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RoadTrip with Rhino West Linn Academy
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Road Trip With Rhino: 10th Annual West Linn Academy

Editor’s Note: Henry Richenstein will be interning with Rhino Lacrosse and LaxAllStars all summer long. He has earned the opportunity to travel the country with Rhino, instructing lacrosse at their popular Rhino Academies. Henry will be keeping you filled in on what’s going on with Rhino, how lacrosse varies between regions and showing off some of the nation’s best talent. Welcome to Henry’s Road Trip With Rhino!

10th Annual West Linn Academy

The West Linn Academy is what really started Rhino Lacrosse. This year was Rhino Lacrosse’s historic 10th annual West Linn Academy and Ryan Powell, owner of Rhino Lacrosse, had big plans for it.

I personally was extremely excited to see what Rhino had up their sleeve and could pull out for this big event, but I was also extremely nervous because the day before camp started there was a freak hail and lightning storm that could have ruined the camp morale. Thankfully, the lacrosse gods shined down upon us and only allowed a light Portland drizzle and some clouds during the first day of camp, and it only got better from there. West Linn2 Photo Credit: Henry Richenstein

Rhino Lacrosse is always famous for their incredibly qualified and intelligent coaching staff, but they really brought out the big guns for the 10th annual West Linn Academy.

Just to name a few of the faces that helped coach the Portland, Oregon area youth, Henry Schoonmaker who is going to the a captain for the Syracuse Orangemen in the 2014-2015 season, Joel White who is the starting LSM for the Rochester Rattlers, Connor Martin, or Con Bro Chill, who plays for the Ohio Machine, and many more other experienced lacrosse players. West-Linn

The coaching staff was just a part of what really made this week special though. What was also special was the intensity and drive of each of the West Linn campers. We hosted campers from all over the states of Washington and Oregon, and none of them were afraid to show what they’ve got.

Every day we started off with stretching and some simple stick work drills, then we progressed into team drills and morning scrimmages. I was lucky enough to coach the seventh and eighth grade Duke team, which had a very diverse set of players.

Even though no two players that I saw possessed the same skills or strategy out on the field, they all had one thing in common and that was that they all were there to play and get better.

I constantly heard coaches refer to these kids as “sponges” throughout the week because of their ability to absorb and retain new skills and information, and I think that that is one of the best compliments a coach can give a player.All of these kids at the West Linn Academy were a bunch of “sponges”, and it’s those types of players that have the ability to thrive in the next level of lacrosse.

The final thing that really made the 10th annual West Linn Academy special was that it was full of surprises. Rhino Lacrosse setup a break station for its campers, which is an area where you can shoot at plates, bowls and old TVs as hard as you can (Shown Below). Even though it was for the campers, I think the coaches where the ones that had the most fun with it. West Linn3 Photo Credit: Henry Richenstein

Another fun activity that Rhino had was the Lacrosse Obstacle Course. A player would try to dodge tennis balls, water balloons and squirt guns in order to get through an obstacle course and hit a gong to signal that they were done.

But the real surprise was having Ty Thompson, one of the best lacrosse players in the history of University of Albany, come out to give a guest talk to all of the campers. He was also nice enough to stay a little bit afterwards and help coach the third through fifth graders.

WINNER

I would also like to give a LaxAllStars shout out to the West Linn Academy stick trick contest winner, “Jake the Snake”, who won the audience over with some electrifying moves.

That gives us two winners so far this summer that will be in the running to be chosen as the Rhino Academy stick trick champion at the end of summer.

West Linn3 Photo Credit: Henry Richenstein

Thank you West Linn! We will see you next year for the 11th annual Rhino Academy. Don’t forget to stay tuned for the Boise, Idaho academy starting July 7th.

Bouncin’ to Boise

BOISE, ID JULY 7-10

2014 marks the 5th year Rhino returns to Boise, ID for its annual Academy! All players will come away from the Rhino Lacrosse Boise Academy with the necessary tools to compete at a higher level. The world class coaching staff at the Rhino Lacrosse Summer Academy includes current Division I collegiate players, college coaches, high school coaches and professional players all hand picked by Ryan Powell.

All players will receive position specific training and will leave camp knowing all the important facets of the game from shooting and stick work to the tips, tricks and techniques of the pros. Each day of camp will not only include on field instruction, games and demonstrations but also positional talks, and clinics. This Rhino Lacrosse Summer Academy is an exciting and rewarding experience for lacrosse players of all levels and abilities.

Ryan and the Rhino Lacrosse staff are excited to see you on the field this summer in Boise!

RHINO BOISE ACADEMY DETAILS:

WHEN:

July 7th-10th, 2014

WHERE:

Fairmont Park 7925 W Northview St Boise, ID 83704-7243

FORMAT:

Half Day Academy

WHO:

Boys 3rd-8th grade 9am-12pm Boys 9th-12th grade 1pm-4pm Grade based on 2014-2015 academic year

COST:

Before May 1st: $220 After May 1st: $245 Available Discounts- $50 Goalie Discount- Players must play goalie for the entire camp to be eligible $20 Sibling Discount- Siblings must complete registration at the same time to be eligible

RHINO BOISE ACADEMY FEATURES:
  • Rhino Player Pack Position Specific Training
  • Specialized Age Specific Training
  • Great Instructor: Camper Ratio
  • Demonstrations
  • Elite Coaching
  • Camp Store
  • Raffles, Giveaways and Prizes

PLAYERPACK

Register here for Rhino Academy Boise!