“America wouldn’t be what it is today without d-mids.” -Thomas Jefferson

Within the game, there exists a special breed of player. He’s not the 3x All American or the takeaway defenseman who lays down checks with the ferocity of a pit viper. He doesn’t have the best stick and couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a handful of peas. What he lacks in lacrosse IQ, he makes up for with raw athleticism. Inevitably, he makes the team because the veterans and coaches agree that cutting him would be a travesty. Bestowed upon him is a title that he will carry proudly throughout his college lacrosse career.

D-mid.

As Cam Brady would say, “D-mids are this nation’s backbone.” They are the glue that holds together your slide package and the spark in your transition game. They are, in every sense of the word, undervalued. Many believe that they’re above playing d-mid, as if what they played in high school makes them over-qualified. It does not matter what you did in high school. That was high school. Playing d-mid is an honor, not a demotion. Your job description is simple:

When you get beat, get beat to the right place.

Communicate.

Every ball on the ground should be yours.

Never, under any circumstance, consider taking a shot.

You’ll never get the recognition you deserve. When your star attackman is swarmed with babes after scoring the winning goal in OT, you’ll be thinking about the next time you can get in the gym. Nobody will remember how you shut down the other team’s 6'4" 225 part-Clydesdale middie who can literally dead-lift a car. Everyone remembers the winning goal, but never your groundball that led to it. Consider yourselves the special forces of the lacrosse world, called upon to quietly perform your duties without expectation of recognition in return.

We joke about d-mids, but the game would be different without them. If every d-mid suddenly quit today, the sun probably wouldn’t rise tomorrow. Food would lose all taste. Colors would be dull. We’ll never admit it openly, but we need you. Just promise us that you’ll stop trying to shoot.

Here’s to you, d-mids.