Best Goal of 2013 so far...from a High Schooler!

Dude can play!

Here's a little more about Gale Thorpe:

Gale Thorpe, A, Jordan-Elbridge (N.Y.) has verbally committed to Syracuse. Section 3′s leading goal scorer in 2012, Thorpe finished the season with 64 goals and 14 assists, tied for the sixth-most points in Central New York and earning first-team All-League honors. The son of former Syracuse defender, Hamilton Nationals coach, current Syracuse women’s assistant coach and Rochester Knighthawks Hall of Fame inductee Regy Thorpe, he has 157 career points after three varsity seasons. This summer, he was a member of the Upstate team at the Under Armour Underclassmen Games, played with Liberty Lacrosse in Lake Placid and was on the Central roster at the inaugural Empire State Cup, where he was named to the All-Tournament team. Thorpe also considered Virginia, Albany, Rutgers and Loyola.

Instructional Video of the Week: Basic Goalie Stance and Form

UMD Lacrosse Day

A video that two 11 year olds from Duluth filmed and edited of themselves playing lacrosse, wall ball and shooting on the UMD campus. This should motivate you lacrosse players out there to get out the sticks and hit the wall! These little guys are making wall ball fun!

Best Plays of the 2012 MLL Season

These pros can ball!

Time to Start Getting Fired Up for the 2013 Season!

A 2013 College Lacrosse Promo video already!

VERY Early MBSLA Predictions

I just recently took a look at the new MBSLA hierarchy of teams.  With the departure of perennial powerhouse Delano along with a likely new contender Cretin-Derham Hall to the MSHSL, the rankings as I see them became a bit clearer.  Tartan, another up and coming team and North St. Paul also made the jump to the MSHSL this year.

Looking at the remaining contenders, I think two teams stand out to me:  St. Louis Park and Shakopee, with MontiQuois and Hudson close behind.  Both St. Louis Park and Shakopee return several key players and all-conference selections this year.  While MontiQuois and Hudson both lost many seniors, they return a few key players as well.  However, I do see them as a notch behind St. Louis Park and Shakopee.  Interestingly, if Delano had stayed in the MBSLA, I would have put them 4th behind St. Louis Park, Shakopee and MontiQuois based on their significant losses to graduation from their State Championship team.

Following the top 4, I see northern teams making a run, including a St. Cloud North team that had some significant losses to graduation and a very young, up and coming Duluth team that could make some noise this season.  Another northern team, Grand Rapids, while losing several seniors, but returning some good young players, should be tough as well.

Stay tuned as we get closer to the season start for a complete and more detailed MBSLA Top 10.

Instructional Video of the Week: Basic Shooting Technique

Very good basic shooting technique instruction from Zach Brenneman

Instructional Video of the Week: Disguising the Stick

UMD Bulldogs Recruiting Video

Great recruiting video from the U of Minnesota - Duluth Bulldogs lacrosse team.

NILL Getting Ready for Season 2

The NorthCoast Indoor Lacrosse League, a 7 v 7 indoor lacrosse league in Duluth, MN is preparing for its second season of play beginning December 9.  Teams are still being formed and players may also register as Free Agents and be placed on a team.  Go HERE to register.

New for the 2012-2013 season is a Middle School Division that will offer game play for kids grades 5-8.  This season will also include 12 games, up from 8 last year.  We also expect an 8 team league including two teams from Grand Rapids and one from Brainerd.  Last season we had 6 teams.  In addition, we expect at least 3 Middle School level teams.

For more information, please visit the NILL Website.  Schedules will be finalized once the teams are set.  Game dates are as follows:

2012-2013 NILL Game Dates:

Game 1 - Sunday December 9
Game 2 - Friday December 14
(off for holidays)
Games 3 & 4 - Sunday January 6 (doubleheaders)
Game 5 - Friday January 11
Games 6 & 7 - Sunday January 13 (doubelheaders)
Game 8 - Sunday January 27 - @ UW-Superior Fieldhouse (tentative)
Game 9 - Friday February 8
Game 10 - Sunday February 24 - @ UW-Superior Fieldhouse (tentative)
Game 11 - Sunday March 3 - @ UW-Superior Fieldhouse (tentative)
Game 12 - Sunday March 10 - @ UW-Superior Fieldhouse (tentative)
Playoffs - Sunday March 17

Join us for the second exciting season of NILL!

Fargo Fall Ball Tournament

Several Northern Minnesota lacrosse teams participated in the 2012 Fargo Fall Ball Tournament in Fargo on October 20-21. Brainerd, Fargo and Grand Cities joined Winnipeg for the first ever Fall lacrosse tournament to take place in Northern Minnesota.

