Bearpaw Lacrosse Events is in the midst of its 2019-2020 tournament slate, after a very successful 2018-2019 campaign.
You may have already attended some of the events that Bearpaw Lacrosse Events puts on. There’s the ever-popular Battle at the Barn, which is in its fifth year, or the LongTail Cup — both premier box lacrosse tournaments that are unmatched in experience in the United States. They provide both youth and men’s box lacrosse tournaments.
The Battle at the Barn actually has a very unique history, and is how Bearpaw Lacrosse Events got into the lacrosse tournament business.
Origins of Bearpaw Lacrosse Events
First, a little backstory.
Ken Levinberg, president of Bearpaw Lacrosse Events, moved to Indiana a number of years ago. Levinberg had played field lacrosse early in his life, and had picked up box lacrosse in his mid-20’s.
“I’ve been playing box for 30 years, and it was amazing how much slower the game got to me once I played box. You get a lot more touches, you get a lot more action. At the younger levels, we’re not yet specializing in offense and defense, so you get to hone your craft,” Levinberg says of indoor lacrosse.
“You’re moving around, rubbing shoulders with your buddies. But, it’s a nice physical environment. I’m convinced that box is safer than field. It’s more physical, but it’s safer due to some of the rules.”
Levinberg saw a need for more lacrosse tournaments in the Midwest. So, he held his first-ever Battle at the Barn to help provide a quality tournament experience for not only local lacrosse players, but what would develop into tournaments for teams all over North America, including groups from Nashville, the Six Nations area of Canada, Upstate New York, Colorado, Atlanta, Kentucky, Tennessee, among others.
“This tournament is how it all started. All of our box tournaments started with Battle at the Barn. It was youth one weekend, adults the next weekend. Long story short, it just worked so well we decided that we needed to do more box. We did it and ran with it,” says Levinberg.
“Battle At The Barn was our groups first USBOXLA sanctioned event. The two pad barn lived up to expectations and delivered an exciting, family oriented environment. Between the quality of organization, caliber of competition, and all families driving through a winter storm to compete… I’m not sure a Midwest box event can get any better,” says Patrick Harnett of G7A Lacrosse, based out of Columbus, Ohio.
Battle at the Barn plays at the Ellenberger Ice Rink in Irvington, Indiana. If you’re a fan of hockey, then you may already know the history behind it.
“Battle at the Barn started at a small, little barn in Indianapolis. It was used as the New York Rangers farm team facility in the 1970s. That was when all of the Rangers won all of their Stanley Cups. It was rumored that Wayne Gretzkey played in there once or twice,” Levinberg says.
“I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m sticking with it,” Levinberg adds jokingly.
Levinberg continued, “We still use it until this day for the Border Wars tournament. It’s a really cool, authentic box experience. People love to play in that. It’s a cement floor, it’s dark, lights flicker at times. When Canadians come, their eyes light up because this is the kind of stuff they played in growing up.”
Battle of the Barn has since moved to a larger facility in in Ft. Wayne, but the Border Wars tournament put on by Bearpaw Lacrosse Events still uses that authentic, historic arena for the its venue.
Providing A World-Class, Authentic Experience
Authenticity is, in fact, something that Levinberg prides himself on when hosting these tournaments. Bearpaw tournaments have gained a reputation among its participants as being tournaments that truly honor the game, while providing a top-of-the-line tournament experience that is unmatched.
“It’s about the experience. These events are nice facilities, they are well lit. We bring in really good athletic trainers. One guy we brought in last year was a doctor at the University of Toledo. We provide teams with water bottles. We provide balls for the teams to warm up,” explains Levinberg.
All Bearpaw Lacrosse Events operate under USBOXLA, a fact that Levinberg is proud of and says makes all of the difference when it comes to the tournament playing experience — particularly in the quality of the referees.
“One of the reasons that I use that organization is that the referees are really well trained. Where other events may not use USBOXLA and use field refs and they have them read the rule book, those refs are clueless. That’s where we kind of shine. We’ve had at least three different NLL referees and other Canadian level 5 referees in Canada. Just some of the best refs possible. They’re bringing the best of the best. The officiating is one of the big deals behind this tournament,” Levinberg proudly states.
Harnett wholeheartedly agrees.
