Vikings GM Spielman's Sons Are Star Athletes In ... Lacrosse

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (WCCO) -- The boys lacrosse state tournament starts Tuesday, and Eden Prairie is expected to win it.

The Eagles are not only undefeated, but they've won by an average of 10 goals a game.

Many of those goals have been scored by JD and Ronnie Spielman, and their rather famous father couldn't be more proud.

It wouldn't surprise you that Ronnie and JD Spielman play football.

Not when you know their dad, Rick Spielman, is the general manager of the Vikings.

What might surprise you is the sport they both say is just as important.

"Didn't know anything about the game until we moved up here to Minnesota," Rick said.

Ronnie, a junior, and JD, a freshman, first took up lacrosse five years ago.

"They're pretty rough-house around the house, and we said, 'Listen, instead of playing soccer this year, you can run around and hit each other with sticks, how does that sound?'" Rick said. "And they said, 'Oh, we'd love to do that.'"

They're both pretty good. JD was all-state.

"He has a really nice shot," Ronnie said. "And he's really accurate with it."

They're good enough to play for Eden Prairie, which is impressive enough in itself. But they also play on elite traveling teams. Sometimes Rick's gone with them for two weeks at a time, crisscrossing the country for tournaments.

Sometimes it's hard, however, to turn off the general manager hat.

"He tries to give us feedback, but a lot of the times, we're the ones that are right," JD said. "And we're like, no, we know more."

So, the most powerful football man in Minnesota is the head of a big lacrosse family.

"I told our kids, you don't have to play football just because dad's in the football business," Rick said. "Just go out there and give it your best."