Ever wonder what it is like to try-out for a professional lacrosse team?

I suited up for a try-out with the Chicago Machine this past weekend and College Beat 48 ½ has a breakdown of what it was like.

The answer—to what trying out is like—is pretty simple. For me, and probably for most of the guys there, it was like going up a level. The players were faster and stronger, and they had clearly been preparing for the try-out.

The action was, overall, more intense than in most games. Ground balls, for example, were scooped up just a second quicker than I am used to in the club league I currently play in. There was little time to catch my breath on offense and do what I normallly do—eye up the defense and think about dodging or calling a play. When I did have the ball, a defender was right on me throwing checks.

The bottom line, however, is that a pro lacrosse try-out is just that: a try-out. It was, in terms of its structure and function, about like any other. And anyone who has had a try-out for a high school or college team, knows how they go.

In Chicago, the head coach—Lelan Rogers—came out with a few instructions prior to getting started. The players all huddled around, and Lelan told us he was not looking for ‘goons.’ He went on that we should play hard but keep unnecessary hits to a minimum. He gave some other basic instructions, like to use a 2-3-1 set offense. He also told us that there were 100 guys there trying out, that we would be broken up into 5 teams, and that only 5 guys would make it.

Nothing incredible happened. Nothing dramatic. No fights. No trash talk. Tryouts were pretty much the norm—drills and scrimmages for three hours on Saturday and more on Sunday.

There were very good players there—guys from Ohio State, Rutgers, Maryland, Denver, Cortland, and Salisbury to name a few. There were players from club teams from all over the place. There were guys that played lacrosse like they were box oriented Canadians. There were muscular guys that looked like they were on steroids. There were guys with day-glow pockets in their sticks. There were also a few guys who, based on their skills, probably did not belong there. But overall, the 100 hopefulls had above average (but not incredible) skills.

Because teams were just thrown together, scrimmages were not like a regular college game. One way to sum them up might be to say that they were like the best summer leagues out there. Except for a base offense, there were no plays or team strategy. It was end to end action of the semi-chaotic sort with few penalties and no time-outs.

Players pretty much played like they should...it was straight up lacrosse. No one was a ball hog because that could be seen as a negative. There were some nice dodges and goals, but there were also bad moves where the offensive player lost the ball. There were good checks and bad checks. Not too many players missed passes, but there were a few. Not too many players missed ground balls, but there were a few.

My personal experiences were probably on par with what many players had at the workouts.

I am a midfielder and was on the wing on the opening face off of the first scrimmage. My team lost the draw, so I ended up on defense on the first play. I got beat and the middie that beat me (in a Salisbury helmet) scored with a high hard shot.

There was no way I was going to sub out after getting beat for the first goal, so I stayed in. My team won the next face off, and I got the ball in the middle on offense. I made a quick move and got a good low shot off. It was probably going in, but it hit the crease attackman in the ankle and went wide.

Another shot I had later in the day hit a defender’s stick and went in for a goal. But for every play like that, there was a negative where I lost the ball out of bounds or missed a check. I would say I was about equally lucky and unlucky on the day. I was also winded at times, due to the fact that I am 36 and not 25.

I made sure not to tell any of the players at the tryout that I was there as a reporter. There was some downtime when I spoke with other guys, and I just left it out of the conversations. I think I fooled the guys into thinking that I was really there trying to make the team. Thankfully, no one asked: ‘why are you here?’ as if I did not belong. I also think there is a decent chance no one thought it. My best moment was probably when the team photographer told me he after the first day that would not have known that I was there as a reporter if I did not tell him. Then he asked if I played lacrosse in college. I answered: 'Of course.' I did not just go to a pro tryout without experience and at least the idea that I could play fairly well.

The biggest thing I can stress to anyone who is contemplating a tryout for the MLL is just how extremely difficult it is to stand out. Some guys looked really good, but doing so was not easy.

Part of what makes it hard to stand out is that with 100 guys for 5 spots at training camp, the odds are slim to begin with. Of the 100, something like 85 to 90 of them are very good players. And all 100 of them are trying to look good. All of them are hustling and all of them know how to pass, to catch and to scoop ground balls. Looking like you are the best out of those 100 is difficult because while it is easy enough to run and get to the right places, to dodge, to play good defense, to pick up the balls, and shoot when you should, it is another thing altogether to do that all so well that you look like one of the top 5 guys.

Another way to look at it is that with 100 hopefulls broken up into 5 teams of 20, you would have to be the #1 guy on your team to make it. With 5 teams and 5 guys making the cut, that is only 1 guy per team. If one team has 2 top guys, another team would have to have zero for the numbers to work.

In addition to that, it is hard to know exactly what the Machine are looking for. They took several midfielders in the recent draft, but there is no way to tell if they want more middies, or if they are now thinking attackmen, defensemen and/or goalies.

The Machine were the worst team in the MLL last year, so in theory, they should need help everywhere. But even the most needy team in the MLL has very high standards. It is tough to know how to be the guy they want and even tougher to do it.

Whoever gets those 5 spots (a source close to the team told me on Monday that they may actually take 6) has my respect and well wishes. They are going to get to go to training camp with the veterans and draft picks—yet another level up.

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UPDATE

On Wednesday, April 25th, the Chicago Machine cut 94 players and kept the following 6 guys:

* Adam Hughes, Attackman, Cortland

* Adam Miller, Attackman, Denver

* Andrew Bender, Midfielder, Ohio State

* Matt Garibaldi, Midfielder, Auburn

* Matt Kerweck, Midfielder, Notre Dame

* Chris Bluse, Goalie, Colorado