Mt. Adams (Cincinnati) Mens Club Lacrosse Hall-of-Fame News

2007-Jul-29 With fall comes our annual recognition nominations and Hall-of-Fame vote. tomandlisDING@D0NGhotmail.com remember to remove the spam deterring 'ding' and 'dong' from my email. I've added a two nomination categories:

Player of the Year (Fall 2006- Spring 2007) (new)
Opponent of the year (the player gave us fits)!(new)
Fan(s) of the Year
The Hall (nominated player must be retired)

Also, I updated Bill, Keith, Stump, Kevin, Rusty, Russ and Sweety's bios as, in my old age, I'm starting to have improved long-term (but diminished short-term) memory.

BTW, if anybody has any bio information or recent whereabouts of Jeremy Reid (last year's HOF inductee) please let me know.

2006-Sep-13 Jeremy Reid and Yvette Hayes enter the Mt. Adams Hall of Fame!

2005-June-14: Rouse, Chavez and Kroger Enter Hall, The Beechuks are Fan(s) of the Year!
Congratulations to our newest Hall members. There was a close battle for the last spot, but Kroger edged out Mully. Mully will get another shot next year.

In his second year Jeremy didn't make the cut, unfortunately, so unless he is renominated this will be his last year on the ballot.

Congratulations to the Beechuks who beat out Mr. Murphy for Fan of the Year! Thanks for coming to our games and thanks all who voted!

Mt. Adams Hall of Fame
Who do you think should enter the Mt. Adam's Hall of Fame? (names followed by year of nomination). Please select as many as you see fit (top 3 vote getters get in):

Rusty Rouse (05) (12)	32%
Russ Chavez (05) (8)	22%
Keith Kroger (04) (8)	22%
Chris Mulligan (05) (6)	16%
Jeremy Reid (04) (2)	5%
Other (1)	3%

Total Votes: 37

Fan of the Year
Who was the Mt. Adams "Fan of the Year"?

The Beechuks (10)	45%
Mr. Murphy (6)	27%
Eyvette Hayes (3)	14%
'Andy' (Kevin's girlfriend) (2)	9%
Other (1)	5%

Total Votes: 22

2004-June-14: Congrats to our first Mt. Adams Lacrosse Hall-of-Fame class!

WE NEED BIOS AND PICS FOR THESE!! If you have pics please send them to tomandlisDING@D0NGhotmail.com BUT REMOVE THE DING AND DONG FROM THE EMAIL ADDRESS AS THEY ARE THERE ONLY TO DETER SPAM

Position	Name	Votes
A	Bill Mathis	11
G	Andy Sweetman	5
G	Kevin McDerrmott	4
M	Chris Cortina	4

Keith Kroger (3) came close as did a write in campaign for Jeremy Reid (3)! They'll be on the ballot again next year.

THE HALL

Bill Mathis - Attack and Club Founder
Club:	Mt. Adams	1995 - 2003?
College:	UNC University of North Carolina?	Class of '?
High School:	? ?	Class of '?
Mt. Adams Bio:	Bill founded the club in 1995. The story goes that Bill joined the other club in town and after a few games became displeased with the amount of playing time he was getting (or lack thereof). He expressed his displeasure with the team captain who replied that he would get in after the starters had gotten their chance. Bill responded something like, "your starters are your finishers" and decided to quit the team to found a new club. Being from the Baltimore area, Bill had heard of the famous Mt. Washington Club Lacrosse team and thought he would name his team similarly. Mt. Adams is a popular spot for young people in Cincinnati and thus the name was chosen. Bill is also a Tarheel and so we ended up wearing baby, uh, I mean, Carolina Blue. Bill assembled about 10 players and went to his first game at the 1995 Dayton Wingvitational (a once popular tourney). Not all his players showed and so he was in a fix. Another new club team made up of mostly former Wright State players, "The Ohio Valley Lacrosse Club", was in a similar situation and so they decided to merge the teams for the tourney and, as it turned out, for good. He was our team leader and always at the center of the huddle. Being in his 40s and (possibly) 50s when he retired, he inspired us all with his dedication to the game. Bill was also a very good player in his own right. He played crease attack and was famous for his baseball-bat-like quick-stick goals. If you ever want to thank him for helping build up men's club lacrosse in Cincinnati just drop by BMI in Cheviot some day where you can find Bill hard at work running his marketing reasearch company.

