Lacrosse training

Mike Sciacca

Andrew Mahlmeister gave up a sport he was accustomed to, in order to

try something new.

Scott Harris has been involved in athletics much of his life, so

venturing into a new sport seemed only natural.

The two are certain they made the right choice.

They are among five seniors from Huntington Beach High who wanted

to establish a lacrosse club team in a city known primarily for

surfing and beach volleyball.

Not only did the five help set up the new team -- the ball got

rolling, so to speak, in December -- they will be known, Coach Ralph

Ornelas said, as the “founding fathers of this sport in Huntington

Beach.”

“I believe this motto has given them the desire to have this

program succeed,” said Ornelas, who is a lieutenant in the Los

Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

Mahlmeister, Harris, Chris Davidson, Morgan Fullmer and Troy Fleck

-- all seniors -- approached Ornelas, asking him if he would be

interested in coaching a lacrosse team.

“We started with nothing, and now, we have complete uniforms and

best of all, the spirit to make this program a success,” said

Ornelas, adding that Davidson instigated the organization of the

boys’ team and then asked him to coach the team.

There are two lacrosse club teams in Huntington Beach, one

consisting of 22 boys, the other of 13 girls -- all of high school

age -- and both teams are known as the Oilers.

Of the 22 players on the boys’ roster, 21 attend Huntington Beach

High and the other attends Servite.

One player is Hannes Rieger, an exchange student from Germany.

Serving as assistant coaches are Pat Clynes and David Sheek.

Clynes played lacrosse in high school, and later at Notre Dame.

Sheekplayed at Chapman University and currently plays for the Orange

County Lacrosse Club.

Ornelas played high school lacrosse, which was then called the

“fastest game on two feet,” he said.

All three coaches donate their time to the team, which is not

associated with the high school.

Patty Williams holds the title of team mom and record keeper.

In lacrosse, there are 10 players on each team: a goalie, three on

attack, three midfielders and three defensemen.

The game requires coordination and agility, quickness and speed,

and is action-packed. Precision passes and dodges are routine.

Lacrosse is played with a stick, the crosse, which must be

mastered by the player in order to throw, catch and scoop the ball.

The sport has spanned centuries and is considered the oldest

continually played sport in North America.

Lacrosse has been predominantly played on the East Coast but,

Ornelas noted, it is becoming “extremely popular” in the San Diego

and Los Angeles county areas.

The Orange County Lacrosse League, he said, continues to grow.

“I believe the young men and women from Huntington Beach can

develop into outstanding lacrosse players,” Ornelas said. “Pat, David

and I would like to see, 10 years from now, that Huntington Beach has

the best players in Southern California.”

Mahlmeister, 18, a first-team member of the All-Sunset League

football team last fall, has done the shot put and discus during the

past three track and field seasons.

He said he tired of track and field and wanted to give lacrosse a

try.

“I had heard of it and had seen it played on TV, and I thought

it’d be fun to play,” said Mahlmeister, who is a defenseman. “I

basically gave up track to give lacrosse a try, and I’m very happy I

did.

“Now, with a few games under our belts, I have a real feeling for

just how much potential this sport has here in Huntington. I think

I’d like to possibly coach in the sport, someday.”

Harris, the Associated Student Body president at Huntington Beach

High, previously played soccer and volleyball at the school.

He is a midfielder on the boys’ lacrosse team.

“I’ve always enjoyed studying new sports and really wanted to give

lacrosse a try,” Harris said. “I’ve discovered that lacrosse really

is a combination of every other sport I’ve played.”

Both players acknowledged that lacrosse is a sport that requires

plenty of sprinting and technique.

“I’d really like to see this sport take off in Huntington,”

Mahlmeister said. “But it takes dedication, and it begins by getting

the younger kids to come out for the team. Then, they will be able to

find out just how fun this game is. That’s how a program gets

established.”

The Oilers have played two games thus far in their 12-game season,

which runs through May.

“We may be 0-2, but we’re having a great time out there,”

Mahlmeister said. “We’re learning to play the game as we go along.”

Ornelas said that while the Huntington Beach lacrosse club teams

continue to learn about the sport, he and the coaching staff are

working to instill traits in their players that are important in any

sport.

“As coaches, we want to give these kids the values of good

sportsmanship and leadership,” he said. “I hold myself and coaching

staff to be role models for these youngsters.

“I was proud to accept this challenge to coach. I love the sport

of lacrosse and believe that the Huntington Beach community will

embrace the sport.”