Ten years ago I was preparing to be a Freshman student and lacrosse midfielder at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. While it was an unbelievable and life changing experience. There are several schools that I would have gone to if given the opportunity to start college over again. This is a weekly series featuring some of the schools I would have liked to have attended.
#7 Whittier College
Everyone in the lacrosse world knows that Whittier was the first NCAA lacrosse team in California. Its located outside of Los Angeles. Not only close to LA, but also Malibu, Santa Monica, and Hollywood. Whittier was founded by Quakers in 1887, and has several famous alumni. President Richard Nixon is one, and there are also a handful of celebrities with ties to Whittier. I would go to Whittier just based on its location to the beach…only about a half an hour away.
Whittier is the only college on my list that I was recruited to go to. I chose Goucher because I liked Baltimore more than Los Angeles. However, I went to the 2007 Goucher vs. Whittier game at the campus of Whittier College and was definitely impressed at the campus. They have a very nice football stadium and track facility. I would have played football and lax at Whittier, so that probably would have sold me if I actually visited the campus back in 1998. The campus is pretty nice. Everything looks like is from the 1950s, but its very clean and in good shape.
http://www.wcpoets.com/sports/mlax/2007-08/schedule
The lacrosse team plays on an auxiliary field next to the football stadium, which is decent. Their coach is Nate Watkins, current middie for the Denver Outlaws. While they did not have the best season in 2008 by going 4-7. They have been to the NCAA tournament a few times and almost went to the Championship game in 2004. Definitely a program that could improve in a heartbeat and be back in contention for a national championship. Whitter plays mostly NCAA teams, but they still fill their schedule with nearby MCLA teams too. Whittier has a lot of players from California, Colorado, Arizona, and Canada. But they have had players from all over the US on the team.
Who wouldn’t want to go to Southern California to play lax?
