TopJLax

When most people think of college lacrosse in the US, they think NCAA D1, and minds immediately flick to the likes of Virginia, John Hopkins and Syracuse (to name but a few). So what about the rest? The lesser known Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association does not grant its athletes varsity status and is recruited very rarely on a scholarship basis. The best lacrosse players in America are therefore snapped up by the big schools and become incorporated into a highly developed and serious programme where they are offered endless support in their school work to ensure they can compete to the highest of their abilities. Consequently the MLL is full of NCAA Division 1 graduates who have benefited from an enduring and highly charged university lacrosse career. Until now that is. TopJLax has caught up with the man who has broken the mould. As two-time MCLA finalist with Chapman University in Orange County CA, MCLA Player of the Year 2009 Connor Martin has flown the club lacrosse nest of which he sat on top of, being the only MCLA player on the roster of College All-Stars who recently beat Team USA, he went a step further securing a draft with the Denver Outlaws for their upcoming season.

What sets Connor apart from most other people (other than his lacrosse talents) is that he doesn't take himself too seriously and in every sense of the word loves life. From sitting down with this man for a chat over a couple of Schwhiskys on a sunny afternoon it is clear that right now he is just riding a wave and seeing where the hell he ends up. Flowseph catches up with Connor Martin -aka Con Bro Chill- to see what makes him tick.   

Flowseph: So Con Bro, let’s just take a quick review of your recent times: you have hit the MCLA national finals with Chapman twice, became MCLA Player of the Year 2009 season, became a college All-Star where you beat Team USA, and are now drafted into the MLL for the Denver Outlaws. What’s next in your plans for world domination?

 Con Bro Chill: Ya man, I was thinking about taking over El Salvador to kind of start things off and move on from there. I’m sure they are well aware and stoked on my achievements over the last two years in lacrosse and are just waiting for me to start la revolucion! Oh the jokes. Nah man, I’m just going to move to Denver and try and make the Roster. It would be freaking sweet to throw a jersey on bearing the family name on the back. 

 Flowseph: How did lacrosse find you? Any other sports tickle you?

 Con Bro Chill: It was tickle city growing up brew. I did the soccer, baseball, basketball bull shnoz when I was a youngin and then fell in love with skating, snowboarding, and surfing. I found out about lacrosse in 8th grade and found a old traditional stick in my garage and started goofing around with it. By freshman year I was on the pitch trying it out and then fell in love. I pretty much dropped everything else except for surfing and laxed my face off. I was a one trick pony from Freshman year on.

 Flowseph: I guess now you’re moving to Denver then? How do you feel about trading the sun, sea and idyllic lifestyle of Orange County for the mountains and snow?

 Con Bro Chill: Well I’m moving for the summer and then god knows what’s next. The beach will be missed. I’m going to try to get back here for the fall and get a good shred season in if I can. None the less I’m excited to meet some new peeps and live in a new spot for a hot minute.

Flowseph: Ever thought about playing lax outside of the US? Like, say, in the Mother Country?

 Con Bro Chill:All the time baby. I’ve travelled a bit in my four years of college and loved living in Spain and spending good times in Central America. I would be so down, but I gots to get some spare change to make it happen.

 Flowseph: I’ll try and sort a whip-around then. What is your perception of Lacrosse in the UK? Snooty like an Englishman?

 Con Bro Chill: I know you guys are hosting the World Games so it’s got to be blowing up. Other than that my knowledge is weak sauce. What I really know is what you’re going through trying to grow the game. I’m from the state of Oregon in the Northwest and it is definitely not a hot bed for lacrosse. It’s hard to get attention and respect but you’ll learn that’s not what it’s about, Lacrosse is just freaking fun to play. That’s all that matters. Glad to hear Brits are digging on my favourite thing in the world.

 Flowseph: ‘Gin and Juice’, ‘Sheep, Leek and Lax’, ‘Jedi Lax’, ‘Soco and Lime’… We have some strange names for touring teams, if you had your own British team, what would you call it?

