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The LumberJax Jax need Powell’s outdoor
The two-time MVP forward could spark the offense for a Portland team seeking its first win

Thursday, January 24, 2008
AARON FENTRESS
The Oregonian Staff

Portland LumberJax forward Ryan Powell is an outdoor lacrosse legend.

Indoors, not so much. At least, not yet.

A former All-American at Syracuse and a two-time MVP in the outdoor Major League Lacrosse, Powell, 29, still is finding his way in the faster-paced, more compact world of indoor lacrosse.

But he’s coming along. And if that trend continues, the Jax could have an indoor difference-maker to help elevate the team’s offense, which held them back during a 4-12 season in 2007.

“I think he can be great,” Jax coach Derek Keenan said. “It’s just a matter of him wanting it.”

Desire and passion are not lacking in Powell. His life is consumed by lacrosse, which he has turned into a full-time job. In a sport that does not offer the riches of other professional leagues, Powell, who lives in Portland with his wife, Lee, has managed to use his popularity to run a successful youth program and endorse lacrosse products.

“There’s not a lot of guys that make a full-time living doing lacrosse but I’m one of the fortunate ones,” Powell said.

It’s a dream life for Powell, who was a star quarterback in high school in West Carthage, N.Y. In 1996 he received a lacrosse scholarship from Syracuse. He also was invited to walk on with the football team and back up Donovan McNabb. But Powell chose to focus on lacrosse. He and McNabb, however, did become college friends.

“We were playing PlayStation once and he told me that lacrosse was a giant waste of electricity in the dome,” Powell said.

Powell managed to make the most of his time in Syracuse’s Carrier Dome. He was a four-time All-American and led the Orange to a national championship in 2000. But while McNabb went on to multimillion-dollar riches in the NFL, Powell encountered the modest lifestyle of professional lacrosse. The average salary in the National Lacrosse League is $14,000. Top pay in the MLL is $18,000.

But his play has led to other opportunities, including endorsement deals.

As a rookie in the MLL in 2001, Powell was league MVP for Rochester. He earned the same honor in 2006 with San Francisco. In the winters, he played in the NLL, but with less success.

In Canada, players grow up playing indoor lacrosse, and they make up most of the NLL. In the United States, youth play outdoor lacrosse.

The main difference: The indoor game is faster and more physical.

“It’s taken me a long time to figure out,” said Powell, whose brother Casey plays for New York.

Keenan said Powell excels in one-on-one situations but has had to adjust to quicker-hitting plays not common in outdoor lacrosse.

Powell seemingly turned a corner last year with an NLL career-high 54 points. He accounted for five in this season’s opening-night loss to New York, and has the potential to be a 100-point producer, Keenan said.

“He could be one of the top offensive players in the league,” Keenan said.

When he’s not playing, Powell promotes the sport through Rhino Lacrosse, a youth program he co-founded with Brian Silcott, the Jax’s vice president and Powell’s former coach in San Francisco.

“I wanted to provide opportunities for young lacrosse players,” Powell said.

Rhino (also Powell’s nickname) has tapped into a niche in Oregon and provides leagues for about 1,500 youth in the Portland area. Powell runs clinics in Texas, California and Oregon.

Outdoor lacrosse is a rapidly growing sport in Oregon with 44 boys teams. West Linn High School coach Mark Flood said the sport could be sanctioned by the OSAA by the 2011 spring season.

Many young players look up to Powell. Silcott said working with youth fits Powell’s personality. Powell can sit in on a business deal one minute and then hit the field at a clinic and run around like a 12-year-old the next, Silcott said.

“Ultimately, he still just has a lot of fun playing the game,” Silcott said.

Silcott described Powell as the Michael Jordan of lacrosse. On Tuesday that statement took on new meaning when Nike signed Powell to an endorsement contract to represent its new lacrosse line.

“For a guy who grew up in a town of about 3,500 to go on to play lacrosse and now represent Nike is an honor,” he said.

Everything has fallen into place for Powell since moving to Portland in 2006. He and his wife have two dogs and recently bought a house near Grant Park in Northeast Portland. Rhino is booming. Nike signed him.

The only thing left is mastering the indoor game and helping lead the Jax to the same successes he has had at other stops.

“This is where I definitely want to be,” he said.

Aaron Fentress: 503-221-8211; aaronfentress@news.oregonian.com

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