2013 Early Recruiting Update

Orlando, Florida – The landscape of Division I lacrosse recruiting is rapidly changing. In response, the LaxManiax Elite club will be changing to keep up with the evolving times to better prepare our members for success. The 2012 summer will be its own ‘season’ or half-year and at the conclusion of the summer, LaxManiax will become a Fall-Summer program (it has always been a Summer-Fall program). This will greatly benefit the class of 2014 class, which is already being ‘scouted’ by many Division I programs.

The reason we react to Division I timelines is because the entire college recruiting process is driven by the Division I school timeline. Specifically the timelines of the top-50 programs. Division II and Division III timelines are bumped as a result.

In the meantime, three LaxManiax 2013′s have already committed to scholarship opportunities at colleges and universities. Ironically, all in Florida.

“There are a lot of great values for our club members who want to stay in the state of Florida,” said club assistant director, Linda Kelly, whose daughter is a Division I player at Jacksonville University. “Bright Futures is not what it used to be, but it is very helpful and also Florida pre-paid and other local programs make Florida schools an affordable option. Tack on academic and athletic scholarships and the opportunities are even more affordable. Of course I like seeing my daughter play as well. We did not always have that option when she was in Detroit (Mel Hicks spent her first two years at Detroit Mercy University).”

Chloe O’Haire – Chloe was one of the earliest players to commit to a university nation-wide. Rated as LaxPower’s 16th selection, she was considered one of the top players in the nation. University of Florida is where Chloe committed to a scholarship.

Hannah Bolt – Hannah made waves when she made the U-15 National Championship all-tournament team in 2010. She is one of the club’s fastest and most productive players over the past three years. Jacksonville University is where Hannah committed to a scholarship.

Sarah Dibble – Sarah is perhaps one of the best attackers ever to come out of the club. Her skills have been honed over the past three seasons in LaxManiax and she has an amazing left hand. Florida Southern is where Sarah committed to a scholarship.

Judging from the great talent in the 2013 class, it looks like as many as 22 LaxManiax members will be committing to colleges over the next ten months. The classes of 2014 and 2015 may be even higher!

Stay tuned for an entire new recruiting program coming to our exclusive new member’s website! We are excited to provide our members with the unique perspective and guidance that 75-years of combined college experience can bring! It’s going to be an amazing summer for LaxManiax…AGAIN!

JU Women Bolt Out of the Gate

Rachel Krell (Apopka, Florida/LaxManiax alumni) and #11 Abby Warnken (Naples, Florida/LaxManiax alumni), #6 Ellyn Spangenberg (Oviedo, Florida/LaxManiax alumni), and Nicole Albino (Nynack, New York/LI Yellow Jackets alumni) compete in drills at practice on Wednesday.

Jacksonville, Florida - If the first day of the Jacksonville University women’s lacrosse practice was any indication of what the season will be like, good things are on the horizon.

The Dolphins showed up to Wednesday’s late afternoon, early evening practice at the Ashley Sports Complex with an abundance of enthusiasm and a world away fundamentally from where they were a year ago when they won the National Lacrosse Conference regular-season title.

“I think they did a great job today,’’ head coach Mindy McCord said after practice as a snippy cold front made itself known. “As (assistant coach) Paul (McCord) said, where they are now as to where they started last year at this time is leaps and bounds above.’’

The energy level wasn’t lost on junior Rachel Hannon, from Annapolis, Md.

“It was awesome,’’ said Hannon. “It was great to be back and have the vibe really high, it’s going to help carry us through a long season and into the playoffs.’’

Hannon said winning the regular-season title but not the conference tournament is serving as motivation this time around.

“It’s definitely more motivation,’’ she said. “It was like we talked about today, if we had had that little extra push, if you would have been a little more mental that would have made you a better player (last season). If you could go back and rewind, you definitely would have done that.’’

Neither Hannon nor Mindy McCord were surprised by the burst out of the gate.

“One thing our team brings is spirit,’’ McCord said. “Our team loves to play, that’s what they tell us. They love this game and they love to play and so it didn’t surprise me I was really excited. The enthusiasm and work they did to prepare for this first practice was excellent. You can tell they have worked hard to prepare for this season.’’

The trick now for the coaching staff is to keep the early momentum going.

