Chris Panos uis back this week with his weekly column. Make sure to send questions via social media using #PanosQA.
1. How will lacrosse fare in Georgia with the Swarm?
I think that lacrosse is definitely on the rise in Georgia. With the enormous growth with youth lacrosse in the south region of the US, I can see the fans embracing that style of lacrosse from an entertainment value. I look forward to seeing how the relocation goes and wish the franchise nothing but success in Georgia.
It’s very early in the WLA season, so anything can happen, but it looks like Victoria has a potent offense once again, and New Westminster has a very formidable defenseolid defense. It will really all come down to which teams solidify their line-ups, as well as whatever team stays healthiest and gets the best goaltending will ultimately be in the hunt for the cup come mid-August.
There are many cities that are experiencing tremendous growth in lacrosse, but some of the cities that I believe that would embrace professional lacrosse with open arms would include, Dallas, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Boise and Tampa.
There are so many great players playing the game today, it would be difficult to name them all, but if I had to pick one player that has the ability to excite the crowd with his creativity and play making ability, it would have to be John Grant, who I was fortunate enough to play with in the NLL, as well as in the OLA and win two Mann Cups with the Peterborough Lakers in 2004 and 2006.
Play both really. I would advise all players to experience the box game as much as possible, and try to carry the skills and mechanics onto the field to gain more confidence and high caliber stick skills to maximize your growth and potential with the sport.
