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The Dallas Rattlers Are Bringing Major League Lacrosse to Frisco

The balls may be small, but this is a fast and furious full-contact sport.
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Chris Bocklet and Jordan Wolf

Did you know there is such a thing as Major League Lacrosse? Well, there is. And it has arrived in Dallas.

Thanks to an invitation from the Dallas Cowboys, the Rattlers made the decision to forgo Upstate New York winters in Rochester in favor of the climate-controlled Ford Center at The Star in Frisco. The New Balance-owned team will be the first lacrosse franchise in Texas, the only one in the nation to play on an indoor field, and the seventh professional sports team to call Frisco home. Spring training starts this weekend (you can go watch on Sunday for free from 10-1), and the first home match against the Denver Outlaws will be April 29. I sat down with Chris Bocklet and Jordan Wolf, two attacks (attackers?) on the team, to find out how they are settling in. Turns out they discovered the Katy Trail Ice House, so they are doing just fine.

D Magazine: How long have you been with the team?

Chris Bocklet: This will be my first year. I’m one of the local Texas guys; I’ve lived in Dallas for a year now. I coach lacrosse in Austin. This is kind of being a part of the whole Texas first team and Texas pride is an exciting thing to be a part of, for sure.

D: But you’re not a Texas native—you went to college at the University of Virginia and grew up in New York?

Chris: Most of the lacrosse guys are from, probably, the East Coast. It’s starting to spread out now. The cool thing about lacrosse is that you’re seeing kids from Texas go play at college, and that’s why having a team in Dallas is huge for the sport. Usually Dallas is the hot bed, I’d say, for lacrosse in Texas. You have Highland Park, who’s usually a state championship team. But now you’re seeing teams in Houston starting to pop up, and teams in Austin. It’s definitely an exciting time. It’s starting to grow.

D: Jordan, how long have you been with the team?

Jordan Wolf: I was just counting in my head. I think this is my fifth year. I was drafted by the Rattlers out of college in 2014.

D: You were a Blue Devil?

Jordan: Yeah. But my college roommate at Duke went to Highland Park. I’ve been familiar with Dallas lacrosse for a while. We used to go to Texas during fall break every year, so it’s always nice to come back here.

D: How do you describe the sport to a Texan who only plays football?

Chris: They call it the fastest sport on two feet. It looks a little bit like hockey—vertical, but obviously with cleats and on grass. It’s so fast-paced that when you first watch it, it’s kind of hard to follow the ball because, once you get to our level, the ball’s in the air more than it is on our sticks. Actually, that’s one of the reasons why they’ve messed around with changing the ball—making it orange—to be able to see it on the TV. It’s one of the issues because it’s kind of hard to follow.

D: What do you think of The Star so far?

Chris: It’s honestly like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Everything has outlets for your phones, and you can’t go a spot in the stadium without being able to watch a TV, so I got caught watching the TVs instead of the actual fields. I think the fans are going to have a great time. When you’re in the stands, you feel like you’re right on the field. I don’t know how they did that, but it’s a cool feeling.

D: Will you be sharing the cafeteria with the Cowboys? I hear the food is pretty good.

Jordan: [laughs] I’d be down for that.

Chris: Yeah, that’d be cool.

D: Lacrosse tends to be viewed as somewhat elitist. Are you hoping to work with young kids in the community and grow the sport?

Jordan: Chris can probably attest better; he’s a local coach in Texas. But it’s almost like a grassroots sport because a lot of the players are coaches or do youth camps. We’re doing a camp, a shooting camp, later this afternoon. I know the Rattlers had some free clinics as well within the communities. That’s not just in Texas but all over the country, so I’m sure it’ll continue here.

Chris: One thing Texas does not have is dads that played lacrosse. They have guys that come from the East that are coaches. They have guys that can get the basics, but they don’t have that next level coaching like the East Coast. So being able to have a team here, and bringing in these guys who are willing to work with the kids from any level, is huge. We want to get in front of everybody and get a stick in their hands.

D: You’re both attacks. Do either of you have a signature move?

Jordan: I just run, usually to my right.

Chris: Jordan’s very fast and strong. He’s a speed guy. I played against him in college—UVA-Duke, there’s a little bit of rivalry. I was on the losing side of that many times. I’m more of an off-ball guy, so I don’t really hold the ball very long. I just let him do all the hard work and then I try to catch up and finish it.

Jordan: Hopefully this works out.

D: What do you guys think of Bill Warder, your new coach?

Jordan: He’s been our assistant coach the last five years since I’ve been there. He’s great; he loves the Rattlers. Even just him coming to Dallas after living in Upstate New York is a huge move for him. It definitely shows you how involved he wants to be and how much he loves doing this. He’s a family guy, which definitely shows in the environment he creates.It kind of makes the change a little easier. It definitely kept most of our core together because some of the other guys had options of going other places, and everyone really stuck together. We’re excited for him.

D: More importantly, has the team found any favorite hangouts yet in Dallas?

Chris: We were just talking about it. Katy Trail Ice House is—

Jordan: The greatest bar in America. We’re far from there up in Frisco, so we’re going to do a Sunday there.

Chris: I lived in Knox-Henderson for a year, and then I went out too much. So I was like, I need to get away from my friends. I ended up moving to Austin.

Jordan: We need as much Ice House time as possible.

Chris: Oh yeah, Ice House is just quality.

 

 

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