MCC Sports and First Coast Lax step up to Save Duval Girls Lacrosse

JU battled UF at JU last year in Duval County. The state's first Men/Women lax program tandem was founded where else, Duval County!

Jacksonville, Florida - The death penalty. That is the switch that gets pulled by the government when the most undesirable criminal elements pass through the system. That controversial measure eliminates the most horrid criminal offenders. Those who have done tremendous harm to society. So why would youth sports be a government target for the death penalty?

We can wonder why it is so easy for government officials to use programs that benefit our kids through investment and therefore project our society forward until we are blue in the face. Does any sane, and rational person see the point of following the path that Duval Public Schools has been on for the past 10 years? Certainly not the path anyone would want to see their sports program go. Eliminate sports programs and see things like teen pregnancy, juvenile justice bills, and unemployment rise. What do they think the economy needs – a bunch of teenagers entering the work force?

They have no idea.

But we have a great idea. Let’s find a way to FUNd Duval County Girl’s Lacrosse. Jon Fox still has no idea what the lines mean or the rules are for girl’s lacrosse, but that doesn’t mean that the sport is not the fastest growing youth sport in the nation. Maybe if he had a daughter who played he would know the rules. What’s important is that we all know the rules…well most of us anyhow…and we can do something to keep the girls playing lacrosse. First Coast Lacrosse League, LaxManiax Elite Lacrosse Club, and the Living Crosse Foundation are teaming up in an effort to raise $12,000 for the Duval County Girl’s Lacrosse Programs.

FCL is going to make a donation based on the total league participants this year. Last year, more than 400 girls competed in the Fall league and gained valuable experience in a relatively stress-free environment. This year, for every participant who signs up, $10 will be donated to the Living Crosse Foundation to be given to Duval County Athletics for Girls Lacrosse. FIRSTCOASTLAX.com

In addition, the JEM Memorial Tournament JEMLAX.com will be donating their profits to Duval County Athletics. The tournament is run by the Living Crosse Foundation in support of Florida’s grass roots lacrosse programs. In addition to donating proceeds from team fees, the JEM will also host a Braveheart Tournament, a hardest shot competition, and a shot accuracy competition with prizes involved to assist in the fund raising. There may also be a hat passed around too . We hope to raise a significant amount of funds from the tournament.

As a local lacrosse person, I want to make sure that everyone knows that lacrosse is truly a community game. We are proud of having served the lax community for the past six years in many different ways. I would like to challenge those of you who have been blessed financially to help with this effort – it will have a tremendous impact on the lives of these young student-athletes for years to come! This is the final piece of the puzzle – individuals who can step up and help, doing so and feeling good about it!

Here is a challenge! I will personally match every $1,000 gift for Duval County Girls Lacrosse up to $5,000! Let’s make a difference this year and work to insure that this doesn’t happen again by redesigning and reinvigorating the Duval programs! Everyone who donates will have their name listed on the front page of the FCL website in a section called “Duval Lax Life Savers”. Now if that doesn’t make you want to part with your pesos I don’t know what will (I am kidding of course).

If you would like to join us in supporting the drive for Duval County girls lacrosse, please email me at paul.mccord@mccsportsinc.com. There are a lot of great ways to get involved.

Let’s be clear: There WILL be girl’s lacrosse in Duval County this year. No doubt about it!

Bo Kimble to Visit JU Lacrosse, Promote 44 for Life

In honor of fallen teammate Hank Gathers' life, Bo Kimble shot his first free throw of the 1990 NCAA tournament left handed, a skill that Gathers worked on tirelessly going into his senior year in an effort to improve his free throw shooting. Gathers died tragically in a game after collapsing due to a heart defect prior to the NCAA tournament.

Jacksonville, Florida – Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Just ask Bo Kimble what he thinks about the Jacksonville University women’s lacrosse team’s success in just their second season as a Division I program.

“They are literally running the same system as we used to run at LMU (Loyola Marymount University) but in women’s lacrosse. Now I don’t know that much about lacrosse, but it’s pretty cool to think that our style of play is being used in different sports.” Said Bo Kimble, the former LMU point guard who led the nation in scoring his senior season at LMU. “If you put in the work and you are faster to the ball than you can do things that your opponent’s can’t.”

