Like most professional athletes, Boston Cannons midfielder Greg Downing was excited and honored to be a part of the Major League Lacrosse All-Star game in Denver earlier this month. But he also faced a problem that players in most other professional leagues don’t have to worry about.

Could he get time off from work to play in the game?

Such is the life in the MLL, where players are routinely working a normal full-time job while also playing a professional sport.  Players leave their jobs, often in other cities, to take the field for MLL games once a week.

It can be a chaotic existence for players and coaches, who have to juggle work schedules and employer commitments while trying to find a winning formula on the field.

The Cannons seem to have found the right balance. They will take the field against the Washington Bayhawks next Thursday at Harvard Stadium in their final regular season contest having won six of their last nine games while securing a playoff spot.

Downing and fellow All-Stars Ryan Boyle (attack), Paul Rabil (midfield), Kyle Sweeney, Ray Megill, Chris Passavia (defense) and Mike Levin (goal) will lead the Cannons into the MLL New Balance Championship Weekend in Annapolis starting on August 22. With a couple of quick wins in the tournament, the Cannons could bring the championship trophy back to Boston.

But the team members will also have spent the summer battling on Wall Street, wrestling with bar exams and getting geared up to teach school.

Winning lacrosse games is just part of the package for these athletes.

“It’s pretty much a part time job for us,” says Cannons coach Bill Daye who has the unenviable task of dealing with player personnel issues that are much different than in other pro ranks.

Daye is lucky if he gets one practice a week with his full squad.  If his team has a mid-week game, forget practice, Daye will be happy if his team can squeeze in a game-day meeting.

“We had a (morning) walk through, but we didn’t have the whole team there to go over some specific things,” says Daye after a recent Cannons victory.  “It’s the nature of the beast - it’s just part of the deal.”

Despite the logistical coaching obstacles Daye has still managed to keep the Cannons highly competitive in each of the last four seasons. 

A great deal of that success comes from making swift adjustments, such as quickly finding an effective substitution after a leading scorer announces he has to miss a game because of a work commitment.
But a great deal of the Cannons ability to mesh wins on the field with full time work elsewhere comes down to the players simply having the self-discipline to push  themselves on their own, when they are away from the team each week.

“That’s all on them, obviously these guys are professionals, they are getting out there and working in the gym, running,” says Daye.

The players training can take different forms. Some like Matt Casey, play basketball four times a week; others have to find creative alternatives.

“I live in the city so there are not too many fields available,” says Downing. “But by my apartment there are a lot of hand ball courts, so I’ll go out and through the ball against the wall to get my stick skills ready to go.”

Finding the time to fire the ball around a handball court can be half the battle for Downing. Two years removed from college he works in a demanding position with Merill Lynch in New York City.

The hourly expectations for any young employee on Wall Street are difficult, let alone one simultaneously playing a professional sport in another city. There is not a lot of time for Downing to indulge in anything resembling the glamorous lifestyle of a professional athlete. 

“I’m on the 5:10 a.m, (train) which gets me back to New York at 8:45 a.m.,” says Downing after helping the Cannons secure a recent win. “I’m supposed to be in at 8:30, but my boss is being a little flexible.” 

Passavia, the team captain, is also too familiar with the concept of shuffling from New York to Boston on the train for games.  When things have run late, Passavia has actually had to change his clothes on the sideline before a game.

“Last year I was a summer associate at a large New York firm and that caused me to often have to go right from work to the game,” says Passavia. “I’d have to get my suit off and get in my (lacrosse) gear and play ball.”

Things have not gotten any easier for Passavia this summer. He will be taking the New York bar exam this week.  Playing a pro sport and studying for the bar is not an easy mix.

“It’s just sort of going back between the pressure of sports and the pressure of a big moment in your life career wise,” says Passavia, an honors student while playing collegiately at the University of Maryland. “You really want to make sure you perform well for both arenas. There’s a lot of stress.”

But perhaps somewhat refreshingly in the world of pro sports, Passavia’s experience also helps him maintain an appreciation of the real world demands that most folks face.

“Bar studies can be difficult no matter what you’re doing, lot’s of people carry full time jobs (when they’re studying) so I can understand their situation,” says Passavia.

Like most players in the MLL, Downing, Casey and Passavia all know that the league is helping them continue playing a sport at a top level, but that they cannot build a financial future while making $8,000 to $14,000 a season playing lacrosse.

But they will keep doing it as long as they can.

“It’s not as difficult as you’d think,” says Casey, a teacher and an All-American player at Ithaca College now in his first season with the Cannons.

 “I’m at school until about 5 everyday, doing something I love, teaching middle school kids. And I love playing sports. To be able to come to a city like Boston and to be with a bunch of good guys, there’s nothing better than it.”

Downing also agrees it’s a pretty good deal, even if demanding.

“I’m young right now and playing it by ear, I’m fortunate to have a boss who is willing to let me go and do it,” says Downing.

While laughing, he adds: “It’s hurt my vacation days a bit, but it’s worth it”.