“Attending the Bearpaw Long Tail Cup was an enrichment for our players, teams, and program. What a great experience sharing the floor with teams from Canada, New York and the Midwest. The partnership between dedicated USBOXLA officials and a dedicated event organizer fostered an authentic experience for all involved. In the end, all the kids won and box lacrosse won.”
Bearpaw Lacrosse Events also focuses on the quality of each game as opposed to packing in as many teams as they possibly can.
“Box tournaments in general, unless you shorten the games down drastically, require a few number of games. For us, it’s more quality of games over quantity. It’s kind of what has been working for box,” says Levinberg.
Western Woodsmen, a Native American team based out of the Rochester area, attended last year’s LongTail Cup and were more than pleased with their experience.
“Something they told me was that ‘We’ll be back. You guys really respect and honor the game.’ Coming from an Indigenous lacrosse team that is pretty cool,” Levinberg says.
Even the Canadian squads that made the trip to the LongTail Cup last year were impressed by experience that the tournament provided.
Derek ‘Tiny’ Enros, who is the coach of the Bantam team for HardCor Lacrosse, based out of Oakville, Ontario, had this to say about his team’s experience at the LongTail Cup, “Ken Levinberg assembled an enthusiastic and eager tournament crew that allowed our players an opportunity to compete against some up and coming and established box programs in the USBOXLA tournament circuit. We were very impressed by the facilities that were secured as well as local businesses that welcomed us to their community. This combination allowed players to embrace some of the off-floor benefits of traveling as a TEAM as well as the given tangibles of the on-floor box lacrosse fast paced player-engaged experience. The tournament itself had a high compete vibe coupled with a fun atmosphere all the while, the officiating team worked hard to ensure player safety was priority one. HardCor Lacrosse was thrilled to be a part of the Inaugural Long Tail Cup and look forward to returning next year.”
Levinberg prides himself and Bearpaw Lacrosse Events on having teams from Indigenous nations and Canada attend his box lacrosse tournaments.
Something For Everyone At Bearpaw
“The highlight was that we got Candian and Native American teams playing together under one roof in a pretty competitive environment [at last year’s Origins Cup.] Everybody said they’re coming back from last year, and we’re adding more teams this year,” Levinberg says excitedly.
Levinberg explains, “There’s a lot we can learn from both the Canadian and Native American styles of play in order to be a better lacrosse player. When the Canadian teams come, the kids see these guys’ stick skills and their jaws drop.”
Bearpaw Lacrosse Events’ tournaments range in competitiveness from box lacrosse beginners to the advanced players. Levinberg makes sure that kids who are multi-sport athletes who are new to box lacrosse have a fantastic environment to play the game they love or are beginning to fall in love with.
Levinberg explains his philosophy on youth tournaments, “There’s tournaments popping up every week and everyone is saying we’ve got the biggest and the best, and we’ve got recruiters. Come play here. I’m old school and I still believe to play at that level you have to be seen by the right people. Everyone will talk about you if you’re that guy. I’m not sold on that model. I think there’s a lot of money to be made there, but I don’t see it being sustainable. The goal is to have fun. Nobody is having fun if you are beating a team by 15 goals. So, you still need competition and a high-level of lacrosse, but I think there’s different ways to provide it.”
Levinberg continues.
“Just honoring the game is a big part of it. Kids go out and play to have fun. Why do we play lacrosse? To go out and have fun. There’s a lot more to it with the Native origins of the game with its healing ability. But, at the end of the day we just want to honor the game and keep it simple,” says of his lesser competitive tournaments.
But, tournaments like the Battle at the Barn provide an intense, authentic box lacrosse experience for those that seek it.
“[Battle at the Barn] sells out pretty early. It starts in January and will usually be sold out in September,” Levinberg explains. “Those tournaments are much more competitive and are played to win. These guys are getting out and saying, “Hey, we’re a great club, and here’s what we can do.”
Bearpaw Registration Information
To find out more about and to register for a Bearpaw Lacrosse Events tournament, see the buttons below that are linked to the registration pages for those respective tournaments.
Origins Cup (November 9-10, 2019 / Rossford, Ohio)
Origins Cup Info & Registration
Border Wars (January 4-5, 2019 / Indianapolis, Indiana)
Border Wars Info & Registration
Battle At The Barn (January 11-12, 2020 / Ft. Wayne, Indiana)
Battle At The Barn Info & Registration
LongTail Cup (January 18-19,2020 / Rossford, Ohio)
LongTail Cup Info & Registration
