Buffalo Box Invitational
Smokey gets competitive
Well, it’s been a little bit since my last post, in part because I wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to go. That’s part of the problem doing this the way I am - documenting the journey, but also talking about the present. And with the season starting soon (a little more than 48 hours from now!), it’s going to become more difficult - I’ve got a lot of the past to go, but a lot happening now, too. So I think for now, we’ll go back to the past…
One of my favorite things about playing lacrosse is the people I’ve met, and how sometimes those people make appearances in my life outside of lacrosse, and even sometimes that leads right back to lacrosse. It’s a never-ending circle, which of course all circles are, by definition.
So this brings us to the introduction of another character in my lacrosse story - Chris Deisenroth. Chris (or, more commonly, “Deis”) is one of the Webster Box guys.
At this point, in addition to playing pickup lacrosse, I also played kickball in the Kickball League of Rochester. Usually we would play 2 seasons sponsored by my job and then 1 more either sponsored by a local establishment, or we would just pay ourselves. I was assistant captain for the work team until the captain left for greener pastures and I took over, and I was captain for the non-work team. It was a fun, non-competitive way to socialize and drink. Sometimes I miss it, but remember that I’m sober now, and half the reason for playing was the drinking.
As captain, I was responsible for putting together a lineup. Anyone who has ever run a team like that can attest to the difficulty there - you get 15 or 20 people to sign up, and you’re lucky sometimes to get half to show up regularly. As a result, I would frequently need to put a call out on Facebook looking for players. One day, Deis answered that call, and both he and his then-girlfriend (now-fiancee) Emily would join us pretty regularly. Anytime we needed someone, I would reach out to them first before asking the rest of Facebook. And eventually they just became regular members of the team.
One night, in the summer of 2021, Deis and I were talking at one of our games, and I mentioned the upcoming Buffalo Box Invitational tournament in East Aurora, which would be taking place that weekend. I knew he would be playing on a team sponsored by the Rochester River Monsters, and asked how they were for goalies. He mentioned that they were supposed to have had two, but one backed out due to another commitment, and I offered my services. He said he’d check and let me know. That was on a Wednesday. That Friday, I found myself making the trek from Rochester to East Aurora.
The first jersey I wore for a legitimate game. Trying to get it now and add it to my collection…
At this point in time, it had been about 3 1/2 years since I started playing, and my experience was limited to the Krewhawks and pickup with the Webster Box guys (mostly at said box, but also as previously discussed at the Penfield box, and a time or two at Tri-County in Macedon and once or twice in Penn Yan). I had never played competitively, but I wanted to. I had grown up playing youth sports (mostly hockey, but also at various times baseball, soccer, and basketball, and was also on the wrestling team in high school), and at that time had played a few years of slow-pitch softball. As much as I enjoyed simply playing, I was itching for a bit more. I didn’t know at the time how much I would enjoy it.
So we had 4 games scheduled in the tournament - 2 on Friday night and 1 on Saturday, and then there would be at least one playoff game on Saturday afternoon/evening. Friday I went out and joined Steve Buck (who will make additional appearances in this endeavor) and the rest of the River Monsters team. Steve, at the time, was the General Manager of the Rivs organization - including the Senior “B” team in Can-Am, and the NAMLA youth teams. For this weekend, though, he was the other goaltender.
For the first two games on Friday, he and I split time - he started game 1 and (if my memory serves, which it may not - it’s been a while) played the first 2 periods, then I came in and finished the game. We then reversed the roles for game 2. Steve played all of the first game on Saturday, as I had a previous commitment and wasn’t able to get back to the tournament in time. So when I got back for the later game, we decided I would start the game, and play as long as I was able to. Turns out, that wasn’t very long.
I have a tendency to be overly cautious with my equipment - I’d rather wear too much equipment and be better protected, than too little and risk injury. Sure, it may negatively impact performance, but it doesn’t matter how well I play if I get hurt and can’t play. One of these “optional” pieces of equipment it the throat protector, or dangler. Pictured below, this is tied to the helmet and “dangles” below it, and protects the throat and neck from shots. True of both hockey and box lacrosse, some goalies wear them and some don’t. Realistically, the additional protection it offers isn’t a ton - when I’m in my stance, the jawline of the helmet tucks fairly nicely into my uppers, but when I stand up or move, my throat becomes vulnerable, so I don’t play without the dangler.
I bring this up to explain the following - the game I started Saturday evening, and was intended to play most, if not all, of, to give Steve a break, did not go my way very quickly. To begin with, we were playing the Basom Bombers, a team from the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, that featured at least two players with professional experience. That being said, for the amount of time I did play, I played very well. I believe I saved every shot I saw. Not that I saw that many shots.
36 seconds. That’s how much time came off the clock when I took a shot directly to the dangler. It did it’s job and stopped the shot and kept me from getting hurt. But it made the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. It split into two pieces, directly down the middle. The referee immediately stopped play, and made sure I was OK. I was, but I couldn’t play any longer - I couldn’t play with a broken dangler, wouldn’t play without one at all, and didn’t have a spare. So I went to the bench, and Steve’s respite was short-lived.
The broken dangler mentioned above, taken the next morning.
So that ended my time at that game, and at that tournament - we lost (as was expected), and were done. So off I went for some Mighty Taco and a Hayburner (when in Buffalo, right? Plus we had eaten Bar-Bill the night before, and I wanted something different), before heading home.
While my competitive itch was scratched, it was only temporary. Playing in a tournament, on an actual team for the first time, kind of lit the fire that still burns now - it made me want to play more, and play legitimate lacrosse. Pickup lacrosse, the Krewhawks, the Webster box - while it was all enjoyable, it wasn’t enough. I wanted more, I wanted competition, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do more, and I wanted to give my daughter something she could be proud of me for. And it would all come, but not for another year. Until then, I’d keep going locally, getting in as much lacrosse as I could, always trying to improve.
Thanks for reading, and follow along on my lacrosse journey on Instagram at @smokeylax. And be good to each other!