Community Sports

Gig Harbor lacrosse finds new life before playoffs

On paper, the Gig Harbor boys lacrosse team’s season hasn’t looked like much of a success.

The Tides battled injuries and dropped most of their league games. Even head coach Marc Kemp admitted the year felt disappointing.

“It’s been a rough season,” Kemp said. “We had a lot of injuries, significant injuries. We had a couple guys transfer out, so our numbers decreased.”

And yet, with the postseason approaching, the Tides have won four straight games and now sit at 4-6. Thanks to some help from around the league, Gig Harbor will host a first-round playoff game in a couple weeks.

Gig Harbor lacrosse coach Marc Kemp. Photo by Nathan Hyun

Kemp is in his 18th season leading the program he helped build from the ground up. He said this year has become about much more than wins and losses.

“We’ve always had a great group of guys,” Kemp said. “I want them keeping their heads up so that we can go into the next games and do our best but also, this is all life lesson.”

A season shaped by adversity

Gig Harbor came into the spring hoping to build off last year’s playoff run, when the program won a postseason game for the first time in years before falling in the second round.

But before this season could gain any momentum, the team took a major hit.

Senior captain Isaiah West tore his ACL during the first practice of the year, ending his season. Kemp expected West, a four-year varsity player and one of only two seniors on the roster, to play a major role in the midfield.

“It was brutal, obviously,” West said. “I just wanted to play with my guys.”

The injury left senior attackman John Caplinger as the team’s only active senior.

John Caplinger, left, and Isaiah West are the only seniors on the Gig Harbor lacrosse team. Photo by Nathan Hyun

Gig Harbor also lost additional players early in the season, leaving an already young roster even thinner.

Still, the team stayed connected through the losses. Practices remained energetic and veterans stepped into bigger leadership roles.

“You’ve got 14-year-olds out here with 18- and 19-year-olds and you don’t really see the obvious cliques or some of the hazing that can happen in sports,” Kemp said. “They genuinely like each other.”

That chemistry eventually showed itself in the team’s biggest game of the season.

A rivalry win that changed the momentum

Every year, Gig Harbor circles one matchup above the rest: Peninsula.

The rivalry leaned heavily toward Peninsula for years, with the Seahawks winning eight straight meetings in one stretch. But the Tides have flipped that momentum, winning the last three matchups, including this season’s 13-1 victory.

“We artificially build that game up to be really important,” Kemp said with a laugh. “In the grand scheme of life, it doesn’t mean anything. But at the same time, we tell them this is the most important game of your season.”

The Gig Harbor lacrosse team after their 13-1 win over Peninsula. Photo by Jennifer Heater

The rivalry game, known as the Baggataway Bowl, gives the matchup extra meaning. Similar to the Fish Bowl, the winner takes home a full-size lacrosse stick mounted on a plaque.

This year’s game carried even more weight. Gig Harbor entered winless at 0-6, while Peninsula came in at 1-7 after earning its first victory of the season.

Caplinger admitted there were nerves going into the matchup.

“It was definitely a little nerve-racking for me given that it’s my last year,” he said. “I really wanted to win.”

Instead of tightening up, the Tides turned in arguably their best performance of the year. They jumped out early and never let Peninsula back into the game.

“Every player found what their best game was,” Kemp said. “Every position on the field played great.”

Eli Stecher of Gig Harbor during the game against Peninsula. Photo by Jennifer Heater

Tides players Trig Kvinsland and Caplinger led all scorers with five and four goals, respectively. Both also added two assists.

The win completely shifted the team’s mentality heading into the postseason, and that momentum has carried into four straight victories.

“If we can play like we did against Peninsula, I think we’ve got a really good chance,” Kemp said.

The team’s leader

Caplinger, a four-year varsity player, emerged as Gig Harbor’s offensive leader.

He leads the Tides with 19 goals and four assists while also carrying the responsibility of being the only active senior captain on the roster.

“I knew we were a young team, and people were going to need a leader,” Caplinger said.

Kemp has watched Caplinger’s development over the years.

“He was the smallest kid on the team and pretty timid,” Kemp said. “Now he’s one of the tallest, biggest kids on the team.”

Beyond the physical growth, Kemp said Caplinger developed into a vocal leader for the program.

“He’s just a great human being and a great leader,” Kemp said.

That growth helped Caplinger earn an opportunity to continue his lacrosse career at Colorado Mesa University next year.

After years of youth lacrosse and varsity competition, Caplinger said the opportunity still feels surreal.

“I was super excited,” he said. “To be able to pursue the sport I’ve loved and been playing for all these years, I was just super pumped.”

Johnny Caplinger. Photo by Nathan Hyun

Building the program from the ground up

Long before Gig Harbor was making playoff appearances, Kemp and others were simply trying to establish lacrosse in the community.

When the program started nearly two decades ago, youth participation became the foundation for everything that followed.

“If you don’t have the youth program, your high school program’s never going to be any good,” Kemp said. “It’s very difficult for somebody to come out, as a ninth or 10th grader and pick it up and really excel.”

Today, Gig Harbor’s lacrosse pipeline starts as early as third grade.

Unlike traditional WIAA sports, boys lacrosse in Washington operates through the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association.

Even without direct school district funding, the program continues to grow through community support and youth development.

For a season that could have easily unraveled, that culture may end up being Gig Harbor’s biggest accomplishment.

“It’s pretty incredible to go from not being terribly successful during the season but then being able to do something in the postseason,” Kemp said. “I’d just like to see these guys play their best and I’ll take whatever those results are.”

Gig Harbor takes on Liberty at 1 p.m. May 16 at Peninsula High School in the first round of the WHSBLA playoffs.