The formula seems to work very well for the Dolphins who carry a 7-4 record (2-0 in the National Lacrosse Conference) into this weekend’s critical double header against undefeated conference rivals Liberty and Longwood.

“Watching the 30-for-30 special about Bo and his team at LMU, it became clear that their style of play complemented the types of athletes that we have at Jacksonville University,” commented Mindy McCord, head women’s lacrosse coach. “A coach can draw many parallels between the sports of basketball and women’s lacrosse and the types of schools and athletic programs at Loyola Marymount and JU. The system was a natural fit and Bo’s team-first personality and fearlessness are great mentors for our young team.”

“The System” of play is very different from other ways of playing women’s lacrosse. It does not rely on stick skills as the primary mechanism of success, but conditioning is a huge key. The system has developed eleven JU players with more than 10 points this season. Only seven may play on attack at a time, giving opponent’s fits in terms of scouting. Opponents never know who the hot Dolphin is going to be game by game. With more than a dozen players on their roster from non-traditional states, it makes sense for JU to play an unconventional style of play.

Kimble led the nation in scoring in 1990, averaging 35.3 points per game in LMU’s frenetic system taught by then-coach Paul Westhead. His teams led the nation in scoring (124 points per game) and to this day still hold the most combined point scores in NCAA history. It was not uncommon for LMU to place five players in double figures in scoring in a game. Kimble led his upstart small school program to the Elite-8 in the 1990 NCAA basketball tournament. The season is chronicled in part of the ESPN 30-for-30 special “Guru of Go”. During that season, Bo’s best friend and teammate Hank Gathers passed away tragically due to a heart condition. Bo and his team dedicated the remainder of the season to the fallen Hank, and now Bo and his fiancé Dr. Tamara Goode, have dedicated their lives to prevention of sudden death at sporting events through their 44-for-Life Foundation.

“Having family members who have been saved thanks to CPR and AED training, we owe a special debt to the workers on the front lines of this issue. The 44-for-Life Foundation provides education, training, and equipment to schools and programs nationwide while providing emotional support to those who have lost family and teammates. Bo and Tami are very special people to us personally and provide more inspiration than just the system.” Added McCord.

McCord’s father-in-law, Jim McCord, was saved twice during his life by CPR and AED’s. Once at age 50, and a second time at age 68.

“The life that my father-in-law led touched so many lives and his life was a direct result of being near people who were trained in heart related life-support. These are skills taught by the 44-for-Life Foundation. More lives will be saved as a result of the things that Bo and Tami are doing and we support their work.”

Jim McCord (left) was able to enjoy many years with family, including son Paul (middle) and grandaughter Taylor (right) thanks to technology (AED) and CRP trained roofer who heroically gave McCord CPR for 20-minutes after he had suffered heart failure in his Venice, Florida home. Doctors credit the CPR for saving his life and preventing brain damage due to oxygen loss in the brain.

44-for-Life’s mission touches First Coast lacrosse in even more direct ways. Several years ago, Fletcher Goal Keeper James Hendrix was struck in the chest with a shot, stopping his heart. His high school coach Josh Covelli, a quick thinking paramedic, was able to revive him utilizing his training and background in lifesaving techniques! The school’s AED was used to shock Hendrix back to a stable heart beat. The incident shows how lives can be saved through technology and education. Hendrix did not have a cardica defect, so he returned to play lacrosse after recovering from his chest injury.

photo courtesy of lacrosse.com - Fletcher head coach Josh Covelli, armed with an AED, helped to save James Hendrix after a shot hit him in the wrong place causing his heart to stop.

Lacrosse has experienced cardiac related deaths similar to basketball. In states like Florida where heat may be a mitigating factor, having CPR trained personnel and every game and AEDs at all sporting events is essential to continuing to prevent cardiac-related deaths. Cornell’s George Boiardi was killed when he was struck in the chest with a ball in 2004.

Dr. Goode and Mr. Kimble will address the JU Women’s lacrosse team on Saturday and share their inspirational story. On Sunday, Bo will serve as honorary game captain when JU takes on conference rival Longwood University. Longwood is the two-time defending conference champion, and has not been defeated in conference play since the inception of the NLC in 2009. JU started their program in 2010 and is the only team in the history of the league to hold a half-time lead against the reining champions.

