That is very cool that Japan has come so far. I think the club/varsity issue is a bit confused. As I understand it, when people are talking about "clubs" in international lacrosse, they aren't talking about teams over here like Colorado State. They're talking about teams like the Crease Monkeys, MAB Paints, or Marin. Before the MLL, the club teams played the highest level of lacrosse in the US. I'm not sure if this is right, but it would make more sense, given that the club teams in Japan beat the varsity teams regularly. Good story.