The Portage Collegiate lacrosse team hopes this weekend's weather won't affect their season too drastically. The squad is two weeks away from their season opener, and head coach Al Patterson says the team is further along than he anticipated.

"In the first few training sessions, we've been extremely pleased with the skill level that some of the kids have been showing," Patterson explains. "We were a little bit worried about the passing and catching, which is a huge part of lacrosse but we've been really surprised. We're happy to see how things are starting off compared to previous years."

Patterson says they have a solid number of returning players from last season but it's not quite as many as you'd think, considering how much skill they have.

"We've got a core group of about five or six players returning. Everybody else is reasonably new. I know some of the kids that have come out had a stick in their hands a little bit. Whether they got it from doing stuff in phys-ed class or were part of a development program, it's always nice to have some experience when it comes to competing at a high school level."

The head coach talks about how their season will be structured.

"It's a pretty short season. We have an eight-game schedule but a majority of the games will be played on weekends," Patterson continues. "We currently have 14 teams in the league, and that's tiered into two divisions. We're playing in division two this year based on our level of inexperience with our first-year players."

Patterson hopes mother nature will help them get their season started on time.

"Our first game is scheduled for May 6. So, I'm hopeful that the double-digit (weather highs) that are supposed to be coming over the next couple of weeks will quickly dry this stuff up and allow our field to dry up so we can practice our outdoor skills," says Patterson. "It's a pretty tight space inside the gym, and you can't run full practices. This shouldn't be too much of a damper but we're looking forward to getting started."

He adds PCI will have a few home games on May 28 and hope to see a few fans on the sidelines.

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