LacrosseAllStars.com

Big Gulps Huh? [Weekend!]

2009-08-07T21:45:35Z

Look around you, LaxNation and check under all the couch cushions for loose change because we're packing it up. After a quick stint on Tumblr and a long affair with SquareSpace, LacrosseAllStars.com is transitioning over the weekend to a supercharged site build to your exact specifications.

Enjoy the weekend and look forward to Monday because we're excited to show you our new home. It's going to be a bumpy ride getting used to everything but all of your favorite writers will still be there to navigate you all lacrosse the web.

Whelp, see ya later!

Lax'n South Of The Border [Lacrosse The World]

2009-08-07T18:00:00Z

While lacrosse might not be the first thing many of us think of when someone mentions Mexico, Iliad Rodriguez is trying to change that. The coach of the young Mexican national team has been working hard attempting to organize a legitimate ILF World Games contender, hosting scrimmages and traveling to regional tournaments.

Recently your LAS staffers had a chance to witness a young Mexican national team in action during their trip to Lake Tahoe. Here's a piece of what our southern neighbors have to offer (video theirs).

For more information on the team, check out their website here.

License To Still [Good Morning LaxNation!]

2009-08-07T14:45:20Z

You're going to be hearing a lot more about the photo blog License To Still in coming posts but here is a teaser pic from Nate Cordova taken at the Tahoe Lacrosse Tourney.

Got a picture or video you want to see on "Good Morning LaxNation"? Let us know at info@lacrosseallstars.com

Australia Lax Update [All Lacrosse The World]

2009-08-06T15:30:00Z

Lacrosse season down under is still going strong. The Australian state team from Victoria won the annual national championship competition that was held in Adelaide. Victoria has now 16 consecutive games at the national championships and has taken home the crown for the past 3 years.

The boys from Victoria ran by Western Australia 18-7 in their first game, beat a tough South Australia team that rarely loses at home in Adelaide 10-9. WA and SA then played in the final round robin game to see who would meet back up with Victoria in the championship game. Japan, although not eligible for the championship (because they aren't part of Australia!) sent a sort of national team to the tourney anyway to hone their skills against some of the best in the world and although they were dominated by Victoria, the Japanese learned a lot and had a great time, I'm sure.

Victoria celebrating their 2008 Nat. Championship. they repeated in 2009.In the final, Victoria cruised to victory by dispatching WA 13-2 after leading 5-0 at half time. Victoria is truly the sporting center of Australia and this evidenced by their strong showing in lacrosse, the multitude of Aussie Rules Football teams in the state and their love of rugby and cricket. last year, the championships were held in Perth where Victoria edged the home side, Western Australia 11-8. If the talent gap is increasing between these two states then the level of lacrosse in Victoria must be of the highest quality because WA lax is pretty darn good itself.

Speaking of WA lax... the season continues and although Wembley has been doing very well overall, they lost their last match to Bayswater, the third ranked team in the State. Although Matt Driver scored 5 goals, Wembley just didn't have it and lost 14-8. Glenn Morley has been playing with Baysie again and his impact has been felt by the entire league. He may be an older guy but he plays a mean D when the chips are down. I had some great times with Glenn when I lived down in Perth and would like to congratulate him on making Australia's 34 man roster for the upcoming World Games in Manchester, England next summer. Also a big congrats to the Wembley boys, in particular, the University of Maryland's Adam Sear. To see the rest of Australia's 34 man roster click here.

You can just FEEL the icepick coming!So while the summer is a little slower stateside, the action keeps on pumping all June, July and August down under. There will be a Western Australia Lacrosse Assoc All-Star game on August 8th at 630pm for the Men. Before that game, numerous women's and youth all star games will be played so if you live in WA, make sure to check it out! The location is Halladay Park in the Bayswater section of town. After that, there are only 3 weeks left in the regular season in Perth and then the playoffs start so we'll be sure to keep all of the LAS Nation updated as regularly as we can!

