Ryken grads give pro lacrosse league a go

Friday, April 6, 2007

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted Photo When Jim England joined the Ryken lacrosse team as a freshman, he stood 4 foot 9 and weighed 90 pounds. Now, at 29, he’s 5-9, 165. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

But another tryout hopeful, goalie Mark Bloomquist, had an indoor lacrosse stick he wasn’t going to need in the trunk of his car and lent it to England so he could finish the try out. One of 60 at the tryout, England now thanks Bloomquist every time he sees him as both he and Bloomquist made the cut at the tryout and have earned invitations to training camp, which starts April 21.

‘‘He definitely saved my butt,” England said.

Even though the temperature was around 25 degrees during the tryout, England said everyone wore shorts because they wanted to show the Bayhawks how tough they are. The Bayhawks, who had played their games in Baltimore since the team joined MLL in 2001, recently moved to Washington, D.C., for this season in hopes of being more accessible to their fan base in the D.C. area.

England is one of two Ryken alumni who hope to compete in MLL this season. Ryken coach John Sothoron’s son Reed enters his third season in the league. Reed, who was claimed by the Denver Outlaws in the 2007 Supplemental Draft on Dec. 5, 2006 will be playing for his third team, having previously spent time with the Rochester Rattlers in 2005 and the San Francisco Dragons in 2006.

‘‘I’m still waiting for my shot, though, to get some time,” Reed Sothoron said. ‘‘I’m still waiting for that opportunity.”

His first year out of Towson, Sothoron tried out for the Rattlers but did not make the team. However, when the backup goalie was unable to make a game, Sothoron stepped in and was on the roster for one game. After making the Dragons last year, Sothoron dressed for eight of the team’s 13 games, but did not play.

‘‘It’s awesome to be able to play after college,” Sothoron said. ‘‘Growing up [and playing lacrosse] you thought after college it’s over with.”

John Sothoron said he is excited his son still has a chance to play competitively.

‘‘Reed has always had this competitive nature at any game,” John Sothoron said. ‘‘He always went as hard as he could go at any time. Some kids you have to push to that level but never with Reed. He was a true competitor.”

While Sothoron never had to worry about getting rusty, England on the other hand graduated from Ryken in 1995 and played his final game for St. Mary’s College in 2000. Since then, he has played on a number of club teams during the spring and summer, but this opportunity to try to make the Bayhawks roster is the closest he’s come to playing in a professional lacrosse league.

‘‘It’s exciting,” England said of his latest playing opportunity. ‘‘It’s good to see the sport grow. Any time you can see the sport grow, it’s better for anyone that plays it.”

John Sothoron has known England for a long time, saying he first met him after England began grade school.

‘‘I first knew him in first or second grade when I coached him in rec and park soccer,” John Sothoron said. ‘‘He was probably the smallest kid on the team but definitely the fastest.”

When England went to Ryken his freshman year as a 4-foot-9, 90-pound soccer player, Sothoron convinced him to get involved with lacrosse as well, and noticed something about England he remembered from the first time coaching him.

‘‘He played soccer and that was his sport,” Sothoron said. ‘‘He did not play baseball [or any other sport in the spring] so I said, ‘Jim, why don’t you play lacrosse in the spring?’ We just looked for good athletes and Jim was a very good athlete. Again, he was one of the smallest kids but nobody could touch him.

‘‘Jim England was a hard worker and he was always in shape. He could always outrun anybody. It was unbelievable.”

England, who’s now listed at 5-9 and 165 pounds, said the decision to get involved with lacrosse was easy considering it was Sothoron who asked him to get involved.

‘‘I was always the littlest kids in class every year,” England said. ‘‘[Sothoron] thought lacrosse would be a good sport for me because you don’t have to be [big] to play it.

‘‘I was not good at all [when I started]. I could barely throw and catch. It’s kind of an intimidating sport when you first start playing it. [But Sothoron] never really let me believe [how small I was]. He never really let me get that in my head. He is really good at pushing people to get the best out of them. He always stood up for me. When he believes in you, you feel that you should believe in yourself.”

England could use some more inspiration later this month as he attempts to make the Bayhawks as a 29-year-old rookie. Friends have told him to draw inspiration from a recent movie based on the true events of another athlete trying to make it in the pros.

‘‘Everyone tells me I should watch the ‘‘Invincible” movie with Mark Wahlberg. There’s probably some parallels [between the movie and me],” England said.

One person rooting for him is a potential future opponent: Reed Sothoron.

‘‘He’s really excited because he called me up after he made it,” Sothoron said. ‘‘He’s one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever met. It shows a lot of character on his part. I think it’s awesome what he’s trying to do.”

If both England and Sothoron make their respective squads, the two would not face off until the championship game of the playoffs. The Bayhawks are in the Eastern Conference and the Outlaws are in the Western Conference. Teams do not play outside of their conferences until the playoffs to limit traveling since most of the players have regular full-time jobs, practice only once a week and play games on Saturdays.

‘‘When you’re working during the week and you’ve got a game on the weekend, you’ve got something to look forward to,” Sothoron said.

And while both players are excited for the new season to start in May, they realize they have a lot of work to do to establish themselves on their teams.

‘‘My expectations are to make the team, obviously,” Sothoron said. ‘‘I think I should be the second-string goalie and [I want to] prove to the coaches day in and day out that I’m a really good backup. Being a part of this team is an honor and playing with these guys is an awesome feeling. [But] I really don’t consider myself making it yet because I haven’t proven myself yet. I just really hope one day I can tell [others] I worked my butt off to start. I have a lot to prove to myself and to the league. I think I have the potential to play in this league.”

As for England, he hopes that the end of training camp isn’t the end of his career.

‘‘My goal right now is to make it past that,” England said. ‘‘I definitely think I can do it.”

All of the Bayhawks games will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.

E-mail Jim Higgins at jahiggins@somdnews.com.