Editor’s Note: Active Duty Navy Chief Petty Officer and world-class lacrosse head dyer Dan Tisinger joins us to share is experiences with the Shootout for Soldiers event and his expectations for 2015! 24 hours of non-stop lacrosse action, sign us up!
Recently event organizer Tyler Steinhardt asked me if I would mind sharing my experiences with the Shootout for Soldiers event. I participated in the last two years of the Shootout and I’m looking forward to the upcoming event in Baltimore on June 17-18.
This event is particularly important to me because I am not only a coach and player, but I am also in the Active Duty Navy. It is a great time for people across numerous communities to come together and support a common goal.
So who am I?
In a nutshell, I am an avid lacrosse enthusiast, an active player and coach, a parent of the next generation of players, a dyer/craftsman, and a US Navy Chief Petty Officer.
My service in the Navy has spanned 17 years to this point. I started my career stationed in Japan as an Electronic Warfare Technician, tasked with protecting the ship from missiles and identifying other platforms by their unique RADAR signature. Following five years overseas, I was stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland as part of an internship program for my job.
During this time I was able to reconnect with the lacrosse community, as I played with the Hero’s Lacrosse adult program and coached one of the Severna Park Green Hornet youth teams. In subsequent years, the Navy has stationed me in Hawaii, Mississippi and most recently Virginia. I was also deployed for a year in 2007 as part of a counter-IED task force called JCCS-1 to MND-N in Iraq.
My current duty station is with SPAWAR Space Field Activity in Chantilly, Virginia. This duty station has given me the opportunity to become fully involved with the Lacrosse community at a variety of levels, including this event.
Shootout for Soldiers 2014
Playing in the SFS last year was even more special than in the first year.
My first year, I arrived at the event a little early for my playing time slot, played for the hour and then went home. I failed to take in the full day’s activities and the other things going on throughout the event.
This past year was a very different experience than the year prior. I arrived before the opening ceremonies and stayed all day and late into the night. As an added bonus, Tyler and I decided to hold my re-enlistment at the start of the day. To me this was important, as it tied multiple areas of my life together at one place.
Being there to see the opening ceremonies and the Army’s Golden Knights jump in with the flag was very cool. Moreover, the chance that I had to speak to Ben Harrow, a wounded veteran, was humbling as a service member. It reminded me that all gave some and some gave all. It really brought into focus what the day is all about.
I have played lacrosse for almost three decades. That adds up to a lot of games, practices, pick-ups, etc. In all those years, nothing I have done has had the same feeling as that hour I played in the Veterans Game. There was a feeling of unity and purpose for us to be on the field, a connection between all of us that was not spoken.
There were players from all branches, including the Coast Guard – it wasn’t just Army v. Navy.
I was playing alongside Pete Hurgronje and Ted Um, both US Army members, and lined up across from Gary Patterson, who you might know as Grunt Lacrosse. There were guys out there that were wounded previously, and showing off their skills.
This year is shaping up to be even better! SFS and Under Armour have partnered up for what I can only assume is going to be some of the best, and most coveted, Shootout gear to date. I for one have learned that it is good to get there early if you want to get gear before it sells out. This will be a full day event for me this year. A few of us make a small camp areas, relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the event.
I have also has the pleasure of donating not only money via fundraising, but also some of my time through the day by taking pictures for the event. There were also donations of older lacrosse equipment that I collected and turned over to Fields of Growth, as well as a few heads that I dyed and strung up for the raffle tent.
It was about the time of the SFS that I began DarkstarCustom Lacrosse Dyes, and quickly found it was an easy way to expand my interaction with the lacrosse community. It was initially a means to work on improving my own stringing and dyeing, but I quickly realized that my strengths were more in one area than another. The focus is to provide high quality and detailed dyes to the customer. I want it to be something that they would not only be proud of but that also tells a story through its images.
A Humbling Gift
In all, I look at the lacrosse community from the perspective of someone that wants to tie it all together. The Medicine Game. A Warriors Sport. The history of the sport and what it was for the Native people is as important to me as it has ever been in my life.
This event is exactly why it was called the Medicine Game, it is played to heal and help. When I do a fundraising dye for an event like this, I always put that on the head. It is a way for me to remember what the sport is there for and why we play it.
On the Iroquois Lacrosse site you can find this in the story of the sport:
“Lacrosse was a gift to us from the Creator, to be played for his enjoyment and as a medicine game for healing the people. The Haudenosaunee people know that all creatures, no matter how big or small, are significant and have a contribution to make to the overall cycle of life.”
I hope to see everyone there!
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Visit the Shootout for Soldiers website for more information on their events in Maryland, Ohio, California, Long Island and Boston and be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!
Photo Credit: Craig Chase
