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Salt Shakerz Lacrosse New Orleans
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Salt Shakerz Take Miami And NOLA By Storm

The Salt Shakerz have started off 2012 with a bang! Within 2 weeks of each other, at the end of January/beginning of February, the club attended the Bump & Grind Tournament down in Miami, FL and the Mardi Gras Lacrosse Tournament in New Orleans, LA.

Salt Shakerz Lacrosse Club New Orleans
The Shakerz down in NOLA.

The Shakerz even added a new sponsor for their trips:

New York City based Life Juice, a beverage company for a healthy body, mind, and spirit partnered with the Salt Shakerz Lacrosse Club for both the Bump n’ Grind and the Mardi Gras Lacrosse Tournaments. The company is devoted to providing healthy, tantalizing products, and outstanding service. At Life Juice®, the company believes in the fruits, vegetables and the philosophy behind every drop of their products.

Salt Shakerz Lacrosse Life Juice
Drinking that Life Juice goodness.

As they say, the “juice was worth the squeeze.” Life Juice proved to be exactly what it claims to be by replenishing the squad after tough nights on the town, and keeping the Shakerz hydrated and energized on the field when it mattered most.

While this was not the Shakerz’ most successful trip to South Beach, the club still represented well on the field, and more importantly, looked good doing it. The Salt Shakerz’ uniforms, more subtle than past versions, were a big hit in both SoBe & NOLA. The jerseys were white Under Armour polo shirts that were embroidered with an oversized Shakerz logo on the left chest above the heart and each player’s number on the left sleeve in pink (Duh!). What really tied the whole kit together, completing the vacation-vibe, were the Under Armour Khaki Shorts.

Salt Shakerz Lacrosse Life Juice Under Armour
Life Juice Salt Shakerz khaki UA shorts. Dope.

Jake Mendlinger, goalie out of Haverford College was named MVP for his efforts in Miami. Dude stood on his head all weekend and drew rave reviews for his play.

Salt Shakerz Lacrosse New Orleans
Jake (left) was our Miami MVP.

The Salt Shakerz were joined in Miami by the Cayenne Pepperz, the Shakerz’ female equivalent, who dominated while in SoBe, coasting to the women’s championship.  Congrats to the Pepperz on their first championship! This is a young, immensely talented group of gals that will need to be reckoned with in future tournaments. Faith Richards from Rutgers University captains the Pepperz.

After Miami, Shakerz had a short rest before it was off to New Orleans. What a trip! It’s safe to say the Salt Shakerz will be headed back to New Orleans after experiencing some great lacrosse, great new friends, and a great city!

Salt Shakerz Lacrosse New Orleans
Shakerz take NOLA!

The Salt Shakerz, proudly sponsored by Life Juice, won the Mardi Gras Lacrosse Tournament by defeating a talented UVA Men’s Club team on Sunday February 12th!

The tournament was held at City Park, which is just a short ride from the French Quarter and proved to be convenient location. Ford Deith and Paul Johnson from the NOLA Lacrosse Club did an awesome job running the event. Lacrosse is lucky to have those guys helping to Grow the Game!

Salt Shakerz Lacrosse New Orleans
Who is excited to be in NOLA? This guy!

The Shakerz always like to ball for a good cause, and were especially happy to learn that the tournament’s charitable donation for 2012 was for Maggie Hebert.

Maggie is a fifth grader at St. Dominic who was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in mid December. Her surgery was successful, but Maggie will be faced with a year of radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Donations will assist Maggie and her family with the financial burden of the surgery and accompanying treatments.

The Mardi Gras Lacrosse Tournament featured both Men’s and Women’s Divisions, which were stacked with talented rosters.

The men’s field included:

New Orleans Lacrosse Club
Tony’s Tavern (TX)
Salt Shakerz Lacrosse Club
Team Gin Mill
Wisconsin Club (non-MCLA)
Southern Shine
Bamboozers (TX)
Krewe Du Texas (SWLA)
UVA Lacrosse Club (NCLL)
Team Adrenaline
Pensacola Riptide (FL)
Houston Predators (TX)

A Quick recap:

Friday – SSZ Defeated Team Adrenaline
Saturday – SSZ Defeated New Orleans Lacrosse Club & Defeated Southern Shine
Sunday – Championship Game – Defeated UVA Men’s Club

Heavy rains on Friday made for a muddy state of affairs at City Park … The Shakerz literally took every player’s uniform to a Laundromat in the French Quarter after their game and ate Po’ boys while waiting for their gear to get clean. Saturday, the conditions improved significantly, and Sunday was just a little cooler with some more wind.