Morgan Derner (Lake Mary, Florida) uses her speed and fitness to run "the system". Could she be the Hank the Bank of JU lacrosse? Her teammates will honor #44 on Sunday when they take on defending champion Longwood at noon.

“I am so excited to serve as an honorary game captain on Sunday. We are grateful for all the positive messages that are being spread regarding our cause to get AED’s in every school nationwide. The awareness of our foundation and the cause is the most valuable aspect of what we do as a foundation.” Added Kimble.

The JU Women’s team will hold a fundraiser for the 44-for-Life Foundation at the Sunday game. Those wishing to donate may bring checks to “44-for-Life Foundation” or contribute cash. Individuals wishing to become involved with or donate personally to the foundation may visit the website 44forlife.org for more information.

“Their foundation puts into perspective what college sports are all about. If we can use sports as a vehicle to make our society better by developing leaders like Bo and Tami within our program at JU, then we are fulfilling our true duties as coaches. And the
system is fun to run too.” Said McCord.

The Dolphins have already surpassed their regular season win mark from the 2010 campaign where they obtained six regular season wins en route to an 8-11 opening season. They can clinch a winning season by sweeping their opponents this weekend. The Fins, at 2-0 in league play, would put themselves in the driver seat for the NLC regular season title with wins over Liberty and Longwood, each of whom sport undefeated conference records (2-0 and 3-0 respectively). JU defeated conference foes High Point (7-2, 2-1) 17-10 and pesky Davidson (1-8, 0-2) 13-9 last weekend. Davidson defeated JU twice in their first season, including the conference semi-finals when they dropped JU in a heart breaker 10-9 in the final minutes.

“Every game is a championship game to us. Every opponent is dangerous. We have to play our game and do our best each time out on the field in order to become a champion. Liberty and Longwood coming into town will present us with another ‘conference tournament’ feel just like last weekend’s games. We have to focus on each game with zoom focus in order to be successful.”

About Bo Kimble:
Featured in the ESPN special series, “30-for-30” in the documentary “Guru of Go”.
Played prep basketball at Dobbins Tech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Player at USC as a freshmen before transferring to Loyola Marymount
Led #11 seed LMU to the elite-8 in the 1990 NCAA tournament
Led the nation in scoring his senior season, 35.3 points per game
Drafted in the first round of the 1990 NBA Draft (8th overall by Denver)
Currently on the Board of Directors of the ’44-for-Life Foundation’
44-for-Life Website

A JU/LMU History:
Bo’s LMU team played against JU during his senior year. Bo matched up against Dee Brown in a showdown that ended with a 106-105 overtime victory for LMU. The game is considered one of the best basketball games ever played in Jacksonville. The point guard match-up was perhaps the greatest match-up between small-college Division-I point guards of all time. Bo and Dee became friends, competing against each other in the National Basketball Association in future years. Dee Brown was a Jacksonville-area prep product. Hank Gathers was the second player in NCAA history to lead the nation in both scoring and rebounding. The first: Artis Gilmore, a Jacksonville University standout in the early 70′s.

Moe’s Sunshine Classic Brings Team Building Opportunity to First Coast Lax Teams

The Nationally Televised Event Will Also Grow the Sport Exponentially in Florida


Jacksonville Florida – It was just this past April when Jacksonville University’s director of athletics and I sat down at a local Cracker Barrel for breakfast to discuss a wild idea. Having seen major lacrosse in stadiums across the north during months of the year when the temperature makes the sport tough to enjoy (it is a spring sport in most places), I thought it would be really great to have some big games in a stadium in the southeast.

JU being the new kids on the block for men’s lacrosse in the southeast had a great inaugural season under the leadership of Matt Kerwick. Coach Kerwick is one of the best college coaches at being accessible to the local lacrosse community and building the sport. Having a stadium event would provide access to thousands of lacrosse people to a quality stadium event while exposing the event to thousands in Florida and the south who may have never heard of the event.

