YORKTON - If you are a lacrosse fan, and with the Saskatchewan Rush now entrenched in Saskatoon you should be, you will be aware that 6v6 is the latest incarnation of the sport.
The sport was highlighted at the 11th edition of The World Games which took place in July 2022 in Birmingham, Al.
More recently the 6v6 version of lacrosse took centre stage through the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) as the league hosted its ‘Championship Series’ in February.
The Championship Series saw the top four teams from the preceding PLL regular season standings qualifying for the tournament.
As noted on the PLL website the series was highlighted by the PLL’s mission of trailblazing the future of professional sports, including its broader push for inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games in LA, the Championship Series was played in sixes-format.
The final was a classic and showed exactly how dramatic 6v6 can be with Chrome narrowly defeating Atlas 24-23 in the Championship Series finale at The St. James in Springfield, Va..
Canadian Drake Porter was one of the goaltender’s for Atlas in the series.
“I grew up playing box lacrosse. I didn’t really know field existed,” he admitted in a recent interview with Yorkton This Week.
Until he was on the verge of being a teenager the Aurora, Ont.-born Porter played the indoor game, and then was drawn outside, but to play a different sport.
“I quit (lacrosse), to play baseball for a few years,” he said.
But, when he entered middle school he found they had a field team, and jumped in.
It turned out he was pretty good, to the point he earned a scholarship from Syracuse, one of the most famous lacrosse programs south of the border.
“It was my dream to play for Syracuse. They were the first team I ever saw playing field lacrosse on TV,” said Porter. “. . . When I got the opportunity it was a no-brainer to say yes.”
It was in Porter’s third year at Syracuse that the PLL was born.
“It was exciting. I was really excited to potentially have a place to play (post college),” he said.
Porter has attended PLL camps but hadn’t cracked a line-up for a start, at least until the Championship Series.
In some respects Porter was a natural having played sixes before.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play before. I love it,” he said.
Porter said while there were those who questioned the development of 6v6 once played it earns respect on its own merits.
“It’s a lot different,” he said, adding both offences and defences are still trying to figure out what works best. “. . . It’s really cool everybody’s trying to figure it out as they go.”
Of course the PLL likes to switch things up, adding a two-point arc in the series.
“The arc is really huge. It became a huge part of the game,” said Porter, adding it boosted scoring in a version of lacrosse already noted for inspiring high octane offences.
As a netminder Porter said you have to be ready to be busy – very busy.
In an entire 60-minute field game a goaltender might face 25-30 shots.
“In sixes (12-minutes) that’s the expectation. There are a ton of shots,” said Porter.
And with a field smaller than field, the offence gets in closer too.
“They’re closer . . . There’s more shots . . . You’re a little more under siege,” said Porter. “You’re seeing a ton of rubber.”
That all said Porter expects 6V6 will remain a niche form of lacrosse.
“I don’t think it will ever take over lacrosse,” he said, likening it to Rugby 7s.
And like Rugby 7s is now an Olympic sport, that was the hope of creating 6v6 as a form of lacrosse that would draw Olympic interest.
Porter will now hope his 6v6 time will earn him a roster spot with Atlas.
“It was an opportunity to show what I can do. It was an opportunity to see what the PLL was like game day,” he said.
The regular 2023 PLL season opens up in June in Albany.