To find this sweet hat online go here.

This hat is sweet, right? truckers? lax? australia? SOLD.

We've Got The Biggest Balls Of Them All [Good Morning LaxNation!]

2009-08-06T13:30:00Z

Got a picture or video you want to see on "Good Morning LaxNation"? Let us know at info@lacrosseallstars.com

Infographics like these are a great time waster. Plus it gives a great excuse to quote AC/DC.

_______________________________

If your name is on the guest list,
No one can take you higher,
Everybody says I've got,
Great balls of fire...

LAS Exclusive: Connor Martin Talks Warrior Lacrosse

2009-08-05T19:00:00Z

While at the Tahoe Lacrosse Tourney, the Lacrosse All Stars crew snagged an interview with Connor Martin, widely known across the interwebz as The Inventor of the Flow Bucket.

There's always fun stuff going on on the sidelines at summer tourneys and Tahoe was no exception. After our a tough Woozle loss to eventual champion Dub-C, your beat up LAS co-founders were on the sidelines sipping some brews and scoping the scenery with Connor Martin and some of the Bigfoot crew. One thing led to another and I realized 2 things: 1) I had a flipcam in my pocket, and 2) I run a lacrosse website and I should probably get an interview. What resulted is shown below for your viewing pleasure.

Unfortunately for us (that means you, me, and anyone else about to watch this footage) yours truly was a lotta bit shaky with back spasms galore, so this is fair warning. After the first minute or so you'd think this was a scene from Borne Ultimatum. Video quality gets better later on and Connor drops some bodacious quotes.

Disclaimer aside, there's still a good interview here that gives us a behind the scenes look at Connor Martin. And guess what? Turns out the dude is real nice guy. The haters will hate, but LAS is now a big fan. Keep up the good work #99.

This is Part 1 and as we all know, where there's a Part 1, there's always a Part 2 right around the corner. Stay tuned.

Other related posts:

LC, Incredible Hulk AND Connor Martin: Sweet Lax? [LAS]

Connor Martin's Search For Flow: The FlowBucket [LAS]

Summer Tournament Series: Lake Tahoe [LAS]

From The Ice To The Field

2009-08-05T15:30:00Z

I recently saw an article from the Boston Lacrosse Examiner about the cross over from hockey to lacrosse. Anyone not very familiar with either sport would probably say "why not?" - I mean, they both have Canadians, sticks, and some brutal contact, right?

Well, yes, but in fact there are many differences that don't necessarily cross over, which the article does not really cover. For instance, most shots in hockey are essentially under-hand, while this is only one of several different shooting techniques in lacrosse. There is clearly the difference of actually being able to skate well also.

Other than a few differences in technique and style, however, the two sports do have vastly similar conditioning regiments. This is highlighted well in the article, and one specific drill really caught my eye. The obstacle course stick handling drills that the player did are something I never really did in my years off the field. I think those would be really useful for around the house, as a way to practice agility and stick handling. And clearly, it works for both sports. I think its a no-brainer that the two sports would make excellent compliments to each other in the off season, that is, when you aren't playing winter indoor lax!

Making the switch: how a youth hockey player made the successful switch to lacrosse
[Boston Lacrosse Examiner]

Re-cap Of CT Super Sophs Recruiting Event

2009-08-04T21:30:00Z

The inaugural CT Super Sophs Lacrosse Showcase was held this past Saturday at New Canaan High School. The event featured 120 of the top Rising Juniors [HS grads in 2011] from the great lax state of CT in a full day round robin capped by an All Star game. Everyone involved could not have asked for a better day of lacrosse.

The weather was gorgeous and the turnout from players, parents and college coaches was beyond expectations for a first year event.

