The City College men’s lacrosse club has officially joined the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA), paving the way for new challenges and opportunities.

The MCLA is a national organization that governs college club lacrosse in the United States. It provides a competitive platform for schools that do not have National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) lacrosse programs. 

Dylan Kaito, the head coach for City College’s men’s lacrosse team, is a former player and took over coaching mid-season last year. 

A big problem for the team is working around each other’s schedules since most of them have other obligations outside of the team and school. 

“My goal with this team is to make it a low enough bar where these guys can handle school and work, but a high enough bar where it’s still competitive,” Kaito said. 

Kaito has ingrained the team with three core values. 

“The three values we focus on are accountability, respect, and integrity,” Kaito said. “If you want to achieve something, most of the time, it’s just you mentally and physically holding yourself back, and not putting in the effort of the time to reach those goals or having the discipline.”

Eiko Kitao, Coach Kaito’s mother, is also the coordinator for the team and shows immense support and enthusiasm for the team. 

“I don’t miss a single practice,” Kitao said. “I try to make it to all of their games.” 

She has been involved with the team since 2015 and has watched the team improve immensely to become a part of the MCLA. Since joining, they have a new role to play. 

“For the first time ever we’re not only building a strong team, but we’re competitive now,” Kaito said.

The team not only puts in the work on the field but off the field as well. They clean up trash to make community service hours, resulting in funding for the players. 

“We clean the stadiums after every Bishop Diego game, and we get money for that. We’re trying to build community service so we can reduce their fees and stuff. It’s really cool.” Eiko said. 

Brandon Revak is a third-year student at the City College and serves the team as their defensive captain. Through his time in the lacrosse program, he has watched the team improve in more ways than one. 

“We’ve definitely seen improvements, but we’re still lacking numbers when it comes to the defensive side,” Revak said. “Our volume needs to be better along with our physicality, but we’re making progress every day. Our job is to adapt, and we’re becoming adaptive.”

The team also faces the struggle of helping the community of Santa Barbara learn about the team without the funding that other colleges have, considering the team is fresh to the MCLA.

“It’s kind of hard to buy into something that is unknown,” Revak said. “The more they see us, the more exposure we have, the more it becomes like a real team, and the more people are willing to buy in.”

Andreas Mitchell, club president, and team captain, expressed the same concerns of emphasizing the team’s marketing to grow the team and attract more players along with more people coming to watch the games. 

“I want everybody out here. I want to be fired up. I want a team rallying around us. I want everybody here,” Mitchell said. 

Since joining the MCLA, Mitchell has watched the team grow. 

“You know, going into last year, I feel like we didn’t really know what to do, and now I see things slowly clicking together, “ Mitchell said, “I feel like we’re becoming a better team, and I’m looking forward to how we play [this season].”

The City College men’s lacrosse club has officially joined the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA), paving the way for new challenges and opportunities.

The MCLA is a national organization that governs college club lacrosse in the United States. It provides a competitive platform for schools that do not have National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) lacrosse programs. 

Dylan Kaito, the head coach for City College’s men’s lacrosse team, is a former player and took over coaching mid-season last year. 

A big problem for the team is working around each other’s schedules since most of them have other obligations outside of the team and school. 

“My goal with this team is to make it a low enough bar where these guys can handle school and work, but a high enough bar where it’s still competitive,” Kaito said. 

Kaito has ingrained the team with three core values. 

“The three values we focus on are accountability, respect, and integrity,” Kaito said. “If you want to achieve something, most of the time, it’s just you mentally and physically holding yourself back, and not putting in the effort of the time to reach those goals or having the discipline.”

Eiko Kitao, Coach Kaito’s mother, is also the coordinator for the team and shows immense support and enthusiasm for the team. 

“I don’t miss a single practice,” Kitao said. “I try to make it to all of their games.” 

She has been involved with the team since 2015 and has watched the team improve immensely to become a part of the MCLA. Since joining, they have a new role to play. 

“For the first time ever we’re not only building a strong team, but we’re competitive now,” Kaito said.

The team not only puts in the work on the field but off the field as well. They clean up trash to make community service hours, resulting in funding for the players. 

“We clean the stadiums after every Bishop Diego game, and we get money for that. We’re trying to build community service so we can reduce their fees and stuff. It’s really cool.” Eiko said. 

Brandon Revak is a third-year student at the City College and serves the team as their defensive captain. Through his time in the lacrosse program, he has watched the team improve in more ways than one. 

“We’ve definitely seen improvements, but we’re still lacking numbers when it comes to the defensive side,” Revak said. “Our volume needs to be better along with our physicality, but we’re making progress every day. Our job is to adapt, and we’re becoming adaptive.”

The team also faces the struggle of helping the community of Santa Barbara learn about the team without the funding that other colleges have, considering the team is fresh to the MCLA.

“It’s kind of hard to buy into something that is unknown,” Revak said. “The more they see us, the more exposure we have, the more it becomes like a real team, and the more people are willing to buy in.”

Andreas Mitchell, club president, and team captain, expressed the same concerns of emphasizing the team’s marketing to grow the team and attract more players along with more people coming to watch the games. 

“I want everybody out here. I want to be fired up. I want a team rallying around us. I want everybody here,” Mitchell said. 

Since joining the MCLA, Mitchell has watched the team grow. 

“You know, going into last year, I feel like we didn’t really know what to do, and now I see things slowly clicking together, “ Mitchell said, “I feel like we’re becoming a better team, and I’m looking forward to how we play [this season].”