Andy Sweetman - Goal
Club:	Mt. Adams Albuquerque, New Mexico	1995 - 1999 2000-Present (2006)
College:	Wright State	Class of '95
High School:	Centerville, OH	Class of '88
Mt. Adams Bio:	Andy Sweetman was a unique and excellent lacrosse goalie. During the early lean years for the Mt. Adams Rams he probably faced forty shots a game! Sweety would usually save 90% of those shots. He had incredible hand speed and an unusual style that showcased his quickness. Most goalies, if they play for long, get quick feet and put themselves in good position. Sweety did this too, but when the shot came, he always seemed 1/2 step behind where he ought to be...you thought the ball was going to fly past him, but with a blinding snap he put his stick on the shot. When the ball was on top, He had an tendency to creep higher and higher in the crease, which was impressive because it seemed to challenge the shooter, yet odd because most goalies like to hang out on the post. It was not unusual, as a crease defenseman, to see Sweety, standing next to you in front of the crease making a save! He was an exceptional communicator, which is a nice way of saying he talked too much. ;-) That's not really true as there no such thing as a goalie who talks too much--the more the better. Sweety not only called out where the ball was, but what he wanted his d-guys to do. I always new I couldn't slack off during a play or I'd hear it, right there, right then with the ball still in play, Sweety would be yelling for you to pick up your jock and get back in the hole. Sweety was also the heart of the early club. He would always share a beer with you after the game and frequently hosted team parties. Everybody loved Sweety and when he moved to New Mexico he was sorely missed. You can still find him out there today playing men's lax and working in the environmental sciences field.

Chris "Stump" Cortina - Midfield
Club:	Mt. Adams Columbus	1999 - 2002 2003-?
College:	OWU (Ohio Wesleyan University Lacrosse)	Class of '98
High School:	Cardinal Gibbons High School (Baltimore)	Class of '94
Mt. Adams Bio:	Stump was our second great midfielder (after Kroger). I remember one of Stump's first games. He was clearing the ball in the defensive zone and two defenders boxed him in against the sideline. He looked at the defender on his left, looked at the one in front of him, looked at the sideline and then rolled the ball between their legs. Both defenders looked down and Stump, being lightning quick, had run around them and picked up the ground ball before they could turn around. He was always a top scorer and, more importanty, he was a great leader. He helped design offensive plays and EMO plays that made everybody on the team better and his hustle inspired us all. Stump left us to take a job in the Great Northwest in the environmental sciences field. He has since returned and today you can find him in Columbus, Ohio playing for the Columbus Mens Lacrosse Club.

Kevin McDermott - Goal
Club:	Mt. Adams Columbus	1999 - 2002 2003-?
College:	Marrietta College	Class of '94
High School:	Dublin High School Dublin, Ohio	Class of '90
Mt. Adams Bio:	Kevin was an amazing goalie and I think the best I've ever played with (with apologies to Sweety, Murph, and two NCAA All-Americans I used to play with). 30+ save games were the norm for Kevin. He was one of those goalies that (when having a good day) simply could not be scored upon. I remember guys from the other team just shaking their heads in frustration. Sometimes it was simply unbelievable--he would single-handedly win a game for us! Kevin was the goalie for Mt. Adams during our best years to date and the relationship is no coincidence. Kevin's dedication inspired us all. He would drive down from Columbus to play in our games and he never missed a game. However, when the stork dropped two lovely children at his door the drive became a bit too much. Today you can find Kevin playing for the Columbus Mens Lacrosse Club. BTW, did I mention he was a phenomenal face-off middie? Face-offs are all about hand-speed, reflexes and wits so (no big surprise) he's good at that too.

