A new chapter

Welcome college sports fans, followers and enthusiasts. My name is Cory Francer and I am taking the reigns here at Hat Trick. My job is to give you all the info about college sports that your face painting, stadium packing, team-color bleeding heart desires. There is no one more passionate and dedicated to their teams than college fans and I am here to bring you, the die-hard fan, all 360 degrees of what goes on in the world of college sports.

Don’t think that I’ll just be giving you the same boring recaps and highlights from the top-25 D-I football teams. We’re looking at every college sport inside and out. We’re going to all divisions - one through three. We’re going in depth to campuses across the country to find more college sports news than you could hurl a chair at. So sit back, throw on your favorite school’s jersey (giant foam finger and beer dispensing helmets are optional) and enjoy a new chapter of Hat Trick.

Whoa! Look out for Lacrosse!

Did you know that lacrosse was the fastest growing sport in the country? Okay, so maybe you got the hint when all those baseball diamonds in your hometown started hosting lacrosse tourneys, but I guess I’m a little behind the times and had no idea just how large the phenomenon is.

According to US Lacrosse, youth participation has increased 500% since 1999! And in NCAA DIII, there are almost 400 teams. Now I feel bad I’ve been neglecting lacrosse in this blog for so long. Go get ‘em lacrossers!

Not sacrificing the gift

James Evans is a senior at a prep school called Holy Angels in Minneapolis, MN. A few short weeks ago, he received devastating news: he was diagnosed with a rare form of Lukemia.

Just like that, the normal becomes abnormal and nothing can be taken for granted. One week, Evans is a 6-2, 195-pound kid enjoying his final year of high school sports at Holy Angels. The next week, his prep career is over and he’s 17 pounds lighter from chemotherapy.

He was looking into Division III soccer programs and now he is fighting for his life.

I don’t mean to get all doom and gloom on you sports fans, but before you hang up those cleats, remember those who would kill to be in your position.

Good luck James!