Showcase

                This weekend I went to another lacrosse showcase in hopes of being noticed by one of the many attending coaches. This one the Team Florida showcase was both efficient and gargantuan with three different age groups (u-15, u-17, and u-19) depending on your graduation year. There was so many players that some u-19 were moved an age group down to u-17 to avoid overcrowding in that section. Even then there still was six or more teams per age groups each having at least twenty players on each team, for those doing the math that’s around 360 players in all, but each player brings a posse of parents and family to add to that number (which is augmented by the number of staff members and viewing coaches). The games were 30 minutes running clock (the clock doesn’t stop when play does) and had an exhilarating level of play for all ages. Now 30 minutes is short for lacrosse game, but when you have eight of these games in a day while trying to impress college coaches, your mind and body tend to fray. In the second of the two day event there were a few more regular games to be played and then four all star teams would be picked for each age group to compete in some elite games later in the day, I unfortunately was not pick for any of the teams for u-17 instead they chose two of the u-19 goalies they had to move down to u-17 because of overcrowding. At this showcase there where coaches representing all levels of play from intercollegiate club to some prestigious Division 1 teams. I was registered as #2 on team Carolina (all teams were name for their penny color) in the u-17 division because I was a goalie they told me that I should wear my penny backwards so the coaches could get my number, but I doubt I or many other players left a strong impression on any of the coaches, I had several good games with loud communication, good saves and successful clears, but I doubt I blinded any coaches with my skill level. Me being a goalie from an unheard of school in Miami they don’t really pay attention when there is a goalie in the opposite cage with the same skill level as me, but comes from a prestigious school such as St. Andrews. Fortunately there is always another showcase to which I might hope of catching the eye of a watchful coach, but until then this underdog will keep training in hopes of breaking into a coaches attention long enough to be seen.

Where is my next game?

               Sorry for the delay in between posts but my team has been successfully competing for districts. That’s right my varsity team in its first season of lacrosse has become the champions of our district with two powerful wins over both Killian and Coral Shores. However my team's march was halted by a loss to Columbus in regional, who themselves loss by a landslide to St. Thomas. This just goes to show that no matter how good you are there is always someone better that you have yet to see.

             So with my season over we were told turn in our gear that the school provided: helmets, chest protectors, reversible, and unfortunately our game uniform. Returning all our gear was saddening for me. For everyday of the last few months I had trained, I had sweat, and I busted my tail in that gear it contained the smell of sweat, determination, and pride. Pride in the hard work of those on my team, pride in the name on my jersey that for the first time ever read "Palmetto,” and yet it is over.

             There was something else I realized with the end of my season. Lacrosse is not just my passion it is my addiction. I am a nomad in search of the next game to play, the next goal to stop, the next win to add. As long as the coaches are fair and the players are friendly I would play for any team that let me. The day after our lost and the end of my season I yearned for the next fix. Which I found in the form of indoor lacrosse for high school and younger players that takes place every Wednesday at an indoor soccer park. Then coming in mid-June in a summer men's league that allows players for all ages for high school to full grown adults play for a small fee, this allows for young and old players to shake off some of their rust and get their own dose of lacrosse. After this I will will be going for Team Florida and an assortment of travel teams and camps over the summer. These combined will make so players like me can survive till the seasons begins again and am able to back the jersey that I’m so attached to.

                If you are wondering about any of the leagues that I mentioned the please comment and I’ll make sure to get you the information you need.

College play: the goal of every young player who loves the sport they play. Everyone who plays one day wishes they could play on the big stage, college play, and represent their school on a national scale, it is never easier, but for some it is easier than others. Last week my mind got moving on this topic when my mom sent me an email with the contact of an athletic director from a well known division 1 lacrosse school. Afterwards I realized how complex recruitment could be, especially for someone who is not from the lacrosse hotbeds in the northeast. This summer I went to a showcase, a recruitment technique where multiple coaches from multiple colleges and university come and see players go at it in several games and a combine. This showcase had coaches from many prominent D1 and D3 schools, later there was educational presentation that went over all aspects of recruitment. This presentation showed me a lot; to be recruited one must be college material that means in both grades and your level of play. Also that you have to the most outgoing player out there, to be seen the presentation said to make a highlight tape and send that to as many coaches as possible, then to go to as many other showcases as possible to get exposure to as many coaches as possible. Then from the athletic director I was told to go to camps that were ran by prominent colleges because many colleges hold camps were there coaching staff instruct us youngsters on how to improve our game, but also to see some talent from rising stars. I decided to go on travel teams that go to lacrosse tournaments off season, specifically Team Florida who will be trying out for this year. Recruitment can become a monetary drain on some as going to all these camps and showcase can suck money from somehow may not have the money to finance it all, and worst of all is the fact that doing all this still won’t guarantee a scholarship or being recruited from a school big or small. The showcase also told us that being recruited by a Division 3 school was not a bad thing, D3 play is seen as little league to some not televised and almost never reported on, but even D3 can give scholarship and you would still get to play against some great players. One big problem in the recruitment game for players like me is location; if you look at Inside Lacrosse’s annual issue on high school recruitment you see a pattern develop. Almost all if not all are from the Northeast, now I’m not saying that IL is biased but that they are right. Lacrosse has been a tradition for generations in the Northeast, also because the big D1 schools are mostly located in the Northeast coaches have an easy time finding players in their backyard  then going far and wide for a similar player. Furthermore, a scholarship for an in state play is much less for that of an out of state player so one can see why there are few Florida players in these prominent universities and colleges teams. So for a player from florida you have to be better than the best to play with them.

My First Blog

Hello my name is Thomas and I play lacrosse in Miami, FL. I'm a goalie at my high school in Miami and my team has finally become a varsity sport this year. So I decided that my blog should been written about the sport that I grown to love. This week I decided that to write a little about the background of the sport and me. The latter is 16 year old, sophomore who has dabbed in almost every sport available to man from soccer to football then baseball, yet none seem to fit. I was always tall and lanky with a reaction time second to none. Unknown to me these are prime qualities to become a lacrosse goalie. The sport that I would learn to love is lacrosse a game of native Americans of the northeast US. The game was played for everything from healing to preparation for war. The game first view by fur traders in the region called the game lacrosse because at the time the sticks used to look similar to the crosier used by bishops. So several hundreds years in a place hundreds of miles away I found this sport and have not stopped playing since. In the years since my discovery of the sport it has become my family's main obsession, the game has become a varsity sport and I gain so many close friends over the years. That is the topic of my blog.