Keith Kroger - Midfield
Club:	Mt. Adams	1995 - 2000
College:	Wright State	Class of '94?
High School:	?	Class of '90?
Mt. Adams Bio:	Keith was another founding member and our first great midfielder. He was a phenomenal face-off middy. I played d-middy and Keith would frequently clamp and sweep the ball out to me. Not just toward me, but too me! Once during a big game he swept the ball out to me and I fumbled the ground-ball. I joked to Keith that he should put it a little higher so I wouldn't have to bend over so much. The next face-off he put it right in my stomach--amazing! (btw, I dropped it, sorry Keith). Keith was also a top-shelf offensive threat. He had a strong cradle and powerful bull-dodge. He was frequently the top scorer in our games. Keith took a job out west in the environmental sciences and today you can see him in the Seattle area still playing club ball.

Rusty Rouse - Midfield
Club:	Mt. Adams	1995 - 2004
College:	Wright State	Class of '94?
High School:	?	Class of '90?
Mt. Adams Bio:	Well I misspoke when I referred to Kroger and Cortina as Mt. Adams' 1st and 2nd great middies. Or maybe I didn't because Rusty was beyond 'great'. Rusty owns every scoring record in our record book and that unfortunately doesn't include about 5 years worth of data on Rusty. If it did, Rusty would not only hold every scoring record, but his records would never be broken. Rusty wasn't a flashy player; he didn't have blistering shot or eye catching moves: He was just a complete player. When he scored, it wasn't with a leaping wrap-around shot from behind the goal, it was with a perfectly executed split or roll-dodge, then one or two steps and a shot to where the goalie wasn't. Rusty was always very humble on the field; he just scored his goals and went back to the midfield line for the next face-off. If you weren't paying close attention you might not notice that he was on a tear. I remember playing a game in Indianapolis and at the end of the game we had ~11-12 goals--all scored by Rusty! I remember saying "what!" How did he score all eleven goals and I didn't even notice? Maybe he was humble like a fox because I don't even think Indianapolis noticed, for if they had then they should have sent a lug off the bench to take him out. But, then again, and speaking from experience, it was impossible to put a good hit on Rusty. It is too bad there are no films of Rusty playing. His game was a clinic for how every young player should play midfield. Rusty was also a big part of Mt. Adams off the field and he has been missed since the day he retired. Family comes first, however, and you can find Rusty these days teaching his kid's the finer points or out selling for Flagg.

Russ Chavez - Midfield
Club:	Mt. Adams	1995 - 2004
College:	Stevens Tech, NJ	Class of '91?
High School:	?	Class of '87?
Mt. Adams Bio:	Russ was the consummate role-playing middie. He was very fast, but he wasn't the fastest. He had good stick skills, but not the best stick skills. He scored goals, but he never scored the most goals. In hustle and determination, however, Russ was unmatched. Russ was a stealthy player, often times the opposition didn't notice Russ streaking wide open across the crease for easy goals. Russ did the things that rarely get noticed, but that help you win: clearing the ball, getting ground-balls, hustling and providing leadership. I remember one game, we had just played defense for, what felt like, 10 minutes straight. . .we would get the ball after a shot and then muff the clear and bingo--right back on D. We finally got the ball to Russ on a clear and I remember thinking "good (pant, pant), Russ will do his 'thing' and we'll get a rest." And that is exactly what happened. He ran the ball down the length of the field, circled their goal 2X and then passed the ball to someone--chewing up about 1-2 minutes. In that time, we were able to sub in new middies and the D got a sorely needed rest. Everybody loved Russ and his taste in music always made us smile. Don't ever tell him he listens to 'death metal' because he will be forced to explain to you that it is really some sort of German variation of Goth something-or-other. Today you can find Russ back in his home state of New Jersey working in the Information Technology industry and, of course, playing club ball.