Duke and Notre Dame signed on, Georgetown agreed to be a part of the program, and the city of Jacksonville stepped up and embraced the idea and the rest is history. The Moe’s Southwest Grill Sunshine Classic is born! Now there is an exciting lacrosse event in Florida that can take the sport of lacrosse to new heights. As many as 100 high school boys and girls teams are planning on attending the event as a team. Local people who have never seen lacrosse are signing on, with ticket prices starting at just $25.50 (for two games), the price is right.

EVENT PARTICULARS

February 20th may be a bad time to play lacrosse in Detroit, Boston, and Philly, but in Florida, 2.20.2011 is just fine!

Teams will have a chance to tailgate in the parking lots and team bond before the event, sit together inside the stadium and see two great lacrosse games up close and personal, and for some, enjoy a ride home full of memories. What is not to like about that?

Check out this seating map. EverBank Field has never been used for lacrosse before, but the stands are right on top of the field. It’s going to be a great event. For more information on how you can get your team involved, contact the stadium box office for group tickets. Club seats are the way to go for lax fans – they are right behind the benches for the teams and have premium amenities. There are no team discounts for club seats, but the seats are just 20% of the cost of a normal club seat. Unreal.

Gold: $39.50, Orange: $34.50, Green: $25.50 (both games included. ALL ticket fees included)

To buy tickets for a group, call 904-630-3958. If you are bringing a charter bus, parking is $40 for the bus, and a special tailgate lot will be set up for your team!

The event is being sponsored by Moe’s Southwest Grill. Florida lax-buff Brad Chasteen, a Moe’s franchisee, has been spearheading growth of the sport over the past five years. The event will bring together the southern lacrosse community in a venue reflective of the growth and strength of this rapidly expanding sport. It will be great to bring everyone together in fellowship of the sport.

Moe’s Southwest Grill Sunshine Classic to Hit First Coast and National TV Audience

Jacksonville, Florida - An idea birthed on a coffee shop in April by MCC Sports chairman Paul McCord and JU director of athletics Alan Verlander has come to fruition with the announcement of the first annual Moe’s Southwest Grill Sunshine Classic. The event will pit the national championship re-match between Duke and Notre Dame, both currently ranked in the top-10 in the pre-season as well as #17 Georgetown taking on our up and coming local powerhouse the JU Dolphins.

The games will be broadcast live on ESPN on Sunday afternoon, February 20th. The city if Jacksonville has partnered with JU and Moe’s Southwest Grill to put on the event, which hopes to have 20,000 fans in Everbank Field for the games.

In addition to the games in Sunday, a Prep Classic will be held on Monday (President’s Day) at Jacksonville University. The tournament will host eight boys and eight girls teams from the region in hotly contested action. More details will be coming soon, including a high school fundraising program to benefit local lacrosse teams. Teams can raise as much as $10,000 for their budgets by selling tickets for the event.
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1

18 Teams Headline 2010 FCL Season

St. Johns, Florida - The Preliminary Schedule for FCL 2010 is due to be released soon. As of today, here is a list of teams that have been confirmed for the FCL 2010 season! Some teams are a few people short – please encourage your school to sign up for the league before the deadline (Saturday).

BHS Lax – Two teams (Varsity level, JV level, Freshman level) Buchholz
BT Bears Lax – Two teams (Varsity level, JV level) Bartram Trail
CHS Knights Lax – Two teams (Varsity level, JV level) Creekside
Episcopal Lax – 1 team (currently 50% of team is registered) Episcopal HS
Gainesville Lax – 1 team
LaxManiax Elite MS – 1 team
Mandarin/Atlantic Coast Lax – 1 team
MHS Pirate Lax – 1 team
Nease Big Green Lax – 1 team (currently 80% of team is registered) Nease
PVHS Sharks Lax – 1 team
Sandalwood Lax – 1 team
Stanton/Paxon Lax – 1 team
Fleming Lax – 1 team (Fleming Island/Orange Park)
Pedro Lax – 1 team (currently has 55% of team registered) PMHS
Beach Babes Lax – 1 team (currently has 50% of team registered) Fletcher

The FCL Schedule will be created utilizing all of the teams that have registered so far. Teams will be given a 1-week extension to complete their rosters (October 7th) prior to the league-wide meeting and Spring FHSAA north Florida area scheduling meeting.