 Con Bro Chill: I’d probably call my team, Team Ballsagna.

 Flowseph: Want to elaborate?

 Con bro Chill: I just think it is the funniest word I've come up with. I just took Balls and Lasagna and combined them and thought it sounded like a goof festival. So why not name your team that? I mean people think balls are funny and lasagna is delicious, I think it's a great alliance of words

 Flowseph: Agreed, I would like to try-out for your team sir! Team England recently took a tour of the US and played the Outlaws, what do you think our chances of making a medal in Manchester are?

 Con Bro Chill: Mark my words, you will win it.

 Flowseph: Great news! Up Yours Australia! Are you planning on coming over this summer then? 

 Con Bro Chill: Won’t be there. I’m actually glad you guys are having the World Games because Mundorf, Westervelt, and Brown (starting attack for the Outlaws) will be in England. Might be my only chance to wear an Outlaw uniform. But I still got to make the team.

 Flowseph: Ah yes, we’ll talk to some people and try and make sure they don’t make it back (disclaimer- TopJLax has no affiliation with the mob and Flowseph was merely commenting in jest)

Flowseph: Onto the flow, here at Top J Lax we are firm supporters of the flow- this is a bit clichéd, but what hair product gets your endorsement? I’m always looking for tips…

 Con Bro Chill: Tré Semme. Heavy on the conditioner. No question.

 Flowseph: Done! So if 90% of lax is in the flow, where’s the rest?

Con Bro Chill: Probably on the wall. You’d be surprised how good you can get just hitting the wall. That’s probably the only thing I’m actually any good at.

Flowseph: What would you class as bad flow? Is it even possible?

Con Bro Chill: Bad flow? I’m not one to hate but I do get sick of people making a fuss when someone cuts a Mohawk into their head. I’ve never been into the meat head stuff.

 Flowseph: Yeah agreed, have you (before your rise to stardom) ever been baited by crowds on account of your hair? What would you like to say to these unappreciative/ignorant folk?

 Con Bro Chill: Ha stardom??? You’re hilarious. This joke is getting funnier. Umm, I’ve always gotten all kinds of hate for my locks. The funniest one was when a fan my freshman year yelled, “Hey 99! Kenny G called and he wants his hair back”. I loved that one. I feel like every time they started making fun of me for the lechuga I played well so I guess I would have to thank them.

 Flowseph: ‘Lechuga’? I Like that. Well reluctantly moving away from the lechuga, what secret attack-man tips do you have for all those young bros out there?

 Con Bro Chill: Lax! Well I would tell the groms to never stop moving their feet. Keep your feet moving and good things happen. Also good hands are few and far between. Finishing inside and getting those easy goals for your team are what wins games, and you get good at that by hitting the wall. HIT THE WALL!

 Flowseph: What was it like having Kyle Harrison as an Offensive Co-ordinator this season at Chapman?

 Con Bro Chill: I loved having Kyle around. He helped our middies a bunch and helped me tremendously. It was great talking with him about going to the next level and what I would have to do to get there and have success. I still have to figure it out but I’ll always have all his advice and the confidence he gave me. A great man!

 Flowseph: He is a great man. After losing to the National Champions Michigan three times (twice in the final), what could Chapman do, in your opinion to finally lift that well deserved trophy?

 Con Bro Chill: Man I wished I could have been part of that solution… They need a tad bit more discipline and stay positive and working hard. They’ll get one soon, its bound to happen.

 Flowseph: Quite an obvious distinction between you and the rest of the college all-stars is you are not only the only player not to be D1, but aren’t even NCAA. What do you believe is the difference between a D1 athlete and an MCLA one?

