“…the club — whose roster typically is a mix of players from Marin, the South Bay, the East Bay and San Francisco — has been a success both in terms of its play and its ability to find college programs interested in its players. The team has held its own in tournaments since that opener, and to date, 56 current or former players are part of or have committed to college squads. Of that group, 37 players found Division I programs at which to play…”
Coach Greg Angilly talks to players during practice with the Alcatraz Outlaws lacrosse team on Sunday, June 2, 2013, in Corte Madera, Calif. The Alcatraz Outlaws is a Bay Area club lacrosse team for high school boys looking to gain exposure with college programs. (Frankie Frost/Marin Independent Journal)
The Outlaws have produced enough nuggets that the program has expanded its operations. This summer, the Outlaws have two teams, with one featuring rising seniors (Class of 2014 players who are juniors this year) and the other including rising juniors (Class of 2015).
When the ALCATRAZ Outlaws were formed in 2009, the goal for coaches Dave Grose, Greg Angilly and Braden Edwards was to give top-level Northern California high school lacrosse players a chance to show top-level college coaches that they can play.
The Outlaws, who train at the Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera, have relatively little time with which to make their mark. The team, which is hand-picked by the coaches after they scout players who show an interest in playing, works together for only three weeks beginning in early June. The Outlaws then head East to play in the King of the Hill and then the Gait Cup at Gettysburg (Pa.) College. By July, the players go their separate ways.
But that time together and the exposure to high caliber players and college coaches is invaluable, players say.
St. Margaret’s Episcopal Boys Lacrosse Head Coach Glen Miles. OCVarsity.com
In the second part of an interview, Glen Miles, head coach of 2013 CIF-Southern Section Lacrosse Champion St. Margaret’s Episcopal Boys Lacrosse program, talks about the importance of “experienced and dedicated” coaching in Western High School Lacrosse.
LaxBuzz:University of Denver Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach Bill Tierneyhas stated that it is critical for the continued growth and success of Western Lacrosse to have ”high quality, experienced and dedicated coaches” (i.e. East Coast experience) to continue to take up positions with club teams and high school programs. Many top Division I players have been traveling back and landing at Western programs, but they lack the experience in coaching at top collegiate programs.
How do you see experienced ”East Coast coaches” being lured to coming out west? Is it possible for top boys coaches to play MCLA or Div II or III college lacrosse at western programs and become top-level coaches?
Glen Miles: “Coach Tierney is 100% correct. He has great interest in the California Lacrosse market. Many of our highly skilled players will be attracted to Denver University for a variety of reasons.”
“First, he is a great coach, leader and mentor and he runs a great program. Second, it is the closest DI program and if our players want to shoot for the highest level, it is a great place to go to school.”
“High quality coaching is very important. Because we live in California and have arguably the most desirable climate on the planet, attracting great young lacrosse guys to California will not be too difficult.”
“What will be difficult is keeping these coaches coaching High School Lacrosse. It will not be difficult to keep them in California, but regrettably they seem to migrate toward club lacrosse and away from High School programs.”
“The reason for this is simple: the average High School coaching stipend is around $3000. The job as it is structured right now is difficult for the little bit of money that they receive. They are doing it for the love of the game and the love of the kids. We can’t add additional stress to the job description.”
“Booster clubs, steering committees and the like must be patient and be willing to accept some mistake as a young coach grows. The guys that want to do this job understand that they must have a “real job” to make ends meet. Sometimes their real job is lacrosse and sometimes it is not.”
“I think there are plenty of great coaching role models currently at MCLA, DII and DIII. The issue of whether a young coach continues to grow is a factor of how committed we are to help him grow.”
The Vail Lacrosse Tournament is by most accounts, the most prestigious annual Club Lacrosse tournament in the world. Past years have seen the United States national team and the Canadian national team enter the tournament (1994).
In 1993, the Canadian East and West invitational squads competed in the tournament, and held a quiet intersquad game on the last day of the tournament to help determine the final roster for the 1994 Canadian national team. The English national team competed in Vail in 1992, and for the last 10 years, the top teams from the United States Club Lacrosse Association have brought teams to Vail. In 1995 16 of the 24 1994 U.S. National team players competed in the tournament for different teams. Since the start of Major League Lacrosse, fewer professional players are able to make it out, but the Colorado Mammoth along with other National Lacrosse League players continue to take the field. In 2006, a Grand Masters division will be offered for those >50.
