Professional PLL
06:00 PM
Jul 19
Phi
Den
Toru Morimatsu sits alone four rows up on a riser inside the cavernous expo hall of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In front of him, Regy Thorpe, head coach of the U.S. indoor team and the National Lacrosse League’s New York Riptide, demonstrates a series of warm-up drills in a makeshift box with the Road Warriors Lacrosse Club. Their shoes squeak on the cement floor.
A stone’s throw away, Premier Lacrosse League pros pose for selfies and sign autographs in front of the well-branded PLL booth. It’s a little after 11 a.m. on an unseasonably warm Saturday in January. Morimatsu didn’t have breakfast, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
While others in the crowd at the US Lacrosse Convention periodically check their phones or discuss where they’re going to watch the NFL playoff games, Morimatsu is a study in concentration. He leans forward and scribbles notes on a pad that he balances on his right knee. He’s wearing pristine black and tan Vans, black pants and a black Stealers jacket. That’s the name of his club team back in Tokyo. He has a couple dozen hairs on his chin that faintly resemble a beard.
Morimatsu, who played lacrosse at Cal while studying abroad in 2016-17, was listed at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds at the time. Those numbers seem generous now. Maybe that’s because he appears younger than 24, but in Japan he’s often told he looks old for his age. He’s exceedingly polite and later apologizes once he notices he misspelled the word “booth” in a text message. In conversation, the former political philosophy major chooses his words carefully. He’s introspective. He sometimes pauses mid-sentence to confirm what he’s saying will convey the intended meaning.
Morimatsu makes an impression on almost everyone he meets.
“He’s inspiring,” says Martin Bowes, a Major League Lacrosse veteran of seven seasons. “Toru shows that if you've got the ambition and the emotional intelligence to seek the right advice from the right people, there's no limit to your rate of development.”
People inevitably mention Morimatsu’s smile and his thoughtfulness.
“How was the Wings’ game?” he’s asked.
“It was awesome,” he replies. His preferred adjective is “awesome.” He returns his focus to Thorpe’s instructions.
Morimatsu has never played box lacrosse. “I have so much to learn,” he says. Before watching the Wings defeat the Vancouver Warriors, 18-10, the previous night at the Wells Fargo Center, his experience was limited to YouTube highlights. Which makes his recent decision to leave his job at Mizuho Bank in Tokyo and pursue playing lacrosse full-time in Vancouver that much bolder.
Yet, he’s seen Yuya Okumara, another member of the Japanese national team, take his skills “to another level” since he joined the Senior B Coquitlam Adanacs last year.
“I saw that and I thought if I wanted to improve my skill, box would be the thing,” Morimatsu says.
The week before LaxCon in Philadelphia, Morimatsu and his Japanese teammates were in San Antonio for Spring Premiere. They nearly stunned the U.S. senior team, which was loaded with PLL and MLL All-Stars, not to mention several gold medalists. As the sun began to set Jan. 4 at Gale and Tom Benson Stadium at the University of the Incarnate Word, Japan led the U.S., 5-3.
Even though the U.S. salvaged an 8-5 victory with a five-goal fourth-quarter rally, Morimatsu and his teammates did not sulk after narrowly failing to pull off the upset. Instead, they took pictures with the U.S. team and peppered their lacrosse idols with questions. On Instagram, Morimatsu posted a photo standing next to Matt McMahon, a PLL All-Star defenseman for Archers LC.
“‘Genuine’ is the best word to describe him,” Morimatsu wrote.
It’s that genuineness that Morimatsu cites as one of the reasons he felt an immediate connection with McMahon when he and a group of PLL pros traveled to Japan in November for the World Crosse Exhibition. The Women’s Professional Lacrosse League had sent a contingent of pros to the event in 2018. The WPLL-PLL partnership brought representatives of both leagues to Tokyo in 2019. In addition to suiting up for the Japanese All-Star Team (Morimatsu scored their first goal), he also acted as an interpreter and helped the PLL pros navigate his home city.
