Author: Gaudet

High School Tryout Tips

It’s still only 2:30 p.m. but the anticipation could be cut with a knife.  Mother nature, as if she knew this was a special day, has served up a heavy dose of sun and unseasonably warm weather.  As the end of school draws nearer players begin to fidget in their seats and the coaches start the final critique of their plan.  Today is the day they begin their quest for a championship.

Hidden Ball Trick: Clever or Cheap?

Oh crap! Where’s the ball!?It was 2005 and I was just finishing up my first tournament as the head coach of a U-17 travel lacrosse team.  In our final game of the tournament we were all tied up with only a few minutes left to play.  Coming out of a time out, our opponent’s midfield and attack units both sprinted to the midfield line, placed the ball between them, and started frantically raking their sticks on the ground. 

Lacrosse Idaho Interview: Deke Jackson

The dream of playing Division 1 lacrosse is shared by thousands of youth and high school players across the nation.  For some, the realization of that dream is simply a matter of hard work and dedication.  Others, however, have had to sacrifice more than just their time. In a LacrosseAllStars Exclusive, we ask Deke about his journey and get some tips on how YOU can take your game to the next level.

Will Lacrosse Be Checked By Economy?

As a product of the MCLA, I am no stranger to the idea of team dues.  However this article seems to suggest that the idea of paying to play is foreign to many families.  That got me thinking about the potential ways our country’s current economic crisis could negatively affect the game of lacrosse.  After the jump are a few scenarios I’ve considered.  However, just so this article doesn’t become a major downer, I’ve also added a glass half full approach to each:

“Commercializing” the game

This video is by no means anything new, having premiered almost two years ago at the MCLA’s national championship tournament.  However, despite the 20 some months I’ve had to reflect on the significance of an “MCLA commercial”, I still can’t quite figure out what the purpose of the campaign was.

Can Video Games Help With Learning Lacrosse?

We’ve already established that multiple members of the LAS team are tech nerds. (I mean seriously, can you run a website without being a little geeky?)  My particular vice happens to be video games, which is why I was so excited to run across this article.  Researchers for electronic giant Sony (who obviously have no […]

West Coast Split

 A big development here in the West Coast, as the largest conference in the MCLA (the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League) has decided to split itself in to two distinct organizations. The WCLL had been the best league in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) and its predecessor, the Men’s Division Intercollegiate Associates, for years. Recently, […]

Grizzly Pics

The art of photography is not an easy one to master, especially when trying to capture a game as complex as lacrosse.  Fortunately for those of us in the Pacific Northwest, we have been treated to a rising star in the lax photography field.  Will Moss, who primarily captures the goings-on of the University of […]

Idaho Lacrosse Landscape

Team Idaho’ U-19 squad takes on the Baltimore Crabs in 2007

As a program grows and evolves, so do the ways by which it judges its own success.  While many first year lacrosse teams are satisfied with moral victories or pulling out a single win over the course of a season, more established programs will settle for nothing short of a state title.  Travel programs are not immune from this progression, as can be seen by tracing the history of these clubs in the State of Idaho.

Greg Keyes didn’t know what he was getting himself in to when he attempted to start the state’s first travel organization.  At the time, Idaho had only six boys high school lacrosse teams consisting of approximately 200 players.  “I was totally clueless.  I had no idea what we were going to run in to, and I honestly didn’t really know how bad we would be,” Keyes reflected.  However, despite his insecurities about the kind of success they might experience on the field, Keyes led the inaugural Team Idaho U-17 lacrosse squad to the Vail Lacrosse Shootout in the summer of 2001.

His players were only able to secure one victory that summer, but managed to go toe-to-toe with a number of tough opponents from across the country, and everyone in the program praised the venture as a huge success.