About FCL High School Aged League 2010:
* Fifth Fall Ball season and Sixth year of FCL league play
* Games are on Sunday afternoons for five consecutive weekends
* Teams will be seeded for a final “double tournament” on the fifth weekend
* Each team plays three :25 games ever Sunday
* Schedule will be released on October 1st to the FCL Head Coaches
* Free coaches clinic to be held at JU on Saturday the 16th of October. Clinic includes classroom time, field time, and chance to watch the Green and Gold scrimmage from the sideline. Start time is 9:30am at the Davis College of Business.
* Free US Lacrosse officials clinic to be announced prior to the start of Fall Ball. 2010-11 US Lacrosse Officials ratings to be done during FCL Season.
* Concessions available each Sunday.
* FCL GIRL’S lacrosse store will be open each Sunday featuring cutting edge technology and fashion including your TEAM’S colors!
* All games will be officiated by trained and certified officials
* Teams may begin legally practicing after their roster is official with the league per FHSAA rules and the official schedule has been released

FHSAA Votes to Change Lacrosse Start-Date

Gainesville, Florida - The FHSAA heard, and they reacted. In a quick and decisive motion today in Gainesville, the FHSAA board of directors, led by the leadership of director of athletics Cristina Broska, passed a proposed schedule that was nearly unanimously recommended by a survey of almost 100 coaches and athletic directors. Immediately following the meeting, Mrs. Broska released an email to her lacrosse list serve of officials and athletic directors that stated:

“This morning, the FHSAA Board of Directors voted on an item to change the start/finish date of lacrosse for this season. For the 2010-11 school year, the season’s first practice date is January 31, with the finals being held on May 7.”

District tournaments will be held the week of April 18-22nd with the state finals weekend being played on May 7th. This better aligns Florida’s calendar with neighboring Georgia and creates a more ‘spring’ feel for the sport, which is played in the spring at the prep and collegiate levels nationwide.

The survey was conducted by Chris Claussen, a long-time lacrosse advocate, coach, and purveyor of the sport in Naples, Florida. A former college player in New England, Claussen saw a lot of conflicts between his soccer playing dual-sport athletes on the girls side and sought an easier way to keep the girls from being placed in a catch-22. Choose one or the other.

Programs from Vero Beach to Bartram Trail and all areas in between took place in the survey.

FHSAA Changes District Alignments for North Florida – Adds One New District

Adding a New District is a Good Step Towards Accommodating North Florida, But is it Enough to Sustain Future Growth?

Gainesville, Florida - The FHSAA has adjusted their districts, creating a third district for North Florida girls lacrosse, but the organization which ‘recognizes’ lacrosse without ‘sanctioning’ the sport, did not add enough districts for north Florida to have its own region. Instead, two large districts have been created in northeast Florida and one small district in north central Florida. Tallahassee, which somehow has a number of boys lacrosse programs and no girls lacrosse programs, adds a fourth district for the boys, which provides the boys with a final-four participant and regional state champion each year. Without at least three GIRLS programs in Tallahassee, the state’s capital, it appears as if north Florida will not have its own region barring an ‘empty’ region, which the FHSAA could elect to add at a future date. Such a region (no teams) would save schools much needed money on travel during the post-season.

How did the FHSAA do the districts for 2011? Logically, but without understanding of growth in our region.

District One: Duval County Public Schools and Episcopal High School

Mandarin
Atlantic Coast
Fletcher
Sandalwood
Paxon
Stanton
Episcopal
Wolfson – unofficial/listed every year but never has a team

Seven teams, none of whom have ever won a district championship (so someone will win their first championship this year). All travel is within Duval County. Unfortunately, the teams in this District, as they have in the past, tend to play each other twice and no other local area teams. It makes their scheduling easier, but it hurts their status in the area as they do not play the better teams. By the time they get to the regional playoffs, this league will draw an early exit against a team with a ton of fire power. Wolfson would be the eighth team in this district, but they have yet to organize a team despite being listed by FHSAA for two consecutive years without an actual team.

