Our friends at Lacrosse All Stars alerted us to the recent New York premiere of this award-winning documentary on the inner-city Denver lacrosse program.  We always love a good sports documentary, so we were excited to find out ESPN was airing the movie this past weekend to coincide with the NCAA Lacrosse Championship.

                                

Synopsis (from the film's website):

One is a poet. Another a musician. Several have fathers who have been killed. One has a mother in jail. And one just got into Colorado’s most prestigious and expensive private school. They are all from Denver’s inner-city. They are all 12-years-old. And they have all found a hint of salvation from their violent neighborhood in a most unlikely sport called lacrosse. From the moment the kids discover what a lacrosse stick is, to the heart stopping finale at the State Championships, “City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story” takes us on an unforgettable journey. With the wealthy, white sport of lacrosse as the backdrop, we watch as these kids confront the vicious inequalities that plague urban youth today. Yet their undeniable spirit carries them, and their story, to places unexpected and unbelievable.

DSB Review:

City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story is the inspiring story on the origins of the City Lax program in Denver and the personalities of those involved.  Early on, we meet teacher Erik Myhren, director Rod Allison, Coach George Moore, and most importantly some of the team members.  One of those kids is Gaghe, a tempermental kid with a mother in prison, who uses lacrosse as an outlet for his aggression.  As Moore says about the young player, "if we can get him under control he could be an All-American, or if we don't he'll end up incarcerated or dead".  That's the kind of story to expect in this exploration of the opportunities that exist because of the lacrosse program in the inner city.  Sport can be used to teach character and focus in our youth, and that appears to be a major goal of the City Lax program and this film.

As far as their play on the field, we see the team struggle in their schedule meant as a tuneup prior to the state tournament.  However once the two-day, double-elimination tournament starts, the City Lax team starts to come together.  On the first day, they upset the overall #1 seed before they lose a tight game to find themselves in the losers' bracket headed into the second day.  In a rematch of a regular season contest, the City Laxers face off against Columbine.  Filmmakers Gabriela Cowperthwaite and Tor Myhren use this game as the denouement of the film as both teams play well forcing the game into sudden death overtime.  After three scoreless overtime periods, the match reverts to a special format called Braveheart where just a goalie and a midfielder represent both teams in the field.  I'll leave the outcome of the game unrevealed, but just know that the players and program would use this experience and return the next season to go undefeated and win the state championship.

                        

For my money, there are two stars that emerge in the movie.  The first is Myhren who, despite health problems, is the emotional and moral compass to these kids.  This is never more evident then when he is unexpectedly admitted to a hospital and during his absence Gaghe quits in the middle of a game and Jaden is suspended after his grades suffer.  The other individual who I couldn't wait to see more of was the budding laxer, Trevon.  Trevon is a kid who sees the opportunity that he has to make something better of himself and he is trying to seize the moment.  It's much more important for him to be accepted at a prestigious private school in Denver than it is to make the Colorado Select traveling team.

My only complaint about the documentary is that it tries to be many things to many people in less than one hour of screen time.  Themes of economic class and race are present when showing the kids' struggles to rise above their experiences and environment through the budding sport of lacrosse.  That's a lot to cover in less than sixty minutes.

The film is at its best when it exemplifies Myhren's words at the end of the movie, "It's not lacrosse; and it's not basketball; and it's not art; and it's not dance classes.  It's all those things.  It's giving every kid a time during the day to shine.  And if we're not giving 9 and 8 and 7 and 10 year olds an opportunity to show off once in a while with what they do best, then when are they going to believe in themselves?"

If interested, ESPN is airing the movie again on Thursday afternoon, so check your local listings and set the DVR.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…