“Who do you play for? For one!” This has recently become the unofficial motto Biola’s lacrosse club chants at their games, according to Captain Ryan Smith. “Playing for one”, as Smith put it, sums up their dedication to the sport, to each other, and most of all, to Christ.

“We’re trying to be a ministry on campus, not just a team…We want to be a light to the other teams we play, both on and off the field, just with our attitudes and in how hard we play,” said senior Ben Agadoni, who has been on the team for four years and is currently president.

Biola alums Sean Connally and Ryan Agadoni founded the club back in the fall of 2001, when Connally, who had played lacrosse at Loyola Marymount, transferred to Biola, according to Josh Agadoni, head coach and Biola alum. Connally wanted to keep up with the sport, so he made it happen.

“He’s a very determined individual. He got it rolling and got guys to be psyched about it enough to play…It just went from there,” said Ben.

The club has made strides since then, but one goal for down the road is to get team status, according to Smith, who is a senior at Biola and in his second season on the team. However, it’s not as easy as Biola giving them the O.K.

“The reality of it is that there are even more major roadblocks than funding; number one is not having anyone to play,” said Ken Crawford, assistant athletic director.

Biola is an NAIA school, said Crawford, and the NAIA does not have lacrosse teams. The school would have to petition to join the NCAA Division III league just for lacrosse, which could raise questions about other club sports, like men’s volleyball or rugby, Crawford added. If they got into the NCAA, most of the teams in Division III Men’s Lacrosse are on the east coast, so that would mean a lot of time, money and travel.

Team status or not, the players have heart.

“Despite being a club team and despite not getting any large amounts of money from the school or any outside donors, the guys on the lacrosse team pour in so much heart, so much energy, and so much of themselves into every practice and every game. It becomes more than just a sport, it becomes more than just a team; it’s a brotherhood,” said Smith.

It literally is. Citing his brother Ben as one of the reasons he’s stayed on as head coach, Josh Agadoni has kept the team going since Connally’s departure.

“I’ve tried to grow the team in some way each year to try and make it more and more legitimate and comparable to a true varsity sport, and to find ways to grow and challenge the guys to be more effective leaders and examples of Christ on and off the field,” said Agadoni.

One of the main challenges the club has faced is finding funding. The fact that they are a club team means they have to come up with creative ways to earn money, since it costs about $300 just to pay for all the pads and equipment for a new player, according to Ben.

They do get a pretty sizable chunk of AS’ limited club budget, said Ben; in past years, they’ve received about $2,000, and last year they got about $5,000 thanks to Becca Hull, former AS Spirit Board president. However, that isn’t quite enough to meet the needs of a team that has to pay for coaches, referees, jerseys, equipment, lining the field, trainers, trips, and all the little things that inevitably come up.

TV tapings, player dues, and a letter writing campaign are all fundraising tactics the team has tried in the past. The letter writing campaign is the most profitable, gaining the team $6,000 this year, and close to $10,000 in past years, according to Ben. Also, returning players are asked to contribute $150 in dues, in addition to buying their own equipment.

Despite the money and time commitment, the team gets a pretty good turnout when recruiting players, said Smith, who are generally drawn in by word of mouth or just by visiting games. There are currently 23 players on the team, all of whom attend mandatory practices five days a week, two hours a day, and participate in the 17 games scheduled for this season, not including championships and playoffs, according to Smith.

“Guys see our determination and realize it’s something they want to be a part of,” said Smith.

New recruits can expect a lot of practice time, a lot of expenses, and probably a couple injuries, but ultimately to join a close-knit team of Christian players who work hard, witness to teams in their league, and of course, play lacrosse.

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