Lacrosse sticks sit in the back of their cars, shafts dented from previous duels and mesh stained from hundreds of ground balls. Around the athletic weaponry are car seats, briefcases and all the other clutter that comes from everyday life.

These vehicles belong to members of the Boulder Lacrosse Club -  athletes who play the game they love from March to May.

The team plays in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League, or RMLL. The league is separated into four different sub-leagues: A League, B League, B League 1 and Masters League. Boulder plays in the B League - the second-highest level of play -  and has won the championship three years in a row.

Boulder has the option to move up to the A League, but the team, which is comprised of mostly the same members from year to year, is aging a bit and is content to compete at the current level.

"Most programs that are good in the B League don't really want to move up. The A League is ultra-competitive," said Robert Gormley, general manager of the Denver-based RMLL. "In Boulder, there are some good players, but they are all 30 to 40 years old."

The team has one official practice every year, which it uses as a tryout for new players. Even though it is a club sport, not everyone makes the Boulder Lacrosse Club. The team is comprised of former Division III and some Division I collegiate athletes, and new players need some skills to make the cut.

This past year, seven people tried out for three spots.

"We wanted to put together a pretty good crop of players. We have a lot of college players, and even some people that played club lacrosse in college can't make the squad," said Rich Kane, who runs the Boulder squad and plays defense. "In 20 minutes, you can tell what three or four guys are going to make the team."

Most of the team has been together for three or more years, and Kane said the team likes keeping that core together. The squad has to "replace pieces here and there" when players move on.

Through this camaraderie, players have received jobs and other services. Kane joked that one player, a mortgage broker, said joining the team "was the best decision he made" because he has helped several players with their mortgages.

Peter Devlin, a midfielder who played college lacrosse at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, got his job at Boulder-based Cloud 9 Living LLC through a teammate. Adam Michaels, chief executive and co-founder of the company, played with Devlin for three years and offered him the job.

"We hired Peter through lacrosse, so we found an employee through the team, which is great for us," Michaels said.

Michaels played Division I lacrosse for Colgate University, where he was a team captain. Kane considers Michaels -  an attackman -  the best player on the team.

Aside from the social aspect, Michaels appreciates the relaxed atmosphere of playing once a week. He has two kids, runs a company and doesn't have time for the seven-day-a-week commitment that lacrosse was in college.

The team also doesn't have to travel far. All of the games are either in Denver or Boulder on Sundays. The short distance helps players who have a responsibility-heavy schedule.

"At this point in my life, it's great. I've got my company, and I have two young kids," he said. "From a time standpoint, it's great to just go out there and play games. You miss some of the more intense games, but at this point in my life, I enjoy the once-a-week play."

After games, the team gets together to share lacrosse stories over a beer. Kane said the team likes to recruit talented players, but an important part of recruiting is making sure the team has a bunch of "good guys."

"It's one of the reasons I started playing with these guys," Michaels said. "We all get along really well. It's definitely a group that gets along really well. It's one of the reasons why people keep coming out -  we have a really good group of guys."

The Boulder Lacrosse Club is the only RMLL team in the area and has a "monopoly" on the local talent, Kane said. The team takes players from the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University.

One of the most difficult parts of playing for the Boulder Lacrosse Club is staying "sharp" during the off-season, Michaels said. He said some of the guys get together and throw around, but there is definitely a steep learning curve once the season starts.

"The hardest part for us attack players is shaking the rust off come March after you may have not picked up a stick in a few months," he said. "I think the big thing is getting into game shape."