Former CU club lacrosse player goes pro
While some may think that club teams are less competitive and a step below varsity squads, this is not always the case.
In most colleges, sports are dominated by both varsity and club teams. Unlike varsity sports, in which athletes are given scholarships to be on the team, the athletes in club sports pay to be on the team.
Former Colorado club lacrosse player Patrick Janson, who graduated in 2006, beat out lacrosse players from NCAA teams for a spot on the Colorado Mammoth roster.
Although he was released from the Colorado Mammoth’s roster in March, Janson’s jump from a club sports venue to a professional sports team still remains a feat that few are able to accomplish.
Janson said his success in the sport did not come easily.
“The hardest thing was coming out of college and knowing that there was a lot more work to get done,” Janson said.
After playing lacrosse for CU in college, he joined a minor league lacrosse team, the Coquitlam Adanacs, in Canada. It was during this time that he was able to work on developing the skills needed to be competitive at the level of major league lacrosse.
After a brief period of time with the Adanacs, Janson tried out for the Colorado Mammoth. Janson said his club lacrosse past was not a problem.
“(Coaches) don’t care where you came from, but that you can play at that level and put the ball at the back of the net,” Janson said.
While many varsity players are able to compete on professional sports teams out of college, it is very rarely the same for club players. Janson said the best way to train to play at the major league level is to recognize personal weaknesses and work hard to overcome them.
“You have to be around the good players all the time and realize your weaknesses and what you have to work on . decide what separates you from the better players and then work on those things,” Janson said.
While he is no longer on the roster for the Colorado Mammoth, Janson still remains heavily involved with lacrosse in Colorado. Currently, he is coaching for ICON, a league for boys in fifth to eighth grade in the Boulder Valley. He is also the head assistant for the men’s lacrosse team at CU. Janson said he still remains dedicated to playing the sport and will soon head back up to Canada to continue his time in minor league lacrosse.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Rachael Fischer at
rachael.fischer@colorado.edu.
