by Kae Dennert
Cal Poly Humboldt’s Lacrosse team is celebrating its 40th year as an official club on campus. The team has grown in size to be the largest they have ever been, with nearly 30 members. They practice three days a week, yet still ensure that their athletes can prioritize school and keep the sport fun.
Head Coach Danny Eggert has been a part of the team for the past three years and is excited about the growth of the team. He’s looking forward to the improvement of the team and wants to see the players do the best they can.
“[The] goal [is] to win,” Eggart said. “To do better than before.”
Eggart is proud of the team’s club status and has no plans to push for the team to be a part of the NCAA sports. For now, their club is to hang out and have fun, and not be a job for his athletes.
Sophomore geology major and athlete Luca Ricci has been on the team since he came to Cal Poly Humboldt. Going into his second year, he is excited for the prospects of the upcoming season.
“I’m on the lacrosse team because I love the teamwork,” Ricci said. “We have a brotherhood on and off the field.”
Assistant Coach Gus Johnson himself used to be on the team from 2008-2011 and has been coaching since 2020. Though they are still early into their pre-season, he is excited for the competition coming into their upcoming season.
“It’s early, it’s the off-season,” Johnson said, “but playoffs are definitely the target this year.”
The team only had four athletes graduate out last year, and have eight to ten coming in. Their main goal for this season is to make it to the playoffs, try their best, while still having fun and making sure they aren’t overloading their students.
“We try to respect that they’re students first, it’s college and we want them to have fun,” Johnson said. “It means a lot. These guys have been here forever and to be consistent and still fill the team, it really speaks to how much these students care about it and want to play.”
With 40 years as a club, the team has made a name for themselves, continuing to grow and enjoy the space they have on campus. Anyone is welcome to join the club and can apply online under the recreational sports section of the Humboldt website.
“Hopefully, we come out as a winning team to represent 40 years of hard work.” Eggart said. “We have possibly 30 right now on the roster, so having numbers on there is amazing.”