 Brainerd finished as the runner-up in the tournament, losing to Winnipeg in the Championship game. Grand Cities began the tournament with a win over Fargo and then dropped consecutive games against Brainerd and Winnipeg. Congratulations to Winnipeg as the first Fargo Fall Ball Tournament champion! Looking forward to more lacrosse action in the North in the off-season.

2012 Paul Rabil Highlights

As a former midfielder, I really appreciate the play of one of the greatest midfielders of all time...perhaps more Paul Rabil highlights to come...

Paul Rabil on Discipline - Core of Sports

2013 NCAA Lacrosse Promo Highlight Video

Some incredible moves by these players...watch and learn!

Top Plays by the Pros - MLL 2012

North Coast Jaxx Complete Successful First Season

HGL Champions

The North Coast Jaxx team composed of players from the Duluth area, Grand Rapids and Proctor completed a very successful first summer in 2012, topping it off with the 2012 Homegrown Summer Varsity Prep League championship on August 8.  The NC Jaxx topped Eastview III 5-3 in the semifinal and Champlin Park 5-4 in the Championship game.  They finished the summer Homegrown League season with an undefeated 8-0 record and the season with a 13-3-1 overall record.

North Coast Jaxx in Michigan

Along with the on-field success, the team proved to be a success in many other ways.  The North Coast Jaxx proved that a summer travel team could succeed and flourish in Northern Minnesota.  The team brought together kids and families from rival programs and forged new friendships.  Most importantly, the kids and families had a lot of fun.  The team improved greatly during the Cherry Bomb Tournament in Traverse City, MI while playing some very good competition, and they also had a great time.

Kids in Northern Minnesota are finally playing lacrosse in the off-season and improving their games.  It's a new day for lacrosse in Northern Minnesota, and the North Coast Jaxx were part of the "lax revolution" in the North!  Here's to another successful and flourishing season of summer lacrosse for the Jaxx in 2013!

Thunder Ducks Lax Take Home First SOLL Championship

The first Superior Outdoor Lacrosse League (SOLL) 7 v. 7 Championship Sunday included some close games and exciting lacrosse play.  Games were played at Park Point in Duluth, MN.  With every team in the league having at least 2 losses, the championship was up for grabs.

In game 1, the #3 seed Honey Badgers took on the #6 seed Free Agents.  The young Honey Badgers team, with their two elder statesmen, were looking to warm up against the Free Agents in anticipation of a match up against the #2 seed Brojans in the next round.  The Free Agents however, had other things in mind.  

SOLL regular season scoring leader Scott Wishart #17

The game was close throughout with the score being tied for the majority of the game.  Young James Holak, a 6^th grader and new player to the Free Agent team helped to keep the game close by leading the team with 3 goals.  Jack O’ Connell, also a 6^th grader and new to the Free Agent team helped to control the high scoring Honey Badgers team on defense.  The Free Agents held the Honey Badgers to 8 goals and the game ended with the Honey Badgers eking out an 8-6 win in the first round of the playoffs.

Iziah Schramm, playing lacrosse for the first time ever this summer also scored 2 goals for the Free Agents along with Treven Smalley with 2 goals.  The Honey Badgers were led on offense by Dan O’Connell, Bryce Holak and Jesse Larson who each scored 2 goals.  Holak and O’Connell also added an assist each.  Aaron Kilpo added a goal and an assist and Andy Holak scored one goal.

The second game of the night featured #4 Fighting Aye-Aye’s against #5 Broseidon.  The score was knotted up for much of the game before the Aye-Aye’s pulled away behind the prolific scoring of Frank Napoli and Cooper Carlson to win 20-13.  Napoli poured in 8 goals and added 2 assists while Carlson scorched the net for 6 goals and 1 assist.  Tyler Kolquist added 3 goals, Steve Halver added 2 and Mac Johnson pitched in one goal.  Zack Zierden led the way for Broseidon with 5 goals while Zach Galo and Kevin Marshall added 3 goals apiece and Luke Hannan tallied 2 goals.  TJ Vallie saved Broseidon from even more scoring by standing tall between the pipes with 14 saves.  

The first final four game featured the #1 seed Thunder Ducks against first round winner Fighting Aye-Aye’s.  This game was close until the final minutes of the game when the Thunder Ducks pulled away to win 14-11.  Scott Wishart, the regular season scoring leader, led the Thunder Ducks with 5 goals and 5 assists while Mike Hillman scored 3 goals, Alex Rogers scored two goals and added one assist, Frank Rush added one goal and one assist, and Nick Teresi, Beau Hughes and Tanner Fritsinger each pitched in with one goal.  The Aye-Aye’s were led by Frank Napoli with 5 goals and Cooper Carlson with 3 goals.  Steve Halver added two goals and Tyler Kolquist scored one goal.

