The true story of Archie “Moonlight” Graham was immortalized in the movie “Field of Dreams.” The right fielder made his Major League debut and played one inning for the New York Giants in 1905. It was his first and only game in the pros as he retired to become a doctor in his hometown of Chisholm, Minnesota.
(Photo courtesy of Vintage Lax)

“It was like coming this close to your dreams... and then watch them brush past you like strangers in a crowd,” said Graham's character in the blockbuster baseball movie.

That quote defined the professional baseball career of Graham, but is also appropriate for former NLL defenseman Chris Courtney. After a brief two-game stint in the NLL with the Minnesota Swarm in 2008, his NLL career was over. Unlike Graham, Courtney has dreams of playing at the pro level again. He began his journey back this past weekend at the Rochester Knighthawks Open Tryouts. 
Courtney was among over 20 players fighting for a spot on the Knighthawks’ Training Camp roster.

“It felt great. It’s awesome to be back. I love playing this sport,” he said.

The Minnesota Swarm drafted Courtney in the second round of the 2007 NLL Entry Draft from the Six Nations Arrows Junior “A” lacrosse team of the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Courtney played for the Arrows from 2005 to 2008 and was a stand-out player in the league. He won the esteemed Minto Cup with the Arrows in 2007 and was a big part of the team’s success. 

The Swarm saw great potential in Courtney, but after playing in just two regular season games he had to make the tough decision to leave the NLL for personal reasons. Four years later, Courtney realizes leaving the league was the best thing for him to do at the time. But now he feels the timing is right for a comeback.

"I was in it (the NLL) before and I had to take some time off and focus on family, but I don’t regret that for one second,” he said. “It makes me want to get back into it really bad.”

Courtney began working out, dieting, and getting back into the lacrosse world this year, playing for the Six Nations Slash of the Can-Am Senior “B” Lacrosse League and the Six Nations Chiefs of the Major Series Lacrosse Senior “A” League. He was also a member of the 2012 Creator’s Cup Champion Oshweken Demons team of the CLax Pro League. Courtney has been extremely busy preparing himself for his second shot at the NLL and it has not been an easy road.

It was a struggle to get back into shape after a four-year hiatus and Courtney recognized this at Knighthawks Open Tryouts stating, “You’ve got to work hard. It’s a lot of dieting and it takes a lot of willpower. It’s important to work out, especially with lacrosse and all of the talent out there. It really comes down to a little bit of both – your fitness and your talent level.”

Courtney appeared to be in great physical condition at tryouts and he attributed this, and his increased knowledge of the game, to his experience this year playing for the Six Nations Chiefs.

“I started out with the Slash and then got called up to the Chiefs. I learned a lot playing with them,” he said. “I got to feel what the intensity is like, so I think that helped me improve a lot as a player.”

The intensity was certainly in the air at Knighthawks Open Tryouts with many hopefuls aggressively putting for their best effort to show the Knighthawks that they deserve a roster spot. Now the players, including Courtney, are patiently waiting to see if they receive a phone call asking for them to attend Knighthawks training camp.

Courtney has put his best effort into preparing for this opportunity and he wants more than anything to receive that phone call.

“It would mean everything. That’s what I’m here for; that’s what I’m working towards,” he said. “I want to be on the team. I want to give it everything I’ve got and show the team and all of the fans what I’ve got.”