I have to admit, by the time I turned 32 I had just about had it with club lacrosse. The American Lacrosse League was overcrowded with talented players. My last few years with the Canton Lacrosse Club brought little production on the field. In between getting beat on and run down by 25 year old "dudes," I was either pounding beers or trying to bribe one of the younger attackmen for some playing time. It seemed liked every year brought a tidal wave of young punks out of grad school to eat into my already limited action. So, I did what all 32 year old lacrosse players in Maryland do - drank a lot of beer and waited to turn 35 so I could play in the Maryland Masters Lacrosse League!
Think this guy will go easy on you?
Founded in 1998, The Maryland Masters Lacrosse League (MMLL) is a highly competitive adult mens lacrosse league for players ages 35 and over.Currently comprised of 26 teams, the MMLL has over 600 participants competing in its Masters (over-35) and Grand Masters (over-45) divisions. Additionally, the MMLL is proud to boast that, among its members, are three world masters championship teams: The Geezers (Manchester England 1994), Lax World (Baltimore 1998), and Team Toyota (Perth Australia 2002).
Needless to say I was certain that by entering the Masters League I would transform my game from Paul Newman into Paul Rabil just like that. I'd be unstoppable, right? I was gonna get the ball and slice through those old farts like a hot knife through butter. I was gonna Jim Brown over all of them! I still had decent legs for on older guy and my gut was under control thanks to the geniuses at Under Armour.
Needless to say my vision of becoming MMLL rookie of the year was quickly dashed when I realized that roughly 150 of my piers had the very same idea. Before I could showcase my dominance, the league had tripled in size and became highly competitive.
The talent level in the league is so robust that I require tub time after each game to bind and mend my wounds. Do you know how hard it is to get in and out of a tub at 40? I'm amazed how many big name laxers I play against every Friday night and every year more and more top guns from my generation seem to be playing. The competitiveness is there as well. This isn't a "no contact" league and everyone seems to have their pride with them each week along with a lack of total respect for the officials. Its seems like every game is a must win and every loss will set off a string of 45 emails assessing what went wrong and where we can improve. This is great for the sport of lacrosse, the Maryland lax scene, and for a generation of players that are quickly approaching their first Social Security check. I joke of course, there won't be any Social Security in 30 years! Start savin' your money boys.
This video sums it all up for most of us.
So now I'm 42, and what am I doing these days? I'm doing what all 42 year old lacrosse players do, drink a lot of Ensure and wait to turn 45 so I can play in the Maryland Grand Masters Lacrosse League!
