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Road Trip with Rhino Flagstaff Arizona
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Road Trip With Rhino: Flagstaff Kick Off

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!

I now see why so many people retire to Arizona! Rhino lacrosse’s first 2014 summer academy, held in Flagstaff, Arizona, was filled with sunburns, 80 degree weather, a trip to the Grand Canyon, and most importantly lacrosse.

Rhino Lacrosse Academy Flagstaff

After 22 hours of driving with the Rhino Lacrosse Road Crew, I was extremely happy to see such enthusiastic campers. It wasn’t hard to tell that these kids were here to learn and improve their game while having fun, which was perfect because that’s what the Rhino experience is all about.

Another thing that Rhino Lacrosse is famous for is their world class coaching staff. I was honored to work along some of the most elite lacrosse players from across the nation in order to spread the game. After initially meeting the campers, we weren’t slow to get to the field and pick up our sticks.

Camp started out with simple drills, such as line drills and 2 vs. 1 ground balls, and then worked our way up to more complicated drills, like 4 vs. 3 fast breaks and scrimmages, throughout the week.

Rhino Lacrosse Academy Flagstaff Arizona Photo Credit: Henry Richenstein

Even though the sun was shining and the turf was hot every day, these kids consistently gave it their all and showed a great amount of improvement.

I personally helped teach defenders, and some campers that were just in their first year of playing lacrosse showed so much improvement, that by the end of camp they were perfectly playing body defense, keeping topside, and executing clears like they were All-Americans.

Rhino Lacrosse Academy Flagstaff Arizona Photo Credit: Henry Richenstein

Even though my eyes were usually focused on the defense, I was extremely proud of all of the campers and saw more confidence in everyone by the end of the camp, even myself.

One of the campers that I was fortunate to be able to work with, Kendall Taylor, shared that his favorite thing about his Rhino experience was how the coaches interacted with the players. Even though the Rhino staff prides themselves on teaching each individual camper and knowing them on a personal level, I found that my favorite part of camp was how each camper interacted with the coaches.

I know that I don’t just speak for myself when I say this, but the campers of Flagstaff, Arizona were all very captivated and attentive to what each coach had to say.

Even though all of the coaches and staff members had a wealth knowledge to share, each of the campers was solely responsible for their personal improvement.

Rhino Lacrosse Academy Flagstaff Arizona Photo Credit: Henry Richenstein

After such a great week at the Flagstaff Academy, I have very high expectations for the upcoming West Linn Academy. I honestly have no doubt that these expectations will be met though, and im extremely excited to meet a whole new group of campers that are excited and ready to learn more about the great game of lacrosse.

Stick Trick Contest

Rhino Lacrosse Academy Flagstaff Stick Trick Competition Winner

I would also like to give a LaxAllStars shout out to the Flagstaff Academy stick trick contest winner, Max Bergamo, who is the first winner of the summer. I will be highlighting and showcasing the winner of each camp, and we will be able to pick out a summer champion once the Rhino Academies all wrap up.

Thank you Flagstaff! We will see you next year, and stay tuned to read about the highly anticipated West Linn Rhino Academy. Make sure to follow my Road Trip With Rhino all summer long!

Up Next: West Linn Academy

Rhino Lacrosse West Linn Academy

Rhino West Linn Academy Features premier coaching from some of the top players and coaches in the game, instruction- based curriculum that teaches successful habits and techniques, 3v3 mini tournament, daily contests and competitions, up-tempo FUN environment that includes the world famous Smash Station, and an UNMATCHED LACROSSE EXPERIENCE!

All Players Will Receive a Rhino Academy Player Pack that includes; limited edition 7075 shaft, Rhino socks, Rhino hat, Rhino reversible, and a Rhino ball!

All Rhino coaches are background checked and certified to the highest standards. Every one of our on-field coaches are dedicated to teaching the game of lacrosse and have played and/or coached at the Professional, NCAA and MCLA levels. Our coaches carry with them a passion to teach the game in a fun, positive and upbeat environment. At Rhino Lacrosse we believe the path to success is simple: Work Hard, Have Fun and Get Better!

Our Staff Includes:
Kirk “Coach V” Ventiquattro- With over 400 career wins as head coach of Carthage High School (NY) Coach V returns to direct his 10th West Linn Academy
Ryan Powell- 2001 & 2006 MLL MVP, 6x MLL All Star, 2010 Team USA Captain
Joel White- 3x NCAA All-American and 2x National Champion at Syracuse University
Jared Corcoran- 4x NCAA All-American, 3x National Champion
Thomas Grimm- Junior Midfielder at Syracuse University
Nick Piroli- Junior Attackman at Brown University
Michael Marcott- Sophomore Attackman at Denver University

Just Confirmed: Connor Martin– 2x MCLA All- American at Chapman University and first ever MCLA player to be drafted to the MLL. Also, the first player from Oregon (Lakeridge HS) to play in both the MLL and NLL.

West Linn Academy Details
When: June 17-20, 2014
9am-4pm
Where: Mary S Young Park, West Linn, OR
Who: Boys and Girls entering 3rd -12th grade in the 2014-’15 school year
Cost: $460 Boys $335 Girls
Goalies don’t forget- You can save $85 off your registration AND attend the 2014 Goalie Clinic on June 16 for FREE!