The next game proved to be one of the most exciting games of the season with the score knotted up nearly the entire game and ended with a controversial call.  The #2 seed Brojans took on the #3 seed Honey Badgers for the right to play in the first SOLL Championship game.  The game see-sawed back and forth with no team ever leading by more than 3 goals.  The Brojans led by 3 goals late in the game and it looked like it would be a #1 versus #2 championship game before the Honey Badgers stormed back to tie the game.  The Brojans would then take a one goal lead right up until the end before a late goal by the Honey Badgers would tie the game again and send it into overtime. 

BRAVEHEART!

The final overtime period would be decided by Braveheart.  Bryce Holak came out for the Honey Badgers and Doug Jensen would take the face off for the Brojans.  Holak won the opening faceoff and took the ball down the field before solid defense by Jensen and good goalie play would force Holak’s shot to go wide.  Jensen then took possession and made a contested shot on goal that was saved by the 2012 SOLL saves leader Pat O’ Connell, with another fearless play in the net.  On the ensuing loose ball, Holak would pick up the ground ball while Jensen’s head would come off his shaft.  Holak’s shot on goal would be saved by goalie Tyler Altringer making a tremendous play on the ball.  With a new stick Jensen would take the ball upfield again.  Amazingly, on another ground ball, Jensen’s head would come off his back up stick!  This time Holak, with Jackson Schwartz rushing on the field to cover for Jensen, would come down the field and bury the ball in the back of the net for a 16-15 Braveheart win for the Honey Badgers.  There was some confusion on the final play and a questioning of whether or not to continue play after a player’s head comes off his stick in Braveheart.  An explanation of the ruling based on a conversation with head lacrosse referee Dan Heldt can be found HERE

Doug Jensen led the Brojans and all scorers with 7 goals.  Joey Keating scored 3 goals, Graham Gallop and Brad Sandeen each added 2 goals and Ben Dunnell scored one goal for the Brojans.  Bryce Holak led the Honey Badgers with 6 goals while Jeff Wright would add 3 goals, Jesse Larson and Jack Norlen chipped in with 2 goals each and Dan O’ Connell and Aaron Kilpo each scored one goal.  Both Tyler Altringer and Pat O’ Connell were strong in the net.

The Honey Badgers would continue their strong play into the final Championship game with the #1 seeded Thunder Ducks.  The Honey Badgers played well, hanging with the Thunder Ducks goal for goal until the second half.  The Thunder Ducks would pull away from the Honey Badgers to take the first SOLL Championship with a 15-12 win.

2012 SOLL Champions - Thunder Ducks

Alex Rogers led the Thunder Ducks with 6 goals and one assist while Scott Wishart had 3 goals and an assist, Beau Hughes and Nick Teresi added two goals and Mike Hillman and Nevada Shelton each added a goal.  Frank Rush added an assist.   The Honey Badgers were led by Jesse Larson with 4 goals, while Aaron Kilpo, Bryce Holak and Dan O’ Connell each had 2 goals and one assist and Andy Holak added 2 goals.  Jeff Wright added one assist.

2012 SOLL Runners Up - Honey Badgers

The first SOLL season was fun and high school players continued to improve their lacrosse skills over the summer.  We're looking forward to our upcoming winter lacrosse season with the 2nd season of the Northcoast Indoor Lacrosse League starting play in December.

Want to be a Better Shooter? Do What Paul Rabil Does

North Coast Jaxx Exceeding All Expectations

The first ever summer travel lacrosse team in Northern Minnesota, the North Coast Jaxx, have begun the summer lacrosse season undefeated at 8-0.  The North Coast Jaxx are a U16 summer travel team composed of players from the Duluth area, Grand Rapids and Proctor.  The team includes 4 first year players (having only played lacrosse for less than 6 months) and 3 players going into 8th grade.  Along with 4 players just having completed their 10th grade year, the team is mostly composed of players who just completed their 9th grade year.

The team has dominated play in the early season going 4-0 to win the Star of the North games tournament in Rochester, MN.  The young Jaxx have also begun their Homegrown Prep League season 4-0 with wins over Minneapolis/St. Paul, Stillwater South, Roseville and Stillwater North.

The team is winning with superb team play.  Players from teams that competed against each other in the spring season have come together as teammates and are working seamlessly together on the field.  The new players are using their athletic ability to excel and the more experienced players have provided team leadership.  The team will take their 8-0 record on the road to the Cherry Bomb Lacrosse tournament in Traverse City, MI where they will compete with over 100 other teams from all over the midwest.

