Mark Todd Q&A with CdM Newspaper

Why did you start a lacrosse team at CdM?
I did not start lacrosse at CdM. I am hardly even responsible for it getting approved as a CIF sport. The team was founded by Michael Gratzinger (class of 06’) when he was just in the 8th grade. He had played it in a youth league in Irvine and knew of some other students at CdM that also played there or that had expressed interest in the sport. Mike had set a goal of making lacrosse a CIF sanctioned sport by the time he graduated, so he set out and recruited kids from other sports in non-competing seasons and the zeitgeist movement had begun. In fact, because he and his parents were so instrumental in this sports growth on campus, and the school district for that matter, that we named our most prestigious award a crystal bowl trophy the Gratzinger Cup which sets in the trophy case in the gymnasium. The Abbott family, as do many others, now carries this progress forward. With or without my coaching, the team would have occurred because it is truly the commitment the CdM student athletes to this sport and the tremendous involvement of their parents that make this team go. We are very fortunate.

What are your expectations for this year's team?
We have perhaps the toughest strength of schedule in the Southern Section of CIF. We were moved from our normal conference (CIF determines them by region and similar sized student populations) and put into a conference that benefits from a larger draft of students and that coincidentally has a longer history with the sport. As for my expectations, I think that we’ll have a very young team that will be very competitive this year and even more so in the years to come. Our student athletes definitely work hard at practice and in 6th period and it is beginning to show. It is my hope that this schedule will benefit our students with greater exposure to college recruiters across the nation. I look forward to seeing the complete dynamics of our squad once many of our players come over from their winter sports. Additionally, I’m surrounded by the most talented assistant coaches I have ever had any of whom could easily be a head coach at any other program, high school or collegiate, in the country.

Do you think that lacrosse has the potential to become a more mainstream sport?
Lacrosse is the oldest sport in the country and on the continent for that matter. It is extremely popular back East and in Canada (it’s their National Sport) and it is unequivocally the fastest growing sport in the country, as a recent Sports Illustrated article attested. I think you will see lacrosse become a mainstream sport. The NFL, NBA, and NHL were once all fledgling leagues that grew and continue to grow from constant refinement from their commissioners, owners, and fan demands. I think the professional lacrosse league (MLL) is already beginning to grow from these previous models. For instance just last summer we saw Los Angeles and San Francisco both opened professional lacrosse franchises in their cities.

What are the challenges of setting up a completely new sport at CdM?
Infrastructure is the greatest challenge. First there are field space and usage issues, as well as finance and fund raising demands from the school district on down to the individual player. Lacrosse, much like football and hockey can be somewhat cost prohibitive because of all the gear each player must buy and the equipment a team needs. Next there are the human elements such as fear of the unknown, prejudice, and competition, which we haven’t really come up against here at CdM but I’ve been told that other schools have had to battle them in addition to the infrastructure items I mentioned. Finally, it’s the political transfer of power from being an ASB club team to that of a CIF sanctioned Varsity sport, which requires a lot more paperwork from the coaching staff and students, and an incredible amount of logistical coordination between the conferences and Athletic Directors. Ironically, many of the schools typically in CdM’s conference are from the Irvine area which has had lacrosse played in its schools as long as 15 years ago, but because of inconsistent leadership, organization, and field space had decided not to join in with many of the other school districts that have become CIF varsity sanctioned sports. Fortunately, the story here is very different. Our Principal, Athletic Director, Athletic Secretary, and Parental Boosters involvement have been extraordinary. With out their leadership and diligence this would never have occurred.