It was at this time last year, Lacrosse was just getting underway with Des Moines’ first ever organized league. After gaining momentum and closing out the 2010 Summer Season, it’s found it’s way back onto the fields of West Des Moines with more players coming in from all over Central Iowa.
The current league, known as the Central Iowa Lacrosse Association (CILA), has maintained 
4 teams, currently consisting of 64 players total. Founder Adam Edgington didn’t have to search as hard for guys this year, since all of last years players stayed on board with more guys ready to jump in when more teams open up. That’s a good problem to have! While compiling the league together, Adam has already been contacted by 120+ interested players.
While CILA is fairly new, having organized teams is not. There’s plenty of guys from Valley High School who’ve already gained plenty of experience. Organized College LAX has also been active with Iowa State and Drake. Now, guys like myself and my friend Pat who played years ago back east can pick up our sticks and jump on the field every Wednesday.
One of the aspects to jumping out to my games every week is that half the people I know don’t know Lacrosse! That’s soon to change though, since LAX is now one of the fastest growing sports in the country and expands out from its hotbeds in the Northeast and Eastern Coast. To grow the game here in Iowa, many of the coaches and players have been volunteering to run the first ever Youth Boys’ Lacrosse Program, which is already full.
My personal mission is not just to keep playing, but to ensure future Championships as the league keeps growing. Our team Gargoyles took first place last year and has remained in tact heading into this season. As Week 3 approaches, I see no reason why not to do it again.
Team Gargoyles: 2010 Champs
More opportunities: check out CILA on Facebook. Active players not on a team? Stay tuned to CILA for potential Saturday pick-up games in the coming weeks.
Game times: 5:45-8pm, Wednesdays through June & July
Field Location: Southwoods High School, West Des Moines
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Thanks for the post, Shawn!
I encourage anybody and everybody to come out and catch a few games. It’s 100% free to watch; you just need to bring a chair (but no alcohol or tobacco on school grounds) to witness the fastest game on two feet.
We’re constantly developing opportunities for new and experienced players. Although our summer slate is pretty much full this year, we’re always interested in working to bring the game to more people. If enough people express interest in a clinic, we do our best to make it happen. Luckily we have a great group of guys that want to volunteer their free time to teach the game.
Contact me at: CenIowaLaxAssoc@gmail.com
or via the Facebook link Shawn provided. Even if we don’t have something right away, you’ll be notified when new opportunities arise.
Not to quip, but I do have a couple of factual corrections:
1. Central Iowa Lacrosse Association (CILA) is our organization’s name. The current league is the Summer Lacrosse League (SLL).
2. Our first organized league was the 2009-10 Box Lacrosse League. Box Lacrosse is an indoor version of the game using only short sticks. It is a hybrid of lacrosse and hockey played on covered hockey rinks. We had four teams in the first season and five this past year, including full teams from Drake and Iowa State.
Side note 1: Jaacki McKinney also runs a comprehensive girls/womens lacrosse program. The female game is very different than the male version, but still exciting (and with significantly more college potential). More information can be found here: http://centraliowalacrosse.sports.officelive.com/Women.aspx
Side note 2: This year’s youth program is a pilot program. We will make some adjustments in future versions. The overall response was overwhelming and the spaces were full nearly a week before the cut off, prompting us to add ten more slots. Hopefully we will have more space next time, depending on our number of volunteer instructors. We may also begin to look at expanding to younger ages as well.
I keep a database of interested youth players. If your son is interested, please contact me with your name and his name & upcoming school grade: CenIowaLaxAssoc@gmail.com
All great updates Adam. Best of luck to Coach Jaacki with the Women’s Lacrosse and congrats on your Youth Program!