The North Coast Jaxx, in their first season, have met and exceeded the expectations of the teams organizers and have come together even better than envisioned.  They have proven that lacrosse in the North is alive and growing stronger!

Highlights from 1st Half of MLL Season

Highlights from the first half of the MLL season. These boys can play!

New Youth Day Camp at Bulldog Lax Camp in Duluth

The well regarded Bulldog Lacrosse Camps on the UMD campus in Duluth will be offering a new youth day camp option for local 4-9 graders this year.   Kids will get the same camp the overnight players get excluding the housing and breakfast each day.  Lavin Lacrosse and the Bulldogs are hoping that more and more local players will participate in the camp.  It would be a great experience for all of them. 

There is online registration at www.lavinlacrossecamps.com if they are interested.  They can also register by mail if they’d like.

Best of College Lacrosse 2012

Once again, the best college highlight video of 2012. Check it out!

Congratulations MBSLA North All-Conference Team

Congratulations to the 2012 All-North Conference selections.  This year's selections were a much better representation of the top players in the conference.  Good work by all involved.

 

2012 All-North Conference

Team	Player	School	Pos.	Year
1st	Mike Whitson	St. Cloud North	Attack	12
1st	Steve Halver	Duluth	Attack	12
1st	Carter Schulke	Fargo	Attack	11
1st	Brody Geisler	Grand Rapids	Midfield	12
1st	Tyler Kolquist	Duluth	Midfield	12
1st	Aaron Monson	Fargo	Midfield	12
1st	John McGillis	Brainerd	Defense	12
1st	Michael Kringlie	Fargo	Defense	12
1st	Zach Brist	Grand Rapids	Defense	12
1st	Matt Mensinger	Duluth	LSM	12
1st	Matt Worzala	St. Cloud North	FO-M	11
1st	T.J. Vallie	Duluth	Goalie	11
2nd	Joey Keating	Grand Rapids	Attack	12
2nd	Tanner Lindstrom	Grand Cities	Attack	11
2nd	Aaron Vanyo	Fargo	Attack	12
2nd	Christian Hansen	Grand Cities	Midfield	10
2nd	Kristian Haymaker	Brainerd	Midfield	10
2nd	Ryan Bidinger	St. Cloud North	Midfield	12
2nd	John Deelstra	Fargo	Defense	12
2nd	Tanner Fritsinger	Duluth	Defense	11
2nd	Zach Grandia	Grand Rapids	Defense	12
2nd	Jordan Schmaltz	Brainerd	LSM	11
2nd	Sam Wateland	St. Cloud North	FO-M	10
2nd	Grant Gunderson	Grand Rapids	Goalie	10

Honorable Mention: Brody Carlson (A) Duluth, Mitch Howieson (A) Brainerd, John Kirick (A) St. Cloud North, Zack Galo (M) Duluth, Ben Noah (M) Fargo, Doug Jensen (M) Grand Rapids, Brady McDonald (D) Grand Cities, Seamus Mackinaw (D) Duluth, Tyler Minkel (D) North St. Cloud, Tucker Isaacson (LSM) St. Cloud North, Joseph Noah (G) Fargo.

2012 NCAA Season Highlights

Some pretty sweet highlights from the 2012 NCAA lacrosse season

The Science Behind Paul Rabil's Shot

This is interesting...

Lacrosse Continues to Get Bigger in Minnesota

Carrying a bigger stick

05/26/2012, 1:29am (CDT)

By Jason Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Efforts to cultivate growth have succeeded, as lacrosse has quickly gained traction

Waiting for his chance to be a part of the game, Aaron Propson paid close attention to the whereabouts of the ball during the Eagan High School playoff opener Wednesday. With his stick in the air and his helmet fastened to his chin, he patrolled the endlines for anything heading his direction.

Opportunities for action were limited, but he didn't care. Propson was one of four seventh- and eighth-graders in the Eagan youth lacrosse program eagerly offering services to be a ball shagger.

"I want to be out there one day," the 12-year-old said, looking onto the field of varsity athletes.

Propson's passion for lacrosse mirrors a growing trend in communities throughout Minnesota. Fueled by elementary school and junior high youngsters choosing it over pastimes such as baseball and softball, the sport -- still somewhat unfamiliar to the masses -- is one of the fastest-growing in America.

Minnesota is among the states leading the way. A 2011 study conducted by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association said participation nationally increased 218 percent in the past decade. Minnesota membership growth in U.S. Lacrosse, the sport's national governing body, ranks ninth.