McMahon knew he wanted to repay that kindness and hospitality. So after the Spring Premiere, he invited Morimatsu to join Deemer Class and him for a few days in Austin, where they were hosted the first joint offense and defense clinic for First Class Lacrosse.
Class, a midfielder for Chaos LC and a former three-time All-American at Duke, left his job as a Bond Sales Analyst at Barclays in 2017 to make lacrosse his livelihood. When McMahon saw the formation of the PLL, he knew there was no way he could miss out. He left T&N Capital Advisors last January to commit more of his time to the sport he can talk about for hours on end. He had to push back a phone interview for this story because he was immersed in a “little philosophical defensive discussion” with Matt Dunn about their priorities for First Class’s curriculum. The call lasted more than 90 minutes.
Class, a Baltimore native, and McMahon, a New Jersey guy, found in Morimatsu a natural companion.
“All three of us were sitting there [in Austin], and we realized we had so much in common,” McMahon says. “It was a really eye-opening moment.”
When the three friends weren’t coaching, they toured Sixth street, the Texas capitol building and the Barton Springs Pool. They even stopped by the world-famous Franklin Barbecue and its legendary line. Their wait was only around 30 minutes.
“We got brisket and pulled pork,” McMahon says. “Toru got all of the sides.”
“I like the sides,” Morimatsu says.
“He ate everything on the platter,” McMahon adds. “We all did. We also definitely ordered too much meat. Halfway through, I was like, ‘We ordered way too much, but we are definitely going to finish this.’”
They’re now reunited across a wobbly table next to the soda machine at the Down Home Dinner in Philadelphia’s famous Reading Terminal Market. The place is packed. There’s a neon sign with the words “Save the Farm,” and the waitstaff wear shirts that list the ingredients of scrapple. McMahon and Morimatsu are joined by Kaisuke Iwamoto, who goes by Kai, and Shunki Miyazawa, the owner of Beside Lacrosse Shop in Tokyo, who presents his business card with a modest bow. They all order “Philly’s Best Cheesesteak.” It’s Morimatsu’s third cheesesteak in three days. McMahon is dubious about the menu’s proclamation.
“We could do better,” he says after a couple bites. “Jim’s would blow this away.”
Morimatsu asks about the best way to tackle the local fare.
Iwamoto covers his hands with napkins before picking up his steak.
"No napkins bro,” the waiter chides when he checks on the table. “In Philadelphia, we let the grease drip down everywhere."
“Sorry, it's Asian style,” Iwamoto replies with a laugh.
Iwamoto handles 100-mph shots more comfortably than he does greasy cheesesteaks. In 2018, he became the first Japanese-born player to play in an MLL game when he started for the Denver Outlaws against the Dallas Rattlers.
“Playing lacrosse at the professional level was literally unreal,” Iwamoto says. “It is hard to describe how I felt.”
Morimatsu harbors similar ambitions.
“I love the idea of being a professional lacrosse player,” he said in the first episode of “Breaking Barriers,” a PLL YouTube series chronicling the pros’ trip to Japan. “But I know there is going to be a ton of sacrifices.”
Born in Los Angeles, Morimatsu also spent a year in the US at the age of 6 when his parents’ work at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation took them to New York City. He learned English and about baseball. He loved watching Derek Jeter, but gravitated to the pitcher’s mound.
“I could throw kind of fast, but I didn’t have the control,” he says.
At Azabu, a private prep school in Japan, baseball practices often lasted more than 12 hours in the summer. Morimatsu hoped his training would lead him to Koshien, the biannual single-elimination high school tournament that captivates the nation, then eventually The University of Tokyo, where his father and grandparents attended.
“They’re in the biggest college league in Japan, but they’re always losing,” Morimatsu says. “If you win one game, you’re on a newspaper. It’s a big deal.”
