Wes Berg and Cam Holding are Dedicated to the San Diego Lacrosse Scene
October 31, 2024By: Jon Rapoport
2018 serves as a seminal marker in the ascendance of box lacrosse in the city and county of San Diego, California. It was then that the San Diego Seals kicked off what would become one of the most dynamic brands of indoor lacrosse to ever grace an NLL field. This era would also serve as the entrée of a slew of highly-skilled lacrosse players electing to make San Diego their year-round home, with those individuals then taking it upon themselves to grow the game they love in a warm-weather geography lacking a traditional lacrosse infrastructure.
“I’m up in Encinitas and we’re pretty spoiled with the weather and community. I love living out here and plan on playing for the Seals for the rest of my career and retiring here,” proclaims Seals’ forward Wes Berg, who joined San Diego in 2019.
The undisputed impetus for the meteoric growth of youth lacrosse throughout the vast region of 3.3 million Southern Californians is the presence of the Junior Seals program, a long-standing priority of the San Diego NLL franchise and particularly of club owner Joseph Tsai, who played field lacrosse at Yale before building his business empire. Since its pre-pandemic inception, the program has grown to include seven boys’ teams, three girls’ squads, an NCBS program known as the Royals and participation in an adult league.
“We’re still just trying to grow the numbers and get sticks in kids’ hands,” explains Berg. “So, whether they’re playing field or box, it’s great for us. The more lacrosse players you have, the more Seals fans you’re going to have. And the more kids that will maybe go on to play college lacrosse or stick with box. We’re still very much in the developmental phase and trying to grow the numbers and trying to get there, but it’s taken off big time since we started [the] Junior Seals.”
Berg and fellow original Seal Cam Holding serve as trailblazers of the Junior Seals operation, with Jake Govett, Tre Leclaire, Dane Dobbie, Trevor Baptiste and others subsequently giving their time to the cause.
Berg is not shy when conveying Holding’s vast influence on the success of the enterprise.
“I am pretty lucky to be working with Cam because he is so dialed in on the logistics stuff. He runs everything better than some junior and professional programs that I’ve seen,” shares Berg. “I’m not nearly as organized as he is. He’s got everything down to a tee, with spreadsheets and timing and everything. He’s just great to work with. I’m pretty lucky to be doing my job with Cam because he’s something special.”
For his part, Holding, who also works in the San Diego real estate industry, beams with pride when discussing the growth of box lacrosse in his adopted hometown, remarking on how the caliber of play in some participants has grown from novice to seasoned in just a few short years.
“Pre-Covid, kids weren’t really playing box lacrosse. We just started with a small group and kids loved the training we were providing. The parents were just so excited about the number of reps and skills and all the benefits that box has and how it translates to field. So, it just grew exponentially from there,” opines Holding.
The Seals’ assistant captain later added, “kids are now running set plays, they’re running progressions, they’re running all the stuff that NLL players are doing.”
Berg and Holding are nothing short of jubilant when reflecting on the monumental impact Rady Children’s Field has had on the San Diego box lacrosse panorama. Opening less than a year ago, the Seals’ outdoor practice space (located at the T. Claude and Gladys B. Ryan Family YMCA in the Point Loma neighborhood of the city) serves as both an NLL training center and the undisputed hub for all things Junior Seals.
“Our old facility was in a tougher spot and was a little bit grittier I think. So, for these kids to see such a beautiful outdoor facility is big,” explains Berg. “Most Southern California kids probably take it for granted because they don’t realize that not very many places on Earth have an outdoor box where it’s sunny all year-round. We’re all pretty spoiled in that aspect. Plus, the kids can say oh, this is where the Seals play and we get to practice here.”
Holding, who served as project manager during the construction phase of the practice venue, is in lockstep with his teammate regarding the impact of the San Diego outdoor box lacrosse showplace.
“It’s an incredible partnership we have with the YMCA and obviously Rady Children’s Hospital. It’s a state-of-the-art facility with NHL boards and NHL glass, it’s perfect, all top of the line. So, when these kids show up they’re getting the best of the best, and they’re playing on the same stuff that the pros play on,” articulated Holding.
The man who turned blueprints into box lacrosse reality then provided this assessment: “I personally think, at least from an NLL standpoint, it’s the best practice facility that we have. The Rock have a great space with the TRAC, but you can’t practice there outside in 70-degree weather, during the middle of January. So, our kids are pretty spoiled that they have this place to play.”
With the growth of both box and field lacrosse soaring throughout San Diego and other regions of the vast Southern California landscape, Berg and Holding each have their sights set on a hugely significant lacrosse related development, scheduled to occur during the summer of 2028, 120 miles up Interstate 5.
Lacrosse’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, in the form of the Sixes version of the sport, will provide lovers of the Creator’s Game the ability to showcase their beloved pastime on a truly worldwide platform. The possibilities that come from this level of exposure are not lost on the NLL players of today.
“It is so cool to be almost local. For me, it’s going to be pretty special. I think you’ll get a lot of eyes on the sport. How cool is it to go drive and see an Olympic gold medal game right in your backyard here in Southern California? I’m hoping I can stay healthy long enough to make Team Canada and play in the Olympics, which would be a dream,” said Berg, a British Columbia native.
“I think it’s going to be huge for the sport. And I think that’s why it’s such a win that lacrosse was able to get into the Olympics. And the biggest thing is that it’s going to be available on a global scale. If you think about the Winter Olympics you know the number of people that will sit and watch curling. I’ll watch water polo despite never playing it. But, since it’s in the Olympics, I’m naturally gravitating towards it,” explains Holding, an Ontario product.
When factoring in the current and ongoing growth of the sport of lacrosse, whether it be at the youth, collegiate or professional level, athletes like Wes Berg and Cam Holding see the long game when it comes to the investments being made in their current professional pursuits, as well as in the potential future scenarios of those they are mentoring.
“NLL guys, in every room, want to see the league and sport grow,” highlights Holding. “So, anytime we have the ability to coach, that’s growth. We all want to keep giving back and keep teaching because we want to see it succeed. We want it to be the NHL. We want it to be the NBA. We want to have broadcast deals that are on a huge scale, and we want the kids that we’re coaching today to get paid crazy salaries, to do what they love and to do what we’re doing today.”
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