District Two: St. Johns, Flagler, and Clay Counties

Bartram Trail (District champs 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010)
Nease (District champs 2007, 2008)
Creekside (runners up 2010)
Ponte Vedra (runners up 2009, District champs 2010)
Menendez
Matanzas
Palm Coast (runners up 2007, 2008)
Fleming Island (District champs 2008, runners up 2009)
St. Augustine – First year/unofficial

Eight teams, including every school in north Florida that has ever won a district championship over the past five years, comprise this district. This is the ‘power district’ if there ever could be one. Matanzas, a former doormat program, now has forty (40) girls going out for the team and an active youth feeder system. The winner of this district will have earned it. St. Augustine will add officially to the district in 2011-12, giving this district nine teams. If eight is not enough to divide into four districts in north Florida, they aren’t trying.

Let’s not forget about schools in Clay County who may add if their school district comes out of the Dark Ages when footballs were actually made with Middleburg pig skins. Oak Leaf, a new school, could very easily have a girls program in 2011-12, providing this district with ten teams in a year. That’s too many teams for one district and since we all know that teams will be adding in north Florida, why not split this District.

District Three: Gainesville

Buchholz
Gainesville
Eastside
Oak Hall – First Year/unofficial

Three teams officially and a first-year program at Oak Hall, provided they can get the program off the ground. This was an obviously logical district considering the pod of schools that has popped up in Gainesville. Buchholz has established themselves as the favorite in this district and has proven playoff experience.

Ocala area schools may be coming online over the next year or so. This could add two more schools to this District in 2011-12. Lacrosse in this region is booming thanks in large part to the efforts of coaches like Ian and Lyn Millinoff.

If Wolfson could get their act together organizationally, they would make 21 high school programs for the north Florida region. That is remarkable growth considering that eight teams were functioning in 2006. 21 teams out of a 93 team state.

District Four: Central Florida

Oviedo
Winter Springs
Hagerty
Seminole

Only four schools. While none of these schools would ever classify themselves as being in north Florida, the FHSAA has given them that designation on paper unless they choose to provide a mystery district a ‘buy’. Over the past three years, either Oviedo or Winter Springs has represented “north Florida” in the FHSAA final four despite not being located in the north Florida region.

Strangely enough, District FIVE in central Florida, with schools from the same school district/County as District FOUR, only has four schools as well. They are the only two Districts in the state to have four teams but be from the same geographical area, all within a few miles of each other.

At some point, we all hope that FHSAA just creates FOUR districts of FIVE teams in NORTH Florida. Three districts is better than two districts, but this is not rocket science and the sooner FHSAA moves the state series to 16 total Districts (there are 14 right now), the better the playing opportunities and competitiveness within the state of Florida.

Maybe when lacrosse is ‘sanctioned’?

Where are the state’s 93 “declared” programs from?
Teams from North Florida: 21 (within 1 1/2 hours of Jacksonville)
Teams from Southwest Florida: 11 (within 1 1/2 hours of Ft. Meyers)
Teams from Southeast Florida: 32 (within 1 1/2 hours of Palm Beach)
Teams from Central Florida: 29 (within 1 hour of Orlando)
* Tampa Catholic – not listed as having a program in 2011. Was a team in 2010.

Fall Ball List of Teams Entered with Rosters of 15+ players as of 9/13/2010:
Lady Bears Black (Bartram Trail)
Lady Bears White (Bartram Trail)
Knights Lax Black (Creekside)
Sharks Lax (Ponte Vedra)
GB Lax Black (Gainesville Buchholz)
GB Lax White (Gainesville Buchholz)
Pirate Lax Blue (Matanzas)
Saints Lax (Sandalwood)
Devils Lax (Stanton-Paxon)
G-Ville Lax (Gainesville)
LaxManiax Elite (2015, 2016, 2017)

An Open Letter to FHSAA about Florida Lacrosse

Gainesville, Florida - On behalf of more than thirty high school lacrosse coaches and several athletic directors, please read this open letter. It is not written with malice, but to help provide more fluid growth and opportunities to the sport of lacrosse in the state of Florida.