Salt Shakerz new orleans
Salt Shakerz, Lax, Laundry.

Most importantly, the Shakerz’ family continued to grow with only 5 veterans participating in the Mardi Gras Tournament. That meant 14 new players joined the club, including Shakerz tournament MVP, Matt Witko from Tufts University. Matt led all scorers with 15 points. No goal was more impressive than the cannon he unleashed from 12 yards out that broke the goalie’s stick on its way to finding the back of the net.  Definitely one of the most ridiculous goals scored in the Shakerz recent history.

Salt Shakerz new orleans
Witko losing a rare face off to Connor Wilson, who CONSTANTLY cheats.

Other new notable players included:

Brad Korvin, Salisbury
Zack Clark, Stevenson
Tommy Vitale, Virginia Wesleyan
Chas Berntson, Rutgers
John Harmonay, St. Josesph’s University
Sean Murray, Curry College
Mark Tyler, UMass

The Salt Shakerz continue to be fortunate to attract “good guys both on and off the field.” The “Shakerz effect” as we like to call it is starting to take hold as a great sense of camaraderie, mutual respect, and sincere friendship continues to cement the chemistry
between new and old players.

Salt Shakerz new orleans
I Slap da bass.

So with that said, what’s the best way to recap the event? A top 10 List!

#10 – Parents, girlfriends, wives and friends who just came to support the boyz in pink
#9 – Shakerz midfielder, Tommy Vitale sporting a “flowhawk.”TKT (That Kid Tom)
#8 – The Trampoline set up at the tournament

Salt Shakerz new orleans
Let’s get EXTREME!

#7 – Harrah’s Casino. Nuff said

Salt Shakerz new orleans
Winnin’ and sinnin’.

#6 – Team lunch at Manning’s Sports Bar on Fulton Street (table for 18 please…-Archie & Peyton’s jersey #!!) FYI the speed limit on the Ole Miss campus is reportedly 18 MPH in honor of Archie Manning

Salt Shakerz new orleans
Archie Manning’s restaurant.

#5 – Dancing in the streets to the sounds of jazz… Visit Frenchmen St. It’s awesome!
#4 – The famous New Orleans Beignet from Café DuMonde

Cafe du monde new orleans
Nom.

#3 – Team Karaoke at “The Cats Meow” on Bourbon Street

Salt Shakerz new orleans
Note the lyrics. Totally appropriate.

#2 – New Orleans Dog Parade… we’ve never seen anything like that!

New Orleans dog parade
Does that dog look tired or what?

#1 – Continuing to grow this game we all love, one city at a time! Lax often…

Follow the Shakerz & Pepperz via:
Website: www.laxoften.com
Facebook: facebook.com/shakerzlacrosse
Twitter: @laxoften

About the Salt Shakerz: The Salt Shakerz Lacrosse club is a post-collegiate traveling lacrosse team originating out of the New York City metro area. The Shakerz came together in the fall of 2008 when CJ Greene (Villanova University 00′) and Co. began talking about putting a competitive team together of “good guys” both on and off the field. The name ‘Salt Shakerz” is derived from the expression; ‘Pass the Salt’—or in Lax vernacular ‘keep it hot,’ ‘Spin it,’ or ‘one more’. The moniker pays homage to what the club likes to embody: unselfish and tasty play.

It goes without saying that people like to lax with guys they get along with, and that has been the goal of the team since day one. Obviously everyone wants to win, but for this group, no one player has been bigger than the team. That being said, the club still puts together a talented squad. The Salt Shakerz roster includes current and former MLL, NLL, and LXM Pro Players-all the way to college club and MCLA guys. The Shakerz rotate playing in the various tournaments based on the event and geography.