Expected Teams for 2013 Shootout:
Men’s Elite Division: (20 teams): Adrenaline Tropics, Balance Bar, Brine Elite, Crease Beavers, Denver City Lax, FCA, Jammin Salmon, Lacrossewear, Lofers, Millenium Lacrosse Club, MN Chill, Prestige Lacrosse, Rocky Mtn Oysters, Southern Combat Americans, Team Gutman, Team Scout, Team Tama, The Big Green Herd, True Lacrosse, and Warrior X
High School Boys Division: (17 teams): ADRLN Jr. Tropics, Baltimore Crabs, Black Hawks, Brady’s Bunch, Colorado, FCA Colorado West, FCA Lacrosse, Frost Lacrosse, Jr. Buddha’s Ballers, KC Blue Lion Lacrosse, Lawrenceville Big Red, Laxachusetts, Midwest Select, MN Chill, Orange Lacrosse, Western CO Mavericks, and Winnipeg Wolverines
Supermasters Division: (11 teams): Aged Spirits, C2C Magic Wands, Cactus Lacrosse, Elder Statesmen, Gargoyle Athletics, Generals, Middlebury, Moondoggies, Navy Old Goats, Princeton BCLF, and Yellow Dog
Grandmasters Division: (9 teams): Air Force Graybirds, CLC, Eldest Statesmen, Los Viejos de C2C, Middlebury, Mr. BOH Lacrosse Club, Navy Grand Goats, Princeton BCLF, and Tombstone
Masters Division: (8 teams): Buddha’s Ballers, Jagermeister, Middlebury, Olympic Club, Power Tek, Silver Oyster, Team Adrenaline, and Team Hulu
Team 180 captured the Girls’ 2015, 2016 and 2018-20 titles, a tremendous feat.
There will always be a special connection between the Sand Storm Lacrosse Festival and Team 180. That’s because both the Synapse Sports event and Denver-based club program have enjoyed a similar trajectory. “We’ve been going to Sand Storm since its inception, and as the tournament has grown, so has our organization,” said Sam Bartron, who founded Team 180 in 2004. “The first year, we only had one team and there were about two dozen teams total. This year, we brought five teams and now there are well over 100 girls teams alone.” Team 180 enjoyed tremendous success at the sixth annual Sand Storm, placing four of the teams it brought in the finals and coming away with three championships.
Team 180 Girls Lacrosse Director Sam Bartron started the team in 2004. Now in its ninth year, she has worked with hundreds of girls, traveled her teams all over the USA, and established the top lacrosse recruiting program in Colorado. In 2011, Sam was recognized by “Sportswomen of Colorado” for her contributions to lacrosse.
“I’m so very, very proud of what our girls accomplished. It was so amazing to look around on championship day and see all those yellow jerseys. We had 130 kids out there in yellow like little bees buzzing around,” Bartron said.
Bartron said the key to the overall improvement of the Team 180 organization has been commitment. Coaches front-loaded each team’s training to prepare for Sand Storm, which was held Jan. 19-20 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Cal. It also helps that Bartron and staff are now working with players at a much younger age, instilling the skills and team playing style necessary to succeed at a high level. “We want to be the best club in the west, and that takes hard work. We have asked our kids to go above and beyond. Our players and parents have embraced this philosophy and are willing to do whatever it takes,” she said.
Sand Storm 2013, which drew a record 200 total teams – 114 teams in six divisions on the girls’ side and 86 teams in six brackets on the boys’ side -, was a rousing success on every level. Players and their families enjoyed the vacation resort atmosphere of Palm Springs and playing on the lush fields of the Empire Polo Club. Co-sponsors STX and Gatorade contributed to the event’s success through their continued support.
