Project 9 Lacrosse was initially founded by two lacrosse icons from different generations; Paul Rabil and Mark Million started Project 9 Lacrosse 10 years ago with the goal of speeding up the learning curve of the elite young lacrosse players from high school to the college level.
But what exactly does a weekend at Project 9 look like?
Project 9 Lacrosse Celebrates 10 Years
Project 9 Lacrosse takes place at St. Paul’s School in Brooklandville, Maryland, right outside of Towson. The beautiful hillside has hosted the event for a number of years, with the players staying at a nearby hotel. Players begin their weekend of training on Friday and finish up on Sunday. Each day before training, the staff meets to evaluate the players’ effort, improvement, and skill with positional rankings being posted before breakfast. At the end of the event, the coaching staff rates the top players at each position.
Paul Rabil is quoted as saying that Project 9 Lacrosse is the Elite 11 of the lacrosse world. Elite 11 is a football training camp for the best high school quarterbacks in the nation and has been a very successful event for nearly a decade.
The main draw to the camp is the opportunity to train with the best current and former professional lacrosse players at each position. These professionals know a thing or two about transitioning from high-level high school prospects to elite collegiate athletes. While the coaching staff may change from year to year, it is always an impressive list to say the least.
2021 Project 9 Lacrosse Coaches
- Paul Rabil
- Mark Million
- Austin Stewart
- Scott Rodgers
- Grant Ament
- Mark Cockerton
- Matt Dunn
- Tim Troutner
The list of Project 9 Lacrosse alumni grows more impressive year by year by producing some of the best collegiate talent.
Project 9 Lacrosse Alumni
- Grant Ament (Penn State)
- Austin Hayes (Delaware)
- Shane Doss (Notre Dame)
- Ryan Tierney (Hofstra)
- Jules Heningburg (Rutgers)
- Nick Spillane (Penn State)
- Kevin Mack (Michigan)
While the Project 9 Lacrosse weekend is centered around training, I would argue players get the most value off the field.
Being able to interact with some of the best players in the world isn’t an everyday occurrence, and the pros have a ton of advice for these incoming college freshmen. Whether it’s coaching advice or life advice, the coaching staff has been around the game long enough that they know a thing or two about what this transition process looks like.
“The player part was important,” Rabil Posted on LinkedIn. “Through our own experiences and interactions with high school players, we knew hiring people who were empathic would be just as important as the instruction we’d offer.”
The event has gotten to the point where alumni are becoming coaches, like Grant Ament did for this year. It’s a rare opportunity to work with one of the best up-and-coming professional players in the sport and have them tell you that they once attended the same event when they were in high school.
Ten years ago, Paul Rabil and Mark Millon saw a problem that needed fixing. That problem was there wasn’t an elite instructional event for the best high school players. In the span of a couple years, the duo created one of the most elite training camps in Project 9 Lacrosse with no plans on slowing down anytime soon.
Now for the other lacrosse news from the week of Oct. 5-11, 2021.
Last Week in Lacrosse
The PLL players tour brought professional lacrosse to Detroit over the weekend. PLL Assists partner Detroit United Lacrosse helped run the event, as this was one of the rare occasions professional lacrosse has come to Detroit. The event featured pros such as Marcus Holman, Troy Reh, Timmy Troutner, and Sergio Perkovic.
McCabe Millon announced his commitment to Duke University. Million is the No. 1 player in the Class of 2023.
Many collegiate teams have begun competing in fall scrimmages before the 2022 season. The most notable scrimmage came from Virginia, Lehigh, Penn State, and Richmond, all meeting for a series of scrimmages over the weekend.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day was yesterday, and many in advocates of the game took the time to recognize their gratitude for The Creator’s Game thanked Indigenous people.
Get Caught Up on LAS Content
Miss out on what we did last week? Here’s a recap of some of our top content from the last seven days.
BILL TIERNEY oN COACH COTTLE’S CORNER
Coach Dave Cottle launched his new podcast called Cottle’s Corner, and his first guest is legendary coach Bill Tierney.
HOW TO MAKE A LACROSSE PRACTICE PLAN
Marty Ward breaks down many of the things new coaches forget when creating a practice plan.
THE ULTIMATE LACROSSE GLOVES BUYERS GUIDE FOR 2021-22
Tucker La Belle gives his lacrosse gloves buyers guide for the upcoming season, listing out the best gloves to buy on the market for 2021-22.
LUKE MILLER: A DAY IN THE LIFE
High school athlete Luke Miller takes us through a day in his life at McDonogh High School .
DEFENSE U: WHO HAS PRODUCED THE BEST DEFENSEMEN?
Ryan Conwell continues his series of breaking down which universities have produced the best at specific lacrosse positions in recent times, with this week’s focus being defense.