Timing of the Season Limits Multi-Sport Athletes:
First, the calendar is off by three weeks. It has always been off because it has always been too early, but now it is so far off it is alarming. Basketball, soccer, and cheerleading are sports that share many multi-sport athletes with lacrosse. These sports now overlap with lacrosse for as much as 33% of the season, just for DISTRICT level playoffs. Basketball teams earning post-season play honors won’t see lacrosse fields until the season is just about over. FHSAA advocates for kids to play sports; As many sports as kids want to play.

Lacrosse coaches advocate playing multiple sports. This is important to their mental and physical health as well as their abilities on the lacrosse field. Lacrosse is a SPRING, not WINTER sport. In fact, most seasons do not start until March in areas as close by as North Carolina and Virginia. The start of the lacrosse season on January 10th this year is a major issue and will cause kids to have to choose lacrosse or another winter sport. Sports from season to season should not conflict as much as they do.

Softball begins around the same time, however softball is a much more specialized sport. Kids tend to self-select softball earlier than lacrosse, where self-selecting out of other sports is discouraged.

Make the start of the season February 1st. That is the best time for Florida lacrosse to begin. Division I lacrosse does not start until the middle or end of February in Florida. FHSAA should follow this lead for many reasons from participation fairness to the nature of the sport itself. It is a spring game and needs to stay in the spring.

Next, please settle the state into four distinct regions of play. Lacrosse should have:
1) Northern region
2) two central regions (north-central and south-central)
3) Southern region

Each region needs four districts. There are enough teams in the state of Florida to provide 16 districts of 4 or 5 teams at this point. This would provide easier, less expensive travel during the playoffs as well as easier competitive seasons (play more regionally based schedules) with more District championship opportunities (16 provides 25% more opportunities than last year).

On the girl’s side this is so important. Comparing girls lacrosse to sports like football and other boy’s sports, who have 3, 4, or 5 teams per district as well as classifications with as few as 40 teams and one can see that there are disproportionate opportunities for girls lacrosse. Going to the 16 District format, or two classes of 8 districts would make more sense for the long-term growth of the sport.

This is not a difficult adjustment, falls into line with other FHSAA grouping procedures, and would make lacrosse much easier to run from the FHSAA’s end (four distinct regions), the local AD end (limited travel and regional championships), and the coaches and players end (more study time, less travel time).

FHSAA is the governing body of sports in the state of Florida. They do a good job and they have a massive responsibility. We support FHSAA. We hope that the FHSAA will review and make adjustments on the lacrosse calendar and the district formats for the 2011 season. Together, we can make lacrosse continue to be the fastest growth sport in the country and the south region with Florida as a model! We hope you will consider these proposals.

All-First Coast Teams Announced; White and Silvestri Earn Players of the Year

St. Augustine, Florida - First Coast Lax announces its 2010 all North Florida lacrosse teams. The team was determined by coaches nominations and school ranking overall based on the coaches poll, laxpower rankings and scores against common opponents in the area. Fourteen teams are represented on the team as either first, second, third, or honorable mention teams.

20 seniors, 11 juniors, and six sophomores make up the first three teams comprised of the top girls prep lacrosse players in north Florida. Bartram Trail High School and Ponte Vedra High School lead the all-conference team selections with six players each on the 1st-3rd teams. Taylor McCord, Nicole White, Amanda Santillo, and Renée Roe were all selected to the first-team for their third season. Sophomore goalkeeper Whitney Myers or of Ponte Vedra was the lone sophomore selected on the first team. Eight seniors were selected for the first team including five midfielders.

Pam Carey (SR-Midfield/Bartram Trail) and Madison Shumaker (SR-Attack/Fleming Island) returned for the second year as first team selections.

The second team was highlighted with six seniors for juniors and three soft sophomores.

Nicole White earned District One and Two Player of the Year. Emotion Silvestri, a senior midfielder from Mandarin High School, earned Duval County Player of the Year honors. The two awards were given in recognition of the separation between Duval County (who pulled out of District play in 2010) and District One and Two teams during FHSAA high school lacrosse season. All of the teams on the First Coast are FHSAA programs.