 Con Bro Chill: Good question. The thing about the MCLA is its not that we don’t have D1 athletes in the mix, it’s just that D1 has only D1 athletes. Ha. They are all strong and fast and some are humungous but its still a bunch of unathletic white kids running around. MCLA has a long way to go because of the lack of depth but I felt properly prepared for the game I played with playing against all the good squads I played in college. People should be encouraged because I was able to run around, sneak a goal in, and not lose my head. Every guy who’s played with or against me knows I’m not super human or anything, just a goofball who likes to shoot a lot. I know a hundred kids who could’ve hung in that game.

 Flowseph: That’s really encouraging for the growth of MCLA. We’ve heard rumours of Michigan looking to make the transition in the next few years; will Chapman be looking to go NCAA anytime soon?

 Con Bro Chill: Not for a while, we’re pretty happy playing all the West Coast teams and its not like we’re blowing everyone out, we had lots of close fun games.

 Flowseph: Chapman crashed out of the MCLA Tournament this year to Champions Michigan. How did they just manage to get the edge again?

 Con Bro Chill: By now I’ve admitted they are better than us. So I guess I just have to say they beat us with their awesome ride again.

 Flowseph: Do you think you will have to adapt your game at all to suit the MLL?

 Con Bro Chill: Absolutely, but because I’ve always played fast and sneaky I am optimistic about hanging. I was never running over people or draining 15 yard shots. Being able to do that at different levels is always hard for kids. My game is about quickness, deception, and fast hands so I’m hoping I’ll thrive with the good players. We’ll see what happens though, I could just get stuffed all day and knocked out.

 Flowseph: You quite obviously love life in the way everyone should, please advise the masses on how to get the most out of life whilst remaining chill?

 Con Bro Chill: Ha! I’m glad you noticed. If you want me to get all spiritual on you I will, but really life is all about being in the moment. I’m well aware I am not in control of what happens in my life so I just try to hang hard and love on people every day. That’s about all you can do. Being yourself also makes everything a lot easier. I’m a goof ball who likes to play lacrosse, so that’s what I do.

 Flowseph: Nice man. Moving on to your music career…’Come TO My Party’ is a truly banging track! Got anything else in the pipeline?

 Con Bro Chill: Thanks man! I really appreciate that because I’m definitely trying as hard as I can on the music. I do throw goofy lyrics on top but that’s more of a safety thing. I just love electronic pop music, what can I say? Things are brewing and I got my brother SAMM (look him up on Itunes, most talented person I know) producing my next EP “This Is Boom!”. Funny thing is we finished the new video for one of the songs and just mixed all the three songs so we’re gearing up to release this bad boy as soon as Itunes excepts it. We think they’re good and funny so that’s all that matters to us. Excited to see if people dig it. I could use a quick buck.

Flowseph: Could you give a subtle shout-out to Top J Lax in your next track? When I say ‘subtle’ don’t be discouraged about writing a song all about us.

 Con Bro Chill: That’s a great way to ask a person to write a song about you. Well done sir! I’ll see what I come up with.

 Flowseph: Zing! Contrary to the usual situation, the weather is actually quite nice in England right now- what’s your summertime drink of choice?

 Con Bro Chill: It’s really an all year round drink for me but it’s got to be Ginger Ale, preferably Schweppes.

 Flowseph: Many of us laxers believe in times a’past we would have been medieval warriors, what would your battlefield weapon of choice be? Trident?

 Con Bro Chill: Ya a Trident would be cool but I think I would be into throwing axes. Ya for sure, throwing axes.

TopJLax would like to thank Connor Martin for taking the time to share some of his pearls of wisdom with us. It was more than a pleasure to chat with him and we wish him all the best for his début season with the Denver Outlaws. We will of course be following it as it develops. For more of his hilarious antics check out his YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/connormartin88

If you want to get hold of some of his music, his EP 'This is Cool' is available on ITunes and of course features Flowseph's summer tune of choice 'Come TO My Party'. It is tried and tested to attract multitudes of smoking hot babes- no party is complete without it.