In the beginning... a 14 year retrospective
The Fall 2019 Vikings will embark on Sunday, August 11th for the 12th season of DVC Lacrosse. The article, written by the club president below was one of the first written about the DVC lacrosse in 2008, and gives a great insight into the minds, hearts and resolve of the members of that first historic team.
Rain pounded against their multi-colored helmets with Viking decals, rolled off their pads, dripped onto their cleats, and finally soaked into the turf at Viking Field. Ten hunched over all glaring with squinted rigid eyes across the field at one target; a small white ball. Their focus heightened by the pre-game ceremony honoring the tragic death of one of their charter members, Michael Boatman-White. Their hearts pounded like war drums echoing in their heads, signaling the beginning of the battle. The sound reached a deafening crescendo, and as the referee set the ball on the ground the masked Viking warriors launched. The battle was on, but more importantly the “war" had already been won at the sound of the opening whistle. That was our, the Viking Lacrosse Club’s, first home game and our first win against Cal Maritime Academy. It was the first time any DVC athletic team had ever competed against a four year university. A symbol that our hard work had given us what we had desired: a true lacrosse team at DVC! For several months we bled green and sweat white in order to put this program together. We dreamed together, we fought together, we even cried together. When someone would tell us, “You can’t!” we would shout in their face, “We will!” This legendary determination of every individual involved in the beginning of this club including the loyal fans who spent the first game in a two-hour downpour, huddled under the press box, must be honored.
At this moment you may be wondering, “How did this all begin?” Well, here is the story. It officially started with a small group of students at a meeting. None of them had much in common. There was one who wore tall tees, and a flat brim baseball cap that matched his shoes, one brought his guitar with him and was dressed in a collared shirt and slacks, one looked like he could be an Abercrombie and Finch model, and one looked like he bought all his clothes from Zoomies. Each face was as surprised as the next as they looked at their prospective new teammates, all thinking, “Oh God! I’m gonna play with them?” At this meeting, broad concepts were discussed and first steps were identified. At the second meeting over pizza and soda at Round Table, each guy brought another couple of players, and suddenly Viking Lacrosse seemed viable. Next steps were discussed, players introduced themselves, and pizza was consumed as friendships began. Several more meetings took place, discussing everything from coaches, jerseys, and games to fundraising, club rules, and paperwork. Each meeting reported two steps forward, and one new barrier. Faces became grayer, grimmer, and moods grumpier. Meetings were buoyed as club paperwork was completed, dues were discussed and fundraising ideas surfaced, but invariably a piece of bad news such as, “We can’t get field time because of football, soccer, rugby, track, and youth events (YOUTH EVENTS?!? I THOUGHT THIS WAS COLLEGE!).” One of the eventual leaders of the club was enrolled in a summer weight lifting class and had spoken with an influential PE instructor who bluntly declared that starting a men’s lacrosse team would be impossible. Unlike most bad news this breaking news fired up the group. We became stronger and more determined, and responded to those who told us “It won’t happen,” with a resounding, “It will! Just watch us!” These proved indeed not to be just words.
The prospect for field time was scarce. Despite the setbacks, our club advisor, Terry Armstrong, continued to inquire about the possibilities. One such inquiry was to PE Department Chair, Ralph DePew who responded, “I’ve been wanting to start a lacrosse class here for years,” and after much effort and debate was able to convince his fellow faculty members to generously offer us our very own Lacrosse class in the Fall of 2008.
Due to delays in the installation of the new turf at Viking Stadium, the class was delayed one week, leaving only one class session/practice before our first game came up in Santa Cruz versus UC Santa Cruz. Of the twenty five players enrolled only fifteen were able to make it to the first game. So at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning we woke up, met at the DVC parking lot still yawning. We received our first jersey, a green practice penny that read, “VIKINGS” and matching green shorts with our club logo. When we arrived in Santa Cruz, our “warms ups” were a disorganized disaster…since we had none. We barely knew each others’ names! UC Santa Cruz’s forty man squad, on the other hand, crisply passed the ball to each other with ease and grace. Regardless of our inauspicious beginning on the field, by the end of the first quarter the Vikings were somehow up 2-1. By the third quarter, however, we were exhausted due to lack of conditioning and substitutions. We lost that game 11-6, but we left Santa Cruz with our heads high, knowing that we were “here to stay.” There were no hard feelings in the loss, as we were all “psyched” to simply have competed. That changed on the following day, however, when a DVC employee found an online article from a UC Santa Cruz school paper entitled, “Santa Cruz Crushes Diablo Valley College.” The article was forwarded to all team members. The Vikings vowed to improve and hoped to get another “shot” at the Banana Slugs. Revenge filled the hearts of each individual player and proved to fuel a “Viking Rage” that would have made the Berserkers of old proud!
In the spring, more players joined the squad until we totaled 28. One of our coaches landed five games for Viking Lacrosse. In the first four games we compiled a 3-1 record, losing only to WCLL Division I, San Jose State. On the way to the three wins, the Vikings defeated Maritime twice, and University of Pacific.
The final game of the year, the Vikings hosted UC Santa Cruz, Division II Champions, and eventual WCLL Tournament Champions. During pre-game the war drums pounded, and horns filled the air. The sound of metal shards being shaved off of swords and axes on the sharpening wheels echoed in Viking Stadium. The Vikings had arrived, and this final game would be war!
Clad in green, practice football jerseys, and green workout shorts, we, the Vikings, warmed up with a sense of purpose and pride. This was the last game, and it was against a team, whose university newspaper had “disrespected” our initial efforts to forge a team. The Vikings shot out of the gate with three quick goals, and we began to believe we could win. We led at halftime by four, but the champion Banana Slugs fought mightily and tied the game 10-10, with three minutes remaining. Undaunted, the Vikings won the next faceoff, and with a fierce determination, attackman Marshall Bowden, sprinted from behind the goal, running through and around opponents, and while being hit by three defenders simultaneously at the crease, scored the lead goal. The defense responded by playing “shut down” tough during the last two minutes to secure the victory.
They told us we wouldn’t get enough guys, so we got thirty bodies. They told us we wouldn’t get field time, we got field time. We got a whole class. They told us we couldn’t get games. Oh, we got games. Teams want to play us in Pleasant Hill at DVC. They told us we couldn’t compete. We beat the UC Santa Cruz, the WCLL Tournament Champions. They told us we’d fail. Look at us now. Are we failing? Tell me again. Please. Tell me again. Are we failing? -Mathias Ritter-Armstrong
Epilogue: The tenacity and vision that this initial Viking Lacrosse team possessed in 2008-09 set the stage for what has become one of the most remarkable athletic endeavors at DVC. In its first eleven years of existence the Vikings have amassed a 100-52 record, and a history of not shying away from playing some of the top university teams in California, Oregon, Idaho and Canada. This initial group of players saw the potential of DVC Viking Lacrosse developing into a strong, storied program, and their vision has become a reality.