The day started off with a recruiting talk by event organizers, Alex Whitten, Head Coach of New Canaan High School, and Matt Wheeler, Co-Founder of LacrosseRecruits [and in the interest of full disclosure, a college teammate of Wheniwasakid]. Both speakers emphasized the sweet, laxxxy & preppy uniforms from Vineyard Vines. PERFECT!importance of maintaining good grades and how players have to self market themselves now more than ever. After the recruiting talk, the players participated in a dynamic warm up [I'm sure Scott Umberger can get into this later] and Nike SPARQ training. The 120 players were split into six teams to play in a round robin format. Each team played four games throughout the day, giving coaches the opportunity to get a good look at the players at the event. After a long day of lacrosse, the top 36 players were selected to play in an All Star game. To see some really good clips from the event, please click here. In true Connecticut fashion, each player received a very sick custom Vineyard Vines CT Super Sophs jersey.

Some CT Super Sophs Action!CT Super Sophs was created to fill a void in the state of Connecticut. As the recruiting process has started earlier and earlier, the Rising Junior summer is becoming increasingly important for recruiting at each level of college lacrosse. College coaches were impressed by the level of play and it gave them a chance to take a closer look at players on their recruiting radar. "As someone who has been on the frontlines of the recruiting process, CT Super Sophs was a great opportunity to take the best features of other events and put together an efficient well run event that everyone enjoyed," said Chris Meade [Another college teammate of Wheniwasakid], Director of CT Super Sophs and Co-Founder of LacrosseRecruits.com. Right now the tentative date for next year's event is July 31st. I am willing to bet that this event will continue to grow and will only get better because of its hotbed location, end of the recruiting season timeline and young participants wanting to get a leg up on the competition.

To find out more information about CT Super Sophs, please visit www.CTSuperSophs.com.

Also check out our exclusive recruiting podcast with CT Super Sophs director Chris Meade and get tips on summer camps and how to tackle the recruiting process.

Denver's First Family

2009-08-04T16:00:00Z

The University of Denver might have scored the biggest coaching hire of the off-season when they signed Bill Tierney as their new head coach earlier this summer, but little did they know they were subscribing to the family package. This Friday the Pioneers added Bill's son, celebrated goalier Trevor, to their staff.

It was a natural move for the western most Division 1 program. Trevor has been living in the Denver area for a number of years now and has been a staple of the Denver Outlaw program for the last few season as both a goal-tender and a coach. No word on what Trevor's duties will be with the Pioneers, but given that he has been a defensive coordinator in the pro-league, I imagine he'll have a big say in how the long-poles operate. Just a hunch.

While we're all aware of his accomplishments at Princeton, Inside Lacrosse pointed something out that might have slipped under most people's radar. Trevor is the only goalie in the history of the game to win an NCAA National Championship, and ILF World Championship, and an MLL Championship. That's freaking impressive.

Men's Lacrosse: Denver welcomes Trevor Tierney as assistant [Inside Lacrosse]

Live Every Week Like It's Shark Week [Good Morning LaxNation!]

2009-08-04T13:30:00Z

It's the most wonderful time of the year for everyone who wasn't traumatized by Jaws enough the first time around. It's Shark Week on Discovery Channel! Not to be confused with Jump The Shark Week which actually happens every Sunday right around the time new Entourage episodes air (Turtle is going to UCLA? This is a plot point? Really?)

Got a picture or video you want to see on "Good Morning LaxNation"? Let us know at info@lacrosseallstars.com

Shark Week is the time that we all are reminded why we're afraid of deep water. No need to fear now because, thanks to Discovery Channel, we have tutorials on how to make these loveable guys our friends. If that doesn't work you can also learn how to punch a shark in the face. Opposable thumbs are good for something!

(Note: the shark 101 links try to show you how to make friends with a shark but use a creepy guy dressed in a costume to "simulate" the real animal. Be on the lookout for an escapee from the closest furry convention because the creepy shark-guy looks a little TOO excited to meet you.)

____________________

When the light begins to change,
I sometimes feel a little strange,
A little anxious when its dark...