Ted Spencer, president and director of Blue Chip Lacrosse, spent 13 years head coach of the Fairfield men’s lacrosse program. Spencer brought his Blue Chip NorCal East Bay squad, which included sons Ben and Devin, to Sand Storm and came away with the Boys’ High School championship. “I have attended the Sand Storm tournament for the past two years. As a former Division I coach, owner of a very large showcase event, and having attended various events with Team Talon and Blue Chip NorCal East Bay, I can confidently say that Sandstorm is the best Tournament I have been to,” Spencer said. “It is well run, the food and concessions are well organized and the venue is the very best. Palm desert is a superior destination in the winter months. Thank you for a great experience.”
3d Lacrosse, a nationwide organization founded by former Denver University head coach Jamie Munro, captured two championships. 3d Select California 2017, coached by John Clarke and Bill Cummings, took home the Boys’ Seventh-Eighth Grade title. 3d Select California 2019 secured the Fifth-Sixth Grade crown. “All of our 3d Select NorCal teams are showing vast improvement and meshing together the more they play ad adopt 3d’s methodology. We have a collective group of young men who are intelligent, willing to listen, and play for each other,” 3d director John Keysor said. “3d lacrosse would like to thank Sandstorm for hosting such a great event. All of our teams had a great time competing in such beautiful surroundings.”
Kyle Harrison, one of the greatest players in men’s lacrosse history, led the DH Lions to the Boys’ Elite Division championship. Harrison, the NCAA Division I Player of the Year as a senior at Johns Hopkins, founded the northern California organization along with Chuck Dotson. Harrison is head coach at JSerra Catholic in San Juan Capistrano and this DH team is comprised entirely of his high school players. It was an extremely young group consisting primarily of sophomores and freshmen. “Most of these players have been together since middle school so they have great chemistry and cohesion,” said Dotson, whose son Chaz was a starting defenseman for DH. “Kyle has done a tremendous job of coaching and developing these kids.”
DH compiled a 6-0 record and defeated Lax West Mission Red in the final. It was the organization’s first trip to Sand Storm and Dotson came away impressed with the execution of the event by Michael Watson, owner of Lax West and director of the boys’ tournament. “Michael and the Synapse team did a fantastic job. Even if my boys would not have won, I would feel the same way,” Dotson said. “Our players loved it and their parents loved it. The facility itself is simply amazing.”
Bear Lax Blue, coached by Rick Jeffery, garnered the Girls’ 2013 Division on the girls’ side. That squad features players headed to such Division I schools as Hofstra, Stanford, Marquette, San Diego State, Fresno State, St. Mary’s, UC Davis, Ohio State and Brown. Rick Jeffery is a major reason why this group has enjoyed so much success. That 2013 team is made up of girls that have now been playing together for at least six years, and Rick has guided them every step of the way,” said Theresa Sherry, founder and director of Bear Lax. “Sand Storm is a tournament this team has gone to since it began, and has come close to winning a number of times. They lost in sudden death overtime last year, so it was great for them to be able to win it this year.”
X Team Black, which only had 12 players, came away with the Girls’ 2014 title. Liz Connelly (California) and Jess Thornton (Tennessee) coached the club, which featured several four-year members of the X Team program. Team 180 pushed X Team to the limit, but midfielder Riley Eggeman (California) and goalie Rachel Jordan (Oregon) both made big defensive plays down the stretch to preserve a one-goal victory. X Team, founded and operated by Crista Samaras, holds its annual end-of-year gala at the La Quinta Resort and Spa while attending Sand Storm. More than hundred players representing 20 states and the 2013-2017 age groups attended the gala and were inspired by guest speaker Ryan Boyle, a former Princeton All-American and veteran professional standout. “It’s neat to see the growth of lacrosse in the west through this event that has helped foster it,” Samaras said. “The talent level at Sand Storm has really evolved, which makes winning even more special.”
Denver Summit has supported Sand Storm for the past three years and brought nine teams to this year’s event. Denver Summit 2017, coached by Denver University assistant coach Lauren Benner, captured the Girls’ championship of that age bracket. “We absolutely love taking our teams out to Palm Springs to play. There is always great west coast talent that we compete against and it doesn’t hurt that the location is ideal for getting away from our Colorado winters,” Benner said. “The Samaras family does a great job organizing the tournament in such a way that it keeps an intimate feel alongside its competitive atmosphere. In all, it was an awesome weekend full of tough competition, fun and most importantly growth. We are already looking forward to Sandstorm next January.”
Attackman Roy Ward scored the winning goal as Tri Valley edged NorCal to take the Boy’s Ninth-Tenth Grade title. Based in the Conejo Valley outside Los Angeles and founded by former Syracuse standout Sean Lindsay, Tri Valley brought six teams to Sand Storm and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. “It was an amazing event – great venue, great location, great competition,” Lindsay said. “Our parents and kids loved Sand Storm and it was a great way to end the winter season.”
Brady’s Bunch brought home a crown from Sand Storm for the second straight year, winning the Boys’ Third-Fourth Grade division this time around. Ned Harvey coached the team, which went undefeated in the tourney. “We had a great time and the kids loved it. We had a very talented team with lots of experienced players so we seemed a little better prepared than some of the other teams, but that was okay and allowed us to work on some team skills,” Harvey said.
For more information about the 2013 Sand Storm Lacrosse Festival visit the event website: www.laxtournaments.com
SYNAPSE SPORTS
Synapse Sports is the premier provider of lacrosse playing opportunities and recruiting events in the U.S. Founder and CEO Cathy Samaras has been a trailblazer in the sport of lacrosse, working tirelessly for over 20 years to promote the growth and development of the game – from grassroots to global. To learn more about the exciting events organized by the company visit www.synapsesports.com or call 410-573-1414.
LAX WEST
Founded by former UVA 4-time All American Michael Watson, Lax West is committed to helping its participants reach their full potential as competitive lacrosse players and coaches through a variety of platforms including instructional and competitive camps, clinics and events, as well as coaching clinics and seminars, invitational exhibitions, games and tournaments. Visit www.laxwestlacrosse.com for more information.
Organizers with Synapse Sports and Lax West have announced the sixth annual Sand Storm Lacrosse Festival, being held Jan. 19-20 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Cal., has reached full capacity for the second consecutive year. A record 200 boys’ and girls’ teams are slated to compete in the 2013 event, which is co-sponsored by Gatorade and STX.
The Chicago Wind club lacrosse organization was looking for a winter tournament to attend as a kickoff to its 2013 season. Head coach Bill Santulli did some research and discovered the Sand Storm Lacrosse Festival came highly recommended. “We did our homework and found nothing but positive reviews about Sand Storm,” Santulli said. “It’s a great location and we heard the competition is outstanding. It also comes at the perfect time of the year. It’s a major plus for our kids to be able to play an outdoor tournament in January.”
“We knew when we started Sand Storm in 2008 that it had tremendous potential. A warm weather location, state-of-the-art facility, top-notch competition and detailed organization are the ingredients for success,” said Cathy Samaras, found and CEO of Synapse Sports. “Sand Storm lived up to its potential and exceeded expectations since the beginning. Now it has become a destination event for club teams throughout the country as the premier winter tournament on the West Coast.”
Santulli said the timing of the tournament, conveniently held during the three-day Martin Luther King Holiday, is ideal for the Chicago Storm, whose players will have just completed exams. Santulli also noted the attraction of the Palm Springs resort destination. “It’s an awesome venue. There are a bunch of activities for our families and players to enjoy,” he said.
Sand Storm began as a girls’ club tournament and such organizations as Team 180 (Sam Bartron), Bear Lax (Theresa Sherry), Denver Summit (Liza Kelly), Triple Threat (Dearborn Davis) and X Team (Crista Samaras) have loyally attended every year. Now organizers are receiving entries from clubs in the Midwest, on the East Coast and even Canada. Burnaby Mountain Select, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is sending its High School Elite Team to compete at Sand Storm. Consisting mostly of players from the 2014 and 2015 graduating classes, this squad is seeking to gain as much field lacrosse experience as possible. “Our girls grow up primarily playing box lacrosse so they need to learn the field game,” Burnaby head coach Chris Fox said. “Sand Storm will be our first tournament as a team and presents a great opportunity for these players to test their skills. The talent level is always very high and this tournament guarantees that we’ll get a lot of games in two days.”
