Daily Archives: July 16, 2009

Wednesday, the gears shifted to the California Gold Invitational proper. Neat set up, covering two fields at a park in Danville, with the mountains in the distance. The goals were painted gold and black, and gold flags littered the field. It was 95 degrees but dry, and a breeze helped relieve the heat.

Again, several important faces on the sidelines, including Dave Cottle (Maryland), Richie Meade (Navy), Joe Breschi (UNC), Jeff Tambroni (Cornell), Andy Copelan (Fairfield), Frank Fedorjaka (Bucknell), Nick Myers (Ohio State), plus representatives from Army, Duke, Hofstra, Notre Dame, Bellarmine, Stony Brook, Towson, Limestone and MCLA programs like Arizona State and California.

The rising seniors and underclassmen played on separate fields for most of the day, starting first with simple 1v1, 4v4 drills, then moving to scrimmages. At the end they mixed up the talent so a teams of underclassmen were going against teams of rising seniors.

Good talent all around, especially the athleticism in the middle of the field. In traffic the kids struggled a bit, especially trying to execute crease offense. Among the highlights:

Tyler Ekeroth (Jr./M/Rancho Bernardo HS): Was the star of the second half of the day; racked up four goals in the final session against the seniors; great glide in his run, good change of direction and fluid outside shot; Murmurs were that he was very similar in style to UNC’s Jimmy Dunster.

Conner Hunt (Jr./D/De La Salle): The defensive MVP of the Be the Best camp, Hunt’s size, physicality and athleticism, both running full field and playing close, were apparent. Easy pickup for a team looking for an athletic defender. Listed at 6-4, 205 lbs.

Mike Riis (Jr./LSM/La Costa Canyon): Another good, athletic LSM, Riis was strong at taking it into the offense and being a threat to score or feed. Easy to see how his talents could develop.

Ben Krebs (Jr./G/Foothill): Had the best day among the goalies. Active to the ball, made nice saves low and could outlet well.

Mike Tagliaferri (So./M/San Ramon): One of the most physical midfielders on the day, played with a bullish tenacity. Scored 31 goals as freshman. Impressive, even in Cali.

Matt Emery (Fr./M/St. Ignatius Prep): Only going into his freshman year, Emery showed a full field swiftness and early size (6-0) for such a young player. Shades of his brother Rob (Virginia).

Jack Yeatman (So./A/Rancho Bernardo): He’s relatively tall for his age (6-1) but may have to pack on a few pounds (155 lbs.). Knew the game though and had some talents to work with, though not the initial size of his brother (yet).

Cameron Cole (Jr./A/Foothill): Again, showed the fluidity of an experienced attackman, and had a few slick moves to the cage. Prolific for his high school (49G, 20A).

Kendrick Gaston-Trevillon (So./A/Redwood) There are players special to lacrosse. The crafty-short-stocky attackman is one of them. Gaston-Trevillon fits the mold, with some slick stick skills around the cage, as well as finishing ability.

Maclane Whims (Jr./M/Bellarmine College Prep): Not quite as fluid as the other top middies, still showed some good full field speed, and knew how to set up the offense.

Overall, some quality DI-capable talent mixed with a lot of good overall lacrosse talent. Check back tomorrow for Day 2 of California Gold Camp.

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/07/16/recruiting-roundup-peter-worstells-california-gold-invitational/