“Legacy,” an all-access look at the University of Michigan men’s lacrosse Team One matchup against Ohio State in the 2012 Battle at the Big House, produced for MGoBlue.com won an Emmy Award from the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences last weekend (June 15) at MotorCity Casino Soundboard Theater in Detroit.

Writer/producer Michael O’Leary and his group of Britta O’Leary, Jonathan Campbell and Martin Vloet took home the win in the Photographer-Program (Non-News) category. The piece was narrated by actor Zach McGowan, and was also nominated for Sports-One Time Special as well as Writer-Program.

“These annual lacrosse videos have been nominated before, but it’s pretty special to be recognized this year as an Emmy winner,” said O’Leary, who played under men’s lacrosse head coach John Paul from 2001-05, earning All-CCLA second team honors as a midfielder in 2004. “However, it’s more than a professional recognition of the craft, it’s a testament to Coach Paul’s understanding and leveraging of unique media and communication vehicles. Our group was granted unprecedented and completely unrestricted access to the players, coaches and staff throughout the entire process, which allows us to focus on being creative. The ability to do something like this is just a small part of what Coach Paul has always encouraged, which is to be leaders and the best in everything we do and establish an elite Division I culture. It was a privilege to play for him and it’s a continued pleasure to give back to team every year.”

Overall, O’Leary has been nominated for 15 Emmy Awards and has won six. His resume also boasts four College Sports Media Award category wins, including one in 2011 for College Sports Video of the Year, which was entitled “Timeless” and featured a historical look at Michigan Stadium and the U-M football team.

For more: 
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-lacros/spec-rel/061913aae.html

Colorado State Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach Alex Smith credits his seniors for leading the way.  “We had 14 seniors and they were really focused from the very start of the year.  We lost to CU in the fall and that really motivated us going into the spring.  Our senior class was definitely the strongest point of our team and they were a really special group.”

Colorado State Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach Alex Smith

For Coach Smith, 2013 shall be remembered at CSU for its midfield, a strong, deep group of players that solidified the team on game-days. “Midfielders, Alex Devlin and Tim Taggart were great for us.  They were part of an all-senior line with Braxton Campbell.  Dustin Grybinas was part of our second group this year.  I think we were one of the few teams at our level to be able to go three lines deep at the midfield and that really helps us in those long tournaments and back to back situations.”  That senior line combined for 67 points this season. Coach Smith continued to tout his midfield, “Logan Chandler and Josh Gregg, a couple of unsung guys most of the time. Both are defensive midfielders that really got a lot of the dirty-work done for us.  Josh was great as a clearing mid and wing guy, and Logan is as hard-nosed and smart as they come.”

Then you have the face-off specialist, Dan Warfield.  Second team All-Conference, as well as All-American, winning 65 percent of his draws, including nearly 60 percent in the National Championship game.  “He’s arguably our most valuable player and kept us with the ball on our offensive end in some very key spots.”

For more: 
http://mcla.us/news/2013/06/2013-rmlc-season-in-review/

West Player of the Year

Kerianne Hunt, Carondelet (Calif.)

Carondelet Girls Lacrosse Midfielder Kerianne Hunt

Hunt was one of the main catalysts for the Cougars, who won the North Coast Section Division I girls lacrosse championship with a 9-7 overtime victory over Amador Valley (Calif.).

She finished the season with 50 goals and 46 assists. She also had 50 ground balls and won 85 draws.

She was one of seven senior leaders on the team who entered the season committed to Division I lacrosse programs (she is headed to Brown) and was part one of the most talented squad in the history of the program. The Cougars finished the season 17-3, with two of its losses coming at the hands of out-of-state teams Radnor (Pa.) and St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Va.).

In addition, Hunt was named the Player of the Year in the East Bay Athletic League and was US Lacrosse High School All-American for the third consecutive season.

For more: 
http://www.laxmagazine.com/high_school/girls/2012-13/news/061813_nike_us_lacrosse_west_region_girls_season_rewind

St. Margaret’s Episcopal Boys Lacrosse Head Coach Glen Miles. OCVarsity.com

In part four of his interview with LaxBuzz, Glen Miles, head coach of the Nike/US Lacrosse West Region #4 Ranked St. Margaret’s Episcopal Boys Lacrosse program, discusses the role of seniors on a high school lacrosse team.

LaxBuzz: Many parents have contacted me over the years regarding playing time for upper classmen, especially seniors. There is a fine line between playing “the best” players, giving playing time to freshman and sophomores, and honoring seniors who have, in many cases, along with their families, put in eight years of sacrifice to get to this moment. This will be the last year of lacrosse for many of them. What is your philosophy regarding playing seniors? Is there an “honor code” in lacrosse that you honor seniors on high school lacrosse teams?

“For me this means playing the players who have earned the right to play through hard work, love for their teammates, a commitment to the team and a passion to prepare on and off the field.”

“For me playing time is not earned through longevity.  My seniors certainly get the benefit of the doubt if their performance is equal or close to an underclassman but not merely because they have been there the longest.”

“There are many roles to play on a Varsity Lacrosse Team.  There are leadership roles, there are follower roles, there are scout team roles, and there are friendship roles.  If a coach is an effective leader, he can help each senior find a role that is rewarding to him.”

Birmingham Brother Rice overcame an early deficit and battled back to defeat  Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern-Northern, 14-10, to earn its 11th straight  lacrosse state championship Saturday in East Grand Rapids.

Brother Rice has now won the Division 1 lacrosse crown every year since the  Michigan High School Athletic Association sanctioned the sport in 2005, and won  twice in a row before then.

Forest Hills got into an offensive rhythm early and jumped to a 3-0 lead, but  Brother Rice junior Jason Alessi scored two goals in less than two-minutes.  Alessi finished the game with six goals and six assists.

Brother Rice continued to pour on the offensive attack, exploding for seven  goals in the second and outscored Forrest Hills 3-2 in the third before trading  goals in the fourth period.

Brother Rice hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since 2002.

Read more:
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/sports/local_sports/high_school/brother-rice-wins-11th-straight-lacrosse-state-title#ixzz2WZmlGCPH

Eric Law kept his perfect shooting streak intact, leading all players with five goals. Law, who scored on all four of his shots in his MLL debut last week was 5-of-5 shooting on Saturday to increase his goal total to nine on nine shots.

For more: 
http://www.laxmagazine.com/multimedia/photos/2012-13/news/061613_Photos_Denver_Outlaws_vs_Chesapeake_Bayhawks

“…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.

For more: 
http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_23474211/alcatraz-outlaws-boys-lacrosse-club-puts-players-front

St. Margaret’s Episcopal defeats JSerra Catholic for the Trinity League Championship, sealing the deal by scoring four goals in 27 seconds.