Fox was very familiar with Sand Storm from having recruited at the event while an assistant coach at Division III Whittier College. The number of Division I, II and III collegiate coaches scouting talent at Sand Storm has increased significantly in recent years. That is another reason why Santulli selected the event for the Chicago Wind, whose 2013 squad boasts several promising prospects. “Obviously, the fact so many college coaches will be in attendance is a real bonus. We have numerous players that want to compete at the next level and they are very happy about the exposure they’re going to get at this tournament,” he said.
Sand Storm added a boys’ component in 2011 and it has grown exponentially under the guidance of Michael Watson of Lax West. In just three years, the boys’ tournament has grown from 14 to 86 teams. “It’s a testament to the overall quality of the event. Every team that participated the past two years had a great experience and it has spread by word of mouth that Sand Storm is a top-notch tournament in terms of a spectacular venue, precise management and strong competition,” Watson said. “A weekend in Palm Springs is very appealing to the out-of-town teams. I couldn’t be more thrilled with how quickly this thing has taken off.”
Watson has altered the format on the boys’ side to go with a purely grade-based system and said the response from participating clubs has been extremely positive. Sand Storm 2013 will feature six divisions from the Third-Fourth Grade group up to High School Elite. Watson is also excited the boys will be playing in the Forum and Rose Garden portions of the Empire Polo Club, which he believes “adds a lot of character and atmosphere.”
All-West (Matt Ogelsby, northern California), Brady’s Bunch (Mike “Papi” Wein, Arizona) and Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Glen Miles, southern California) are among the organizations that have attended Sand Storm since it added the boys component. 3d Lacrosse is a notable newcomer in 2013, a national organization that will bring four teams to the tourney. “We like to play in tournaments that are grade pure so Sand Storm fits right in with that philosophy,” said Pete Worstell, Director of Western Operations for 3d Lacrosse. “We heard good things about Sand Storm, liked what Michael Watson was doing with the event and felt it was a perfect fit for our organization. We go where we get a great experience and the integrity of the tournament is rock-solid, and by all accounts Sand Storm delivers on those points.”
For more information about the 2013 Sand Storm Lacrosse Festival visit the event website: www.laxtournaments.com
SYNAPSE SPORTS
Synapse Sports is the premier provider of lacrosse playing opportunities and recruiting events in the U.S. Founder and CEO Cathy Samaras has been a trailblazer in the sport of lacrosse, working tirelessly for over 20 years to promote the growth and development of the game – from grassroots to global. To learn more about the exciting events organized by the company visit www.synapsesports.com or call 410-573-1414.
LAX WEST
Founded by former UVA 4-time All American Michael Watson, Lax West is committed to helping its participants reach their full potential as competitive lacrosse players and coaches through a variety of platforms including instructional and competitive camps, clinics and events, as well as coaching clinics and seminars, invitational exhibitions, games and tournaments. Visit www.laxwestlacrosse.com for more information.
Wimmer Solutions teams came from behind to win both the Master’s and Elite divisions at Kapiolani Park on Sunday, and as CEO Matt Sauri explained as he accepted the awards, the teams had a little extra motivation.
Each year, Wimmer pledges to donate to non-profits if they win the tournament. This year, the recipients are Boys and Girls Club of King County, Washington, Sticks to Schools, the Team Jesse Foundation, Lacrosse the Nations and the Paul Rabil Foundation. Additionally, college savings programs will be set up for two youth players in Maine, who Wimmer player Malcolm Chase coaches, to help with their education as their father has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
While addressing his team the night before the championship games, Sauri said, “We can count on the talent in this room to make it happen. With this as motivation we can win.”
In a repeat of last year’s main event, the Elite team faced Dirty Lacrosse in the championship. After a U.S. Marine Corps marching band and color guard played the Star Spangled Banner, the on-field battle began. Dirty struck first, but Rob Pannell answered with two goals to give Wimmer a 2-1 lead. Mark Matthews scored three in the first half and Kevin Crowley added another as Dirty took a 5-4 lead into the break.