At the state's high school level over the past 10 years, boys' and girls' varsity participation jumped from 61 to 154 teams, according to the Lax Hub.

"We're way up there," said Jenni Lorsung, president of Youth Lacrosse of Minnesota. "Our lowest growth year was 13 percent. And there have been years we've had 25 percent growth in the boys' level."

Grass-roots growth
Preparing himself for a first-round playoff rout, Simley boys' coach Garnet Asmundson explained why his Inver Grove Heights program, which relies on players groomed while in high school, is still "light years" behind the likes of neighboring schools in Eagan, Apple Valley and Rosemount.

"The program is still in its infancy stages," Asmundson said. "You've got to build from the youth up, and we're doing it in the opposite way, and that's tough."

While the sport's popularity has boosted high school team numbers, newcomers are struggling to keep up with the more experienced and rooted programs, such as Blake. The void isn't that large, though, argues Blake interim boys' coach Chris Garland.

As more knowledgeable coaches and referees surround the game, players are learning at an accelerated pace. Garland said the foundations of the sport -- running, passing, catching -- aren't much different than other sports, and kids are enticed by the fast pace.

"It's an easy game to learn," said Garland, who played NCAA Division III lacrosse at Hampden-Sydney College (Va.). "The concepts are so easy, so once you apply them from other sports, it's just a great sport to play."
Growth in Minnesota has been nurtured over the past eight years by Homegrown Lacrosse, a local nonprofit organization that formed in 2004 to raise awareness and help develop programs with "grass-roots'' training. This sort of guidance has matured the metro area into a regular producer of college talent.

"With more and more associations getting stronger and developing, [participation] numbers are continuing to rise," said Colin Achenbach, co-founder of Homegrown Lacrosse. "And the high schools are a testament to that the skill level of lacrosse in the metro area is increasing. The competition and parity is stronger across the state."

The Minnesota State High School League has acknowledged this improvement by continually sanctioning more teams. Its website lists 57 boys' teams and 63 girls' teams. The MSHSL first sanctioned a lacrosse state tournament in 2007. Next year the league will add four new sections and expand the state tournament to eight teams.

Where are they coming from?
Which stick to pick was an overwhelming decision for Eagan senior Mack Nelson. He approached high school with backgrounds in baseball and lacrosse, both spring sports.

"For me, lacrosse is more exciting of a game," Nelson said about his choice. "It's more fun. ... It's more up-tempo."

Baseball has apparently suffered the most, as youth are beginning to pick lacrosse over baseball for spring and summer activities. The Eagan Athletic Association has seen a decline of its youth baseball numbers with the new rival sport in the mix.

High school baseball coaches are starting to address concerns about losing depth and quality players. For example, baseball has typically attracted hockey players who now might see lacrosse functioning as a better cross-training fit. There's also lacrosse's appeal as more fun or social, another issue baseball programs have begun to address.

"Our numbers have not been hampered enough by lacrosse so far, but I am seeing a trend and a correlation that I don't like, and it makes me nervous," Elk River baseball coach Ryan Holmgren said.

At Shattuck-St. Mary's, baseball coach Michael Carpentier said numbers have been down the past five years as a direct effect of lacrosse.

"Lacrosse is fun, physical, and takes athleticism to compete," he said. "But it certainly is taking many talented athletes off of the baseball diamond."

The universal athletic concepts of lacrosse have attracted kids from all sports. Blake sophomore standout Lydia Sutton has put varsity soccer on the back burner of her athletic focus. Eagan's Calvin Lamb did the same to football.

Propson and his three friends all picked lacrosse over baseball. It was an easy decision for them.
"There is a lot more action," 13-year-old Joey Hofmann said about his new favorite sport. "I was [a baseball player] until I played lacrosse. I didn't like standing around."

MBSLA Top 10 May 14

Not much has changed over the last two weeks since our last poll.  Teams that should have won did.  Cretin-Derham Hall lost two games to higher ranked teams, St. Louis Park and Shakopee, and beat North St. Paul.  They remain at #9 since there are no teams there to take their place.  This week we also decided to move Stattuck-St. Mary's to a place in the top 10 based on their ability as a team not dependent on whether they can participate in the playoffs.  #2 MontiQuois knocked of MSHSL team St. Cloud Tech and dropped another one to undefeated and #1 ranked Delano.  Delano remains the clear #1 team in the state.

Big game of the week will be Wednesday to see who will win the East Division in a match up of the top two teams Tartan and Hudson.  Both tied at #5 this week.  The match up should determine the #1 seed for the playoffs from the East.

MBSLA Top 10 May 14: