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Salt Shakerz Head To Prague For Box Lacrosse!

The Salt Shakerz LC is headed to Prague for some box lacrosse!  That’s in the Czech Republic, and it’s probably one of the coolest lacrosse events in the world.

The 2012 Aleš Hřebeský Memorial Tournamentwill take place from April 25-28 in Radotin, Czech Repblic, which is a suburb of Prague, probably 20-30 minutes outside of the city center.  The Aleš Hřebeský Memorial is held by Lacrosse Club Custodes, Sokol-Radotín to honor its former player, who died tragically in the autumn of 1993.

Salt Shakerz sweatshirt prague
The team sweatshirt by ProAthletics.

Today, the Aleš Hřebeský Memorial is the most prestigious box-lacrosse event in Europe with teams from eight countries participating.  The tournament boasts opening and closing ceremonies, an all-star game on Saturday night between the best players from the international teams and the Czech national team, and even better than all of that, all of the tournament games are broadcast live on national Czech TV!  The games are also streamed online for fans all over the world!

Salt Shakerz shorts prague
What time is it? Game shorts time.

The tournament is great because you really get to see and experience the growth of not just lacrosse, but also the box game, at the international level.  The tournament is set-up like the world cup, with different groups of 4 teams. The tournament is so legit that there is a drawing for the tournament seeding and grouping that is streamed live online.  The field for 2012 continues to expand and the competition is top notch.  So far countries represented include: USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Scotland, England, Finland and Ireland.

The Salt Shakerz will be making their first official trip to Prague for the Hebresky Memorial Tournament, but a few members of the roster participated in the 2011 tournament with LC United. You can hear more about their experiences here.  And now the boys in pink have been training hard and hitting the wall in hopes of making a splash at this year’s event.

The Shakerz roster for the tournament includes balanced offense and defense and a couple players who are currently playing for the Boston Rockhoppers, the U.S. Developmental Indoor team, and the Lehigh Valley Flying Dutchmen of the NALL. You may recognize a couple of players on the list:

Justin Otto, James Synowiez, Tim O’Connor, Bennett Murphy, Joe Stainer, Matt Toth, CJ Greene, Robert Starr, Alexander Scriffiano, George Rohonczy, Chris Schongar, Mike Kerbaugh, Brandon Greene-Styres, Connor Wilson, Evan Swiker, Eric Force, John Minieri and finally, Mark Powers.

Stay tuned to LAS as the Shakerz will provide plenty of updates on the team’s trip.  Below, we get into the Salt Shakerz uniforms from Pro Athletics (a LaxAllStars.com sponsor), and my of my, are they special!  Also, Laxallstars.com Editor, Connor Wilson, will be playing in his first Shakerz event!  An ambitious start for CW; a little Boxla in Prague!  The Shakerz are pysched to have him running transition in Radotin.  At the bottom of the post, you can find even more information on the best Box Tourney in Europe, and possibly the world.

Let’s get to the gear!

Pro Athletics is a pioneer in the burgeoning industry of custom sublimated apparel and uniforms. The company has combined the science of pattern making with the unlimited capabilities of dye sublimation to create a truly unique and forward-thinking approach to custom garments.   Headquartered in Agoura Hills, California (just north of Los Angeles), the company has offered their services to the lacrosse community for both custom and retail apparel and uniforms since 2009.

Prague Pro Athletics shooter Shakerz
None more black!

The Shakerz are looking to take the championship this year, and the club is excited to be outfitted from head to toe in custom Pro-Athletics gear from their new box lacrosse line.  Pro-Athletics and the Salt Shakerz are putting together a complete player pack including jersey, shorts, shooter, socks and team sweat suit.  But the great news?  It’s all on sale right now to the public!

The Shakerz’ collection with Pro Athletics is extremely limited, and will only be on sale from today through May 1, 2012.  Experience Pro-Athletics’ new box line and don’t sleep on the chance to own some very exclusive Shakerz’ apparel that will never be offered to the public again! The limited edition apparel will be available for sale to the public on Pro Athletics website.

Prague Pro Athletics insert Shakerz
One insert.

We had a chance to catch up with Pro-Athletics’ Eastern Regional Manager, Jerry Ragonese, to ask him a couple questions about the apparel outfitter and to discuss the new partnership with the Shakerz.

1) Why partner with Salt Shakerz Lacrosse Club?

Pro Athletics is proud to partner with the Salt Shakerz for the 2012 Aleš Hřebeský Memorial Tournament.  We have watched their organization over the last few years and recognized a great opportunity to work with CJ Greene and the team this spring.  The fact that we could work with such a professional organization for a Box lacrosse event at a time when we are developing our box line was excellent.

2) What makes Pro-Athletics the right choice for box lacrosse apparel?

We have been working with a select few box teams over the last year, supplying them with jerseys, shorts, and shooters.  Our goal is to create a few new styles of jerseys based on the feedback we’ve received from our partnering teams.  We want to be innovative and not just put out a resized hockey jersey.

Prague Pro Athletics insert Shakerz
And insert #2.

In addition, our R&D guys have also been hard at work developing new materials for our box line, something light and sweat-wicking, that’s also velcro resistant and durable enough to withstand the rigors of the box game.  We will be rolling out our new box jerseys to the public late this summer.

3) Where can we find more information about Pro-Athletics?

Our website is www.ProAthletics.com or you can connect with us via our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/ProAthleticsApparel.  On our website we have both a custom section where teams can learn about the products we offer and even create their own designs using our Apparel Designer, and our store section, which currently has shorts for individual sale. We have been working on some licensing agreements as well as expanding our current selection. Look for more apparel this summer.

Lastly, the Community section of our website is in beta at the moment, but once it’s complete, customers and gear afficionados will be able to view our expanded galleries of artwork proofs, production photos, and read articles on the processes we use and how Pro Athletics works.  We should be ready to launch this part of our site in April. Check back soon!

Additional Background Information – from the Aleš Hřebeský Memorial Tournament website:

The Annual Aleš Hřebeský Memorial Tournament is held to honor Hrebresky, a former LCC Radotin player, who was killed on November 30, 1993 by a drunk-driver while he waited at a bus stop on his way to practice.  Aleš Hřebeský was born on July 1st, 1972 and was among the most gifted LCC players. Moreover, he was a keen ice-hockey player, gymnast, and cycle-ball player.

Initially, the tournament used to be the traditional opening of the Czech lacrosse season at the end of March. When the tournament was first held, all teams played on a usually muddy field dried with layers of shavings and sawdust.

The 8th tournament in 2001 was a breakthrough. Thanks to a generous grant from the Municipality of Prague, and the efforts of LCC members, the arena was refurbished and an artificial surface was laid down. The Grand Opening was a part of the Aleš Hřebeský Memorial which included a first – teams from abroad (the USA, Germany, and even Japan) participated for the first time. It was the first tournament ever in the history of world box lacrosse with participants from more than two countries. The Champion that year was LCC Sokol Radotín. The next year, two American teams participated and a few professional players played on Team Rebel, which won the tournament from 2002–04. The winner of 2005 and 2006 annual was LC Jižní Město.

In 2007, for the first time a team from the homeland of box lacrosse, Canada, took part in the tournament. The Green Gaels from Ontario went unbeaten and gained the trophy. The 2007 tournament was also a good preparation for the Czech national team before the World Indoor Lacroose Championships, which were held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in May 2007. For the first time, a lacrosse game was broadcasted on TV in the Czech Republic. Czech TV Spart Channel broadcasted the All-Star Game.

A record 16 teams took part in 2008, which caused the tournament to expand and start on Thursday. Several Rebel players including Bill Curtis came as Megamen Boston. They won the trophy in the first live TV broadcast from the tournament. Also all matches were available live on the internet at bwin website and you could bet on results there, too! (how crazy/awesome is that betting on amateur boxla?)

Well there you have it!  Box lacrosse in Prague.  Lax Often!