As far as club teams go, the UW-Eau Claire men’s lacrosse team isn’t an ordinary club team.

While the university labels it a club team, it is acknowledged by the Upper Midwest Lacrosse League and does a lot of things that a university-sanctioned team would, junior Jordan Garvin said.

“As of this coming spring season, we are part of the UMLL B Division,” he said.

The UMLL B Division includes St. John’s University (Minn.), St. Thomas University (Minn.), North Dakota State University, Bethel University and Carleton College.

The men’s fall season has come to a close, but their spring season, which begins in February, occurs when the UMLL begins its regular season this spring.

This season in particular has been good for the team because of its large turnout. There are nearly 30 players out for the team this year, senior Adam Gierl said. This solves a problem the team had last year.

“(Having 30 players this season) takes the burden off the few players who would play the entire game,” he said. “Other teams in our division will suit up 30 to 40 guys, and late in the game, those fresh legs can really take the wind out of your sails. That won’t be an issue for us (now).”

A majority of the players trying out this season are underclassmen, which gives the team a lot of work to do with training new players. But it also gives it a good base to work off of for seasons to come, Garvin said.

“Right now, we’re just trying to organize the different playing styles of all the new guys from different high school teams,” he said. “We’re slowly bringing the team together and figuring out the best ways that we as a team can utilize our new talent.”

With the new talent, the team’s goal for this season is to continually better itself, Gierl said.

“It sounds taken, but it’s something this team has worked hard on,” he said. “Lacrosse isn’t a game of individuals, and the strong teams in our league are a perfect model for that.”

The team plays all of its home games at Carson Park and is the first club team at Eau Claire to use the field.

“Last season, when we had our first home game at Carson,” Garvin said. “We became the first university club team to be allowed to use that field.”