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LXM PRO Interview: Kyle Harrison

The time has come to kick off our LXM PRO interview series again! First up, Kyle Harrison. By now, every LAS Reader knows the former Tewaaraton Trophy winner and MLL All-Star, but you may not know much about his involvement with LXM or what he’s been up to this summer. Check out the interview below and enjoy!

LAS: What made you decide to leave the MLL and commit fully to LXM?

Kyle Harrison: Well, to be completely honest, when Xander, Scott, Max, Craig and I first began planning out LXM Pro, we were all fairly optimistic about players being able to play both MLL and LXM (with one being a Tour and the other being a 3 month season). The fact that LXM Pro is a tour, it isn’t in MLL cities, and it’s not during the MLL season, had me feeling pretty confident that guys would be playing in both. However, with the contract deadline for MLL nearing and no relationship established between the two, players were put in a position where they had to choose one or the other. For me, obviously I was going to go with the company that I was a part of starting. We’re all very passionate about spreading the sport and doing our part to take the game to the next level, and LXM Pro provides our players with the opportunity to do just that.

Brett Hughes interviewing KH at the LXM Launch Party in Baltimore

Since joining LXM as a player, how has your training regimen changed?

With LXM Pro being all year long, I’ve had to focus on keeping my body in shape all year, and staying explosive. There’s definitely a difference between training for a 3 month season, and training for a tour. With the tour and playing once a month, you’ve got to stay on top of your training and make sure when you get on the field, you’re ready to perform at your best. Fortunately, there are tons of tournaments to play in and keep my stick work and dodging tight. Also, with STX, Nike and Playmaker camps and appearances all year, I’m literally out on a lacrosse field 5 days a week (more sometimes) somewhere in the country, so I’m always shooting and keeping the game tight.

Is LXM the future of professional lacrosse? If so, why? If not, what’s next?

Ha, that’s got to be the goal, right? Again, we’re all just trying to do our part to take the sport to the next level. If you look at other professional sports and tours, the entertainment industry definitely plays a big part in taking the athletes to the next level. We’re all very passionate about this sport and we are going to do our best to make sure that our sport, along with it’s athletes are viewed at the same level as Professional athletes of other sports. It’s an uphill battle, but we love the challenge.

Next stop, Philadelphia… What are you looking forward to most about this upcoming event?

Well, for starters, I’m fired up for our first east coast event! We’re all east coast dudes, so it’ll be nice to come home and put on a show for the east coast lacrosse fans. I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m excited to watch Wale do his thing! Been a big fan of his stuff for the past year or two, and this will be my first time seeing him perform live. Most of all, I’m looking forward to getting out on the field with my boys and playing the sport we love. Running a middie line with Joey Walters and Steven Brooks is going to be serious.

After Philly you’ve got Jacksonville, San Diego, Vegas, Austin & Atlanta. How did you guys pick these locations?

We try to focus on growth markets for the sport, so the ones listed above are definitely packed with people that love the sport and are hungry for high level lacrosse. Kids in these areas don’t have division one programs or professional outdoor lacrosse, so it’s important to show them what the sport looks like when played at the highest level!

What have you been up to this summer?

I’m not even sure where to start with this one! I’ve literally been all over the country for a solid 3 months straight doing appearances/camps/clinics for Nike, STX, Playmaker and Run N’ Gun. It’s definitely been the busiest summer I’ve had in a few years, but I can’t complain. From Kentucky to Portland, to Florida, Denver, Texas… you name it, chances are I’ve been there this summer.

What has been your most enjoyable camp or tourney of the summer? Why?

Me, Max Ritz, Maxx Davis, James Morgan and Jason Lenau coached a team of 7th and 8th graders from Orange County for the past 5 months called Team Relentless, and it’s definitely the most fun I’ve had coaching in quite some time and was my most enjoyable. As far as playing goes, I just got back from Lake Placid (first time at the tournament), and I absolutely LOVED IT! Great place to have a tournament, great competition, and our Graph Tex team won! Can’t wait to go back next year!

STX recently released the 2011 Assault gloves. Have you tried them? What do you think?

The Assault gloves are the next generation of High Def padding (G22 being the first)! Don’t want to give up too much, get out to the store and try them on this fall!

Other than Jacksonville on Oct 16, what are your plans this fall?

Jacksonville will most definitely be a great event! Outside of the heading there, I’ll just be working on the limited edition K18 line for early 2011, bouncing around doing STX and Nike events and getting ready for LXM out west in San Diego in January! I’ve got a Mexcian Riviera cruise coming up at the beginning of September which will be a lot of fun and a nice break! Then heading to Myrtle beach as usual with the family for Thanksgiving! Lakers/Heat game out in LA on Christmas day is definitely marked on the calendar as well.

And finally, what are you listening to right now?

Right now, my top 3 songs are:

I’m Ready for You by Drake

Right Above by Lil Wayne featuring Drake

Put It Down by Bun B featuring Drake

Good tunes. Thanks for the interview Kyle!

For more on LXM PRO, check out their website and follow them on Twitter. We’ll have more LXM player interviews coming your way over the next few weeks!
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