His plans changed. Like all but one of his teammates on the current Japanese lacrosse roster, Morimatsu didn’t take up the other stick-and-ball sport until after high school. At Waseda University, he was attracted to the idea of winning a collegiate championship with the Redbats, a prospect that was “more than a dream” if he had gone to the University of Tokyo and played baseball. He liked that in lacrosse, everyone started at the same level. Soon he learned that stick skills were a reflection of how much time you committed to your craft. He hit the wall every day.
“I am not the biggest guy, or the fastest guy on the field, but if I work hard enough, I could make the team and one day be one of the best players in Japan,” he says.
The work paid off. The Redbats won the collegiate championship during Morimatsu’s senior year in 2018 topping Tokyo, 7-5. Morimatsu, a midfielder, showed off his silky split dodge and a powerful shot with both hands when he scored two goals. He was named the player of the match.
Asked what he enjoys most about lacrosse, Morimatsu replies, “Definitely the brotherhood.” The slogan of Japanese Lacrosse Association, founded in 1987, is “Lacrosse Makes Friends.”
“I truly think that Cal lacrosse had a special connection,” Morimatsu says. “I truly think Waseda lacrosse had a special connection. That is the best part of the sport. I didn't feel it when I was playing baseball. Lacrosse has a tight community, and we help each other.”
Lacrosse is how Morimatsu got to know former Maryland and current Whipsnakes LC attackman Dylan Maltz, who introduced him to Lorne Smith, the global sales manager at TRUE Sports, while in Philadelphia. Maltz also tried to get Morimatsu to try White Claw, but he stuck with beer.
“I definitely think he can do some big things in Canada, and eventually it would be awesome to see him on a PLL team,” Maltz says. “That's why all of us pros go over to Japan and help grow the game, because we want to see that happen.”
While considering his options, Morimatsu also leaned on the relationships he developed with Bowes and Chaos LC midfielder Mark Glicini. Morimatsu helped as their interpreter when they traveled to Japan in 2019 for a series of clinics organized by Crosse Crosse. Now he was seeking their advice.
Glicini told him to follow his heart. Bowes, whom Morimatsu calls his “sensei,” outlined the various opportunities in North America and encouraged him to play indoor lacrosse.
“There is going to be nothing better for your game than playing box lacrosse,” Bowes told Morimatsu, “and there is no better place to play box lacrosse than in Canada.”
Back at the Down Home Diner, the conversation turns to the future. When do tryouts start? Have you found a place to stay? March. Not yet.
“I have a friend on the [Vancouver] Warriors,” McMahon says. “Logan Schuss. He was the guy that I was telling you I'll put you in touch with.”
“All the NLL players are pretty thick,” Morimatsu surmises.
“That's what I'm saying,” McMahon replies. “You've got to start eating up.”
Before Morimatsu sets off for Vancouver, before he has an “awesome” cheesesteak at Jim’s, before he takes more notes while watching Kyle Harrison and Justin Guterding break down the intricacies of shooting on the run or Blaze Riorden delve into the finer points of a twister shot, he talks about his fears. He knows the learning curve will be steep, but hopes the connections he has built this weekend will help him get a tryout and an opportunity to prove himself up North.
Sure, he had great bosses and a comfortable job at Mizuho, besides having to wear a suit and tie every day. Yes, he loved playing with the Stealers. But he also thought about his future and his potential.
“When I am 30, I don't want to be disappointed that I didn't make this decision or did this challenge at all,” Morimatsu says. “That’s one of the reasons I’m taking this leap.”
Another reason are his role models. There’s Sachi Yamada, Japan’s first pro lacrosse player, Iwamoto, McMahon, Bowes, Glicini, Sergio Salcido, and several others who inspire Morimatsu. He looks up to them because they committed to their passions.
“It is really easy to say, but it is hard to put into action,” he says.
Vancouver is a step in that direction. The player who likes wearing No. 13 because it “symbolizes having your own standard of value,” will chart his own path.
More than anything, Morimatsu is excited for the future. He says he’s lucky to be in this position and thankful for the support he’s received.
He then considered the question that will continue to drive him toward his dream.
“What if?” Morimatsu asks.
“What if I did lacrosse full-time? How far could I go?”