21 guys are running around the field house carrying sticks and yelling strange commands.

Wait, what?

It’s the Aquinas men’s lacrosse team hard at work late into the night. Unbeknownst to most of the college, the team has been training together since last semester, gearing up for games to start later this month.

Scheduled to play against larger schools including Albion and Grand Valley State, the team sees this season as their chance to prove themselves. Not only do they want to be a competitive team, the lacrosse Saints are on track to be approved as an official varsity sport for next year.

The jump from a club sport to a varsity team is a big one. Senior team captains Brad Vandenbroeck and Mike Battaglia are confident the team won’t drop the ball, no pun intended.
As the team straps on face masks and grab their practice jerseys, Vandenbroeck explains their confidence.

“With our level of dedication, I truly believe that we will be one of the best teams in Michigan over the next three years,” said Vandenbroeck.

The team has come a long way already. Three years ago, Aquinas lacrosse consisted of some by-laws scratched out by Vandenbroeck and his brother Roland and about 10 guys with a love for the game.

Now a 21-man team on the verge of reaching the varsity level, they have the dedication, the experience and a coach who has been actively recruiting and building support.

Luke Griemsman, the official coach for the 2009 lacrosse team, has recruited from almost 95 percent of all Michigan high school lacrosse teams and is excited by the potential he sees at Aquinas.

“There are some very good lacrosse players here with leadership and experience,” said Griemsman.

“We will bring pride to the college and its name.”

As the team sprints laps around the empty field house, whip balls at each other and run plays, their enthusiasm is contagious.

Battaglia says that best thing about being part of the team is seeing how far they have come since his freshman year.

“It’s exciting to be at the start of something,” said Battaglia.

“It can be kind of rough [practicing late at night] since we could be studying or working, but we’ve seen huge improvement as a team and have such a high level of dedication. I think we’re more dedicated than most club sports.”

The team’s first game is against Albion on March 22.