Before embarking on his rookie campaign in Major League Lacrosse this summer, Denver Outlaw midfielder Cam Holding watched his alma mater win it’s first ever MCLA Division II Championship.
“We had come so close, and so much has been put into growing that program,” Holding said. “It was a great feeling to watch the team take the next step and bring home the championship.”
Holding, a two-time All-American attackman while at Grand Valley State University, followed suit at the FIL Lacrosse World Championships this summer. The native Canadian tallied a goal and an assist in Canada’s gold medal-clinching win over the United States.
“Just making the team, and being able to put on the Canadian jersey, was unbelievable,” Holding said. “To be able to win on that field against a team that everyone was saying was unbeatable…was the greatest feeling in my life.”
Tomorrow, Holding will play for his second championship in as many months, as his Denver Outlaw team will play the Rochester Rattlers in the MLL Championship game tomorrow. Holding is hoping to become the first MCLA player to win an MLL title, and became the first MCLA alum to score a goal in the MLL Playoffs when he tallied against New York in the semis last weekend.
Faceoff for the Championship game is set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network.
“To have that feeling twice in a month’s time would be pretty awesome,” Holding said.
The biggest difference between the MCLA and Professional ranks is in the details, according to Holding.
“Everything is done to perfection,” Holding said. “It comes down to the little detail things, and hard work. All the guys at the professional level do the little things to perfection.”
In just three years at GVSU, Holding scored a remarkable 266 goals, and handed out 98 assists for the Lakers. He has recorded five goals and three assists in his first season with the Outlaws.
“We are incredibly thrilled for the opportunity that [Holding] has earned,” GVSU lacrosse head coach Tim Murray said. “His success on the lacrosse field is a testament to the amount of work he has put in throughout his journey.
“Cam was the most talented player we’ve had a GVSU, but what has separated him from the competition is his work ethic. He was always the first player at practice, and the last to leave. He is constantly working to make himself the best lacrosse player he can be.”
Holding also plays for the National Lacrosse League’s Colorado Mammoth, where he recorded seven goals and 16 assists this past season. Additionally, he runs an off-season lacrosse program – Powerplay Lacrosse – for youth players in his hometown of Lansing, Michigan.
“[Holding] is a true ambassador for the sport of lacrosse, and is constantly giving back to the lacrosse community,” Murray said. “Watching him raise that trophy tomorrow would be a poetic feeling.”
Cam started his first Major League Lacrosse season as a defensive midfielder for the Chesapeake Bayhawks before being traded to Denver where he holds residence while playing indoor for the Mammoth. Ironically enough he won a gold medal for Canada in front of hometown fans of his in Denver and even played in a home MLL game against the Florida Launch a day after taking the gold with Team Canada.
“The last time I saw Cam play was actually at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver, losing to Davenport in the 2011 MCLA Division II semifinals,” said Dave Franklin a retired MCLA journalist who now serves as a Front Office Assistant for the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse. “It’s just great to see an MCLA product excel at such a high level and carry the torch so well for a segment of the college game which sometimes flies under the radar of the public eye. It was even cooler to watch Cam win such an important championship on the same field where he played his final collegiate game and swallowed such a humbling defeat.”
Franklin, who of course strives to win an MLL title of his own for New York was not shy in sharing that he hopes Denver wins their first MLL title this weekend. “I have a ton of respect for both the Rochester and Denver organizations, but it would be great for the league, the growth of the game out west and with that, the MCLA if Can hoisted the Steinfeld cup in a Denver Uniform this Saturday. He is among the classiest guys on one of the classiest teams, how can you root against that?”
