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2016 Non-Hot Bed FoGo

Lacrosse in Missouri is definitely growing, but it has a long way to go before it’s considered a hot bed of recruitable D1 lacrosse talent. At this point in the state’s development, the above is to be expected, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t ANY D1 level talent in the state! To prove you wrong, I’d like you to meet Alex Bean.

Bean is, at least in my opinion, a D1 FoGo prospect from Missouri with good form, a hunger for the game, and he’s coming out of the Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS).

He has learned from some of the top face off experts in the country through Matt Schomburg’s FoGoLax.net and Greg Gurnelian’s Face Off Academy. You can definitely see flashes of Brendan Fowler in this kid’s game as well, especially when it comes to technique.

Bean is not a monster athletically, nor does he possess amazing speed, or even superb stick skills when handling the ball, although he is very solid in all of those aspects. In the end, I’m not so sure that any of the above matters too much when it comes to winning face offs these days. What does win is very precise face off work. Bean has quick hands, uses his entire body to create leverage, and does a fantastic job of bringing the ball out of traffic in a calm way after securing possession.

That last part right there is what makes me think Bean has true D1 potential. I’ve taken in a number of face off clinics, and Bean seems to be doing almost everything that I hear preached, and he’s only a 2016. From reports, he is dedicated to improving and perfecting this craft, and will continue to improve and find the best competition he can. As you can see in the video intro, Bean spent a good amount of time playing on the East Coast this Summer.

I also like that Bean shows diversity in how he wins face offs. Some guys only pinch’n’pop. Others clamp and go back. Others use their wings. Bean is definitely a win it himself guy, but he does that a bunch of different ways, and if he adds in the wing play aspect to his game, he should be very solid overall.

While it’s still more difficult to make it to the D1 level if you don’t live in a hot bed area, there are definitely kids out there who have the potential to make it the next level. I think Alex Bean might be one of those kids, and if he keeps improving, the sky is the limit.