While most students are winding down after class on weeknights, members of the men’s club lacrosse team are just getting started. Starting at 6:30 p.m., practices stretch late into the evening, followed by homework, jobs and preparation for weekends often filled with long road trips. For these athletes, lacrosse is only one part of a tightly packed schedule demanding constant balance.
Boise State club lacrosse operates with varsity-level expectations without varsity-level resources. The program practices three nights a week and travels across the western United States aiming to make nationals each year. What separates the team from NCAA programs is not the commitment, but the responsibility placed on the players themselves.
“We try to make it as close to a varsity experience as we can,” co-head coach and offensive coordinator Ryan Henning said. “But at the end of the day, these guys are paying their way, handling their schoolwork, working jobs and still showing up ready to compete.”
Players manage more than just time. The club is player-funded, meaning travel, gear and competition costs fall largely on the team. Flights alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars, a burden requiring constant financial activity.
The team covers those costs through player dues, fundraising efforts and limited support from Boise State’s Club Sports Council, with the president, treasurer and travel coordinator managing the budget and travel throughout the season.
Bond Barnette, a junior goalie, expressed the immense pressure he feels to balance lacrosse with other obligations. Between practices, games and travel, Barnette estimates he spends 15 to 18 hours per week dedicated solely to lacrosse, not including classwork or studying.
“We have weights Monday night, practice Tuesday through Thursday and then games on Friday or Saturday,” Barnette said. “Sometimes it’s two games in a weekend. You have to plan your whole week around it.”
Classes are often scheduled with practice in mind, and weekends once reserved for rest are frequently spent on buses or flights. Still, Barnette said the structure has helped him develop time-management skills he didn’t have before college.
“You learn pretty quickly how to manage your time,” he said. “You don’t really have the option not to.”
For sophomore Charlie Lyons, the balancing act extends far beyond the field. Boise State lacrosse is run almost entirely by its players, with roughly eight leadership positions handling the logistics behind the scenes.
“We’re basically a player-run program,” Lyons said. “We make sure the budget’s right, that we’re not overspending, that everyone has the gear they need and that travel is planned out.”
Lyons also sits on Boise State’s Club Sports Council, which helps allocate funding across nearly two dozen club teams on campus. Through his role, he sees how quickly costs can add up, especially during seasons with heavy travel schedules.
Last season, Lyons estimated the team spent well into six figures, driven largely by flights, hotels and rental cars for trips including their postseason run to Texas.
Despite the financial strain and time demands, players continue to buy into the brotherhood-like lacrosse community. Henning said commitment shapes the team’s culture.
“They mature faster,” Henning said. “They learn responsibility, they learn how to adapt and they learn how to handle pressure.”
During last season’s conference championship, the team rallied from a seven-goal deficit to win the title and earn an automatic bid to nationals. Barnette said moments like those justify the sacrifices.
“It’s stuff you’ll never forget,” he said. “Winning with your teammates, having your parents there, celebrating together — it makes everything worth it.”
Outside of games and practice, the team’s bond expands into everyday college life. Players spend weekends together, watch other Boise State sports and find time to relax between classes and practices. Lyons described the group as a family built through a shared sense of commitment, rather than convenience.
“When you’re with each other that much, on and off the field, it brings you closer,” Lyons said. “Everyone’s all in.”
Boise State club lacrosse players juggle the same academic and social pressures as any other student. What separates them is also managing the demands of a program they largely run themselves. In the process, they’ve built more than a team, creating a structure that extends beyond the field.
Club lacrosse offers something varsity sports cannot: ownership. Without scholarships or external guarantees, the experience is driven by choice. Players choose to show up, to pay dues, to fundraise and to compete.
