Wes Berg’s opportunity to play lacrosse was usually linked to warmer weather.
“We had to wait for the ice to melt,” Berg said.
Berg, a native of Canada, is among the top players for the San Diego Seals, the area’s professional lacrosse team. But he’s far from a local in explaining how he was introduced to a sport that continues to grow in popularity.
There’s not a lot of natural ice in San Diego, but Berg, 30, now an Encinitas resident, has been a natural in lacrosse.
“I started playing when I was pretty young,” Berg said. “My parents have pictures of me when I could barely crawl, with a stick in my hand, when I was seven or eight months old.”
Berg, a personable 6-foot-2, 205-pound forward who leads the Seals in points (54) and assists (35), was drawn to lacrosse because of its constant action and physicality.
Steven Woods, the 97.3 FM host, moonlights as the Seals’ public-address announcer, and during games, he’s situated next to the penalty box.
He sees both sides of Berg.
“Bergy will come in there after a fight with blood dripping down his leg and say, ‘Hey Woodsie, how’s it going?’” Woods said with a laugh. “Of the countless athletes I’ve ever met, in all the sports, he is in the top five of my favorites.”
Seals coach Patrick Merrill agrees.
“Wes is the straw that stirs the drink for us,” Merrill said. “He simply carries himself off the field the way every professional athlete should and plays the right way every time he steps on the lacrosse field. He’s a special athlete and person.”
Berg was a fortunate son to have his father and others as mentors.
“I was pretty lucky because I had some awesome coaches growing up, and all my buddies were playing lacrosse,” Berg said. “It was great because I had all this energy and a short attention span. You could run around and hit people, kind of like hockey. I liked the game’s speed and the aggression, which is part of it.”
Berg, the Seals’ captain and among the National Lacrosse League’s top offensive players, leans on the hockey analogy for those new to lacrosse. Lacrosse players aren’t on skates, but being fast and tough are key ingredients in hockey.
Berg checked both boxes and did so at an early age in Coquitlam, British Columbia, not far from Vancouver.
“Junior lacrosse at home is like for players 18 to 21 years old, and every once in a while, they will have a younger player, like 15 or 16, that gets called up to see if they can make it,” Berg said. “So I played on the junior team before I had a driver’s license.”
That exposure drove the University of Denver to offer Berg a lacrosse scholarship, where he helped lead the Pioneers to a national title in 2015.
A big deal? You bet, especially for a school out west, where lacrosse was still taking hold.
“A lot of people thought we had a snowball’s chance in hell to win it,” Berg said. “It’s one of those things where lacrosse is traditionally an East Coast sport, so when we won it, it just showed the growth of the game.”
The NCAA championship came on the heels of Berg being an integral member of Canada’s national team that beat the U.S. in the World Lacrosse Championship.
“It was one of those times when you think you’re going to win something every year,” Berg said. “Then you go through the times of heartbreak, and you realize winning is pretty difficult.”
The Seals (6-3), triumphant in four of their past five games, have had their share of success. On Friday, they face the Georgia Storm at the Pechanga Arena, the first of four home games over their next six dates.
On March 23, after the Seals play the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, Bret Michaels, the former lead singer of Poison, will perform. Michaels’ daughter, Raine, is the Seals’ sideline reporter.
A lot is happening at Seals games, and the popular Berg, who’s heavily involved in coaching area lacrosse youth teams, is usually front-and-center.
“Over the years, I’ve learned how to do a little bit of everything,” Berg said. “I’m kind of like the utility knife out there.”
At least in San Diego, there’s no need for Berg to cut through the ice to reach the lacrosse field.
“I love it here,” he said. “And I never want to leave.”
Contact Jay Paris at [email protected] and follow him @jparis_sports.
