From David Lisi:
On a recent trip to Louisville, KY I was asked to coach a group of kids who were looking to play in an upcoming box lacrosse tournament in Columbus, OH. The tournament was the Midwest Classic Box Lacrosse Tournament hosted by Resolute Lacrosse at the Resolute Athletic Complex. The Midwest Classic lived up to its name: classic! It was an instant hit and I can tell you that the boys at Resolute nailed the structure and presentation of this premier box lacrosse event! Being that my former Kentucky Stickhorses teammates Greg Bice and Anthony Kelly hosted the tournament, I thought it would be a great opportunity to support their event as well as offer some insight into the box game to some very eager high school and middle school players.
The most exciting part about the tournament is that it is actually REAL box lacrosse, with REAL box rules, sanctioned by a REAL national sanctioning entity (U.S. Box Lacrosse Association). Not only that, the Midwest Classic featured teams who have been playing REAL box lacrosse from places like New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California and Ohio.
The team I ended up coaching was a Hoosier Lacrosse team (http://hoosierlacrosse.com) based out of Indiana; however, we had players from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana. Quite a mix of players who not only had never played together, they also collectively did not have much box lacrosse experience. This would seem to be a recipe for disaster, but they proved that they were capable of learning on the fly and showed tremendous improvement over the course of 4 games. I would seriously entertain the idea of taking this team anywhere to play box! With standout players already committed to places like Ohio State (DI) and Wheeling Jesuit (D2), we certainly knew we could hang lacrosse-wise with anyone. The thing we had to learn and learn quickly was box lacrosse!
Anyone looking to try box lacrosse as a field player for the first time, essentially has to wipe their memory clean from most of the “fundamental” field lacrosse knowledge (i.e. shooting on the run, changing hands, staying onside, shooting from 13 yards, etc…).
The first thing we established was that righties and lefties must stick to their side of the field. We then stressed the importance of being alert to the shot clock and how to best substitute to ensure that no one got terribly winded. We also worked on the high/low defense to help us negate the pick game a little. We also coached how to work the shot clock and be sure that the defense wasn’t “leaking” out to their offensive end as the clock wound down. We did get caught on a few breaks, but luckily our goalies were up to the challenge.
Overall, our teams adjusted well to the box game and I know we made believers out of every family involved. The tournament was packed with fast-paced, hard-hitting and clean box lacrosse! I know these guys will come back for more box in the very near future!
Events like these are extremely important to the viability and sustainability of box lacrosse in the United States. With the backing of a governing body, with real rules and game play structure, kids can learn to play box lacrosse the correct way, in a safe and enjoyable manner.
Kids who play under the U.S. Box Lacrosse Association are way luckier than many of the American box pioneers before them. Guys like myself had to travel up to 7 hours a week just to practice and play at the origins of box lacrosse: Canada. The setting can now be brought to aspiring American kids. All it takes is someone willing to implement the right rules and game play into their local leagues, educate coaches and referees and pass on this great game of box lacrosse!
If you want to stay up to date with me, please follow me on Twitter @lisislaxn