After a Tahitian Hula halftime show, it was all Wimmer in the third quarter as goalie Brett Queener held Dirty to just one goal and got the crowd into the game. Terry Kimener’s goal from MLL two-point range opened the fourth quarter, Pannell added a man-up goal and Drew Snider scored his second of the game to put Wimmer on top, 10-6. Dirty Lax threatened late in the fourth with three straight goals, but Max Seibald landed a huge check and picked up the ground ball as Wimmer ran down the clock to be crowned champions for another year.
In the Masters championship game, Wimmer was tied 4-4 with Tri City Canada at the break and fell behind early in the second half. But three goals in the final minutes led Wimmer to the title, 9-6.
The US Lacrosse Board of Directors today approved the following statement on the complex nature of the collegiate recruiting process for high school student-athletes.
The statement was developed by the national volunteer and staff leadership of US Lacrosse, in consultation with members of the coaching community, and it reads as follows:
US Lacrosse shares the concern of many lacrosse players, parents and coaches that the college recruiting process is not structured or timed in the best interests of high school student-athletes. The current landscape of recruiting events and club programs — some of which operate throughout the calendar year — has encouraged an increasing number of young student-athletes to forego a well-rounded high school experience based on unrealistic expectations and misperceptions about playing college lacrosse.
Parents are being led to believe that college coaches focus on recruiting only those children who play year-round lacrosse and who attend multiple, expensive recruiting events throughout the year. While some recruiting programs and events offer positive experiences for student-athletes, others — particularly those that conflict with the school calendar or occur outside of the traditional lacrosse season — threaten the well-being of student-athletes with incidents of injury and burnout. This intense recruiting culture also has eroded the work-life balance of coaches and parents.
US Lacrosse will continue to work with high school programs, clubs, tournament directors, the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) and the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) to provide the information, resources and leadership necessary to enable high school student-athletes and their parents to make the best decisions about their lacrosse experience.
US Lacrosse also encourages men’s and women’s collegiate lacrosse coaches to exert their considerable influence to lead reform of the NCAA recruiting calendar, limit the age at which student-athletes begin the recruiting process, and agree not to attend or participate in recruiting events that infringe on the academic calendar of student-athletes.
Despite having a reputation of being a rich white sport, this fall, hundreds of students at Oakland public schools will be introduced to the game of lacrosse. The Oakland Lacrosse Club – which is a newly created, but not yet completed 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation – intends to work with several Oakland schools to introduce lacrosse to students that the sport has not traditionally served. Photo courtesy of Nora Mitchell
“I want every kid in Oakland to have access to play lacrosse,” Kevin Kelley, the boys game director for the Oakland Lacrosse Club, said. “My goal is to expose the sport to 500 middle schoolers and then in the spring create two under 13 teams; one boys and one girls.”
The Oakland Lacrosse Club will provide youth living in Oakland and attending public, charter or parochial schools with the opportunity to play the sport using P.E. classes and after school programs. This month, Kelley has started working twice a week with Claremont Middle School, in North Oakland, and plans to hold clinics next month with a host of other Oakland schools such as the Oakland Military Institute, Brewer Middle School and the Downtown Oakland YMCA.
“The plan is to have 25 kids in the spring for each team,” said Kelley, who also is a lacrosse coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Oakland Tech High School. “You need 18-20 healthy players to have a functional team. Typically, a P.E. class has 50 kids to a class. To get 50 kids who have never touched the sport … that’s a great start.”
Although the club just formed this month, for the past couple of years, awareness and interest for the sport has moderately increased. In the spring of 2009, a varsity boys lacrosse team was formed at Skyline High School. That same year, work was started to create a boys Junior Varsity and a girls team at Oakland Tech High School.
“Lacrosse is a spring sport and it takes about a year to launch a program and team,” Nora Mitchell, the executive director at the Northern California Junior Lacrosse Association, said. “The lacrosse programs at both Skyline and Oakland Tech High School have been hugely successful. Kids get better grades by playing lacrosse. They are motivated and work hard. That’s why I got involved, because I know how positively it can affect them.”
“…the club — whose roster typically is a mix of players from Marin, the South Bay, the East Bay and San Francisco — has been a success both in terms of its play and its ability to find college programs interested in its players. The team has held its own in tournaments since that opener, and to date, 56 current or former players are part of or have committed to college squads. Of that group, 37 players found Division I programs at which to play…”
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