First Team
SR Amanda Santillo, A, Ponte Vedra
JR Jordyn Pelkey, A, Creekside
JR Taylor McCord, A, Bartram Trail
SR Madison Shumaker, A, Fleming Island
JR Nicki Caputo, M, Bartram Trail
SR Pam Carey, M, Bartram Trail
SR Nicole White, M, Ponte Vedra
SR Renee Roe, M, Flagler Palm Coast
SR Emotion Silvestri, M, Mandarin
SR Brea Shratt, D, Buchholz
SR Ashley Szerba, D, Fletcher
SO Whitney Meyers, GK, Ponte Vedra

Second Team
SR Molly Pagden, A, Ponte Vedra
JR Jordan Cook, A, Bartram Trail
SO Melissa Coggins, A, Bartram Trail
JR Katie Walker, A, Creekside
SO Cassie Crain, A, Flagler Palm Coast
JR Sabrina Jennis, M, Creekside
SR Holly McCoy, M, Buchholz
SR Michelle Phelan, M, Fleming Island
SR Erin Millinoff, M, Buchholz
JR Allie Santillo, D, Ponte Vedra
SR Taylor Figura, D, Stanton
SO Katie Kastner, GK, Flagler Palm Coast

Third Team
SR Martha McNeil, A, Fletcher
SR Caroline Strandes, A, Stanton
JR Samantha Sherman, A, Paxon
JR Kristen Gomez, A, Buchholz
SR Jessica Corey, M, Matanzas
JR Christian Watts, M, Episcopal
SR Lindsey Gamboa, M, Pedro Menendez
SR Adelajda Kore, M, Sandalwood
SR Megan Wendlandt, D, Bartram Trail
SO Alex Grune, D, Ponte Vedra
SR Taylor Bayles, D, Fleming Island
JR Lauren Byers, D, Mandarin
SO Jane Bunn, GK, Creekside

Honorable Mention

Bartram Trail: SR Dani Montiel, SR Shelby Jones, JR Kelsey Dale, JR Aubrey Asplen
Buchholz: Olivia Farris, Mary Kate Barnes, Torrie Baggett
Creekside: SR Amanda Haataia, JR Sabine Mosal, FR Kelly McCormack, JR MaxKenzie Markowitz.
Flagler Palm Coast: SR Marina Goldgisser, FR Courtney Watson, SR Sarah Hanrahan
Fleming Island: Rachel Ford, Katie Eckhardt, Danielle Krakowski
Fletcher: SO Savannah Whitley, SO Bethany Evans, SR Brittany Gonzales
Mandarin: Erin Whitley, Grace Jacobson, Ally Campion
Paxon: Olivia Irvine, Taylor Bennett, Floriin Aunis Hope English, Christine Bracey
Pedro Menendez: Ally Almon, Kaysie Varnadore, Taylor May
Ponte Vedra: Anne Zawacki, Melissa Kochan, Nense Brari, Haley Wortman
Sandalwood: Leena Blair, Jackie Graham, Ashley White, Amanda Costigan, Gina Bade
Stanton: Shannon Jaycox, Margaret Brown, Alana Hall, Allie Joura

Ponte Vedra’s Nicole White Earns D1/D2 Player of the Year

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida - Regional finalist Ponte Vedra High School’s Nicole White earned the 2010 First Coast Lacrosse Girl’s Player of the Year awards as voted on by the area’s coaches. The senior tore the fields of the First Coast up this year scoring 78 goals and feeding 42 assists to her teammates en route to the District One championship. White earned district championships twice while a student-athlete at Nease High School before Ponte Vedra was officially opened in 2009.

“Nicole is a great player on both ends of the field.  She plays 110% all game, every game! Her knowledge of the game and her leadership helped win PVHS their first District Championship and make it to the Regional Finals.” said PVHS coach Peter DellaVecchia. “In addition to being captain of the lacrosse team, Nicole has been involved in numerous school clubs and activities including, national honor society, mu alpha theta, spanish club, and PVHS soccer team all while maintaining a 4.1 gpa. Her positive attitude, competitive spirit, and academic success are a perfect example of what a student-athlete should be.   She will be greatly missed and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”

White who excelled in soccer and many other activities in high school will attend the University of Florida. Her family was critical to the development of lacrosse in many areas. Her father, Don White, was the time keeper and score keeper for Ponte Vedra during the past two seasons with both parents active in supporting lacrosse programs during their daughter’s playing career.