“We look at that you improve from the day before, that you’re not making the same mistakes today that you made yesterday,’’ McCord said. “That you’re focused on execution and your position and you’re focused on learning your position fundamentals as well as the game that builds your position’s system. We’re in a lot of teaching right now.’’

- Jim Nasella

The Ultimate LaxManiax Player: Gina Lambiase

Jacksonville, FL – The road was long for Gina Lambiase. Her high school, the Bolles School, did not have a lacrosse program. As a 6th grader growing up in Ponte Vedra, Florida, lacrosse was pretty new in her area; Only a few years old. The odds of Gina ever playing college lacrosse we certainly not in her favor. But there was something special about the young lady and the area she was growing up in, and a twist of fate would create a crack of a door that would ultimately lead to Gina’s dreams coming true.

As a 6th grader attending the Bolles School, one of the prestigious private schools in Florida, Gina was considered a leader. Her parents, Dr. Lou and Martica Lambiase also were strong community leaders and had helped Bolles create a rowing program out of thin air when their eldest daughter expressed an interest in the sport a few years prior. The school prided itself on holding options that elite private schools throughout the nation had, like crew and lacrosse. Bolles was the first school in Jacksonville to start prep lacrosse in the 90′s. But women’s lacrosse was not so well received. After a failed attempt by Susan Restrepo, a transplant from Rhode Island, to start lacrosse in 2006 (Susan assembled a team that finished third in a local tournament with her as a player-coach) Bolles had used excuses from lack of interest to lack of field space to prevent girls lacrosse from forming. Athletic directors at the school feared that lacrosse for girls would take away players from the Bolles softball program.

Everyone knows how many die-hard softball players can’t wait to play a sport like lacrosse. It is every sedentary sport participant’s dream, right?

But Gina would not be denied. She approached me about playing in the LaxManiax club program that Mindy and I had just started. She loved lacrosse after getting a taste for the basics in her youth league that Mindy and I had done some volunteer clinics for and refereed. After playing with the LaxManiax, Gina and her parents had a neat idea: start lacrosse at Bolles Middle School with the hope that the school picks up the sport full-time as a varsity sport. Surely the school would see the value of the sport with 15 or so successful and happy middle school girls participating, right? After all, the were 60 middle school boys playing lacrosse at the school.

The Lambiase family found support from several teachers and families at Bolles, but the administration would not allow the girls to practice on school grounds. I volunteered to coach the team and helped to get them exposure and playing opportunities in the local athletic league through Jeff Greenert and Kristin Vanderlinde, local lacrosse league directors. Lou secured a small lot adjacent to the school behind a bank in University Boulevard. It was just large enough to practice the 7v7 format that the league used and I had two rage cages, balls, and cones – enough equipment to hold practices after school twice per week for an hour. The school would not allow us to be called Bolles, so we called ourselves Lady Bulldogs Lax instead and had some sweet pennies and logos made up.

Lady Bulldog Lacrosse fever had begun! I suppose that’s one of the advantages to the coach owning a sports marketing company.

The team was a success thanks to the group of parents, led by Lou and Martica, and Gina and her friends. While score was not kept at the games, the team scored more goals than their opponents nine times to one. The Lambiase family sponsored the awards pizza ceremony after the season and there was joy in Mudville! Lou drafted letters for the headmaster and people of importance at Bolles heralding the news – a championship caliber team was sitting on their doorstep! The fastest growing girls sport in the country was groomed and waiting. The players were excited and the parents were pumped.

The administration was not. Lacrosse for girls would not be in the plans of the Bolles School for reasons unbeknownst to Lou, Martica, Gina and I.

This promoted the family to action. Gina began training more and more and joining the LaxManiax TFG program her freshman year in high school, even thought her high school did not have lacrosse. She competed and was becoming a college level player. The Lambiase family longed for more lacrosse. After her freshman year was complete, Lou accepted a fellowship in Chattanooga, Tennessee and the family made finding a school that had a women’s lacrosse program their number one goal.

Even with the move the Chattanooga, the Lambiase family remained in LaxManiax. G went on to earn all-state honors and has become the premier player in eastern Tennessee. Her team is ranked amongst the top programs in the state thanks in part to her leadership and her family’s unfailing support of the sport.

Ironically, one of Gina’s middle school teammates, Ally Beames, also moved to a new school in Virginia that had lacrosse. Her team won the 2011 Virginia State championship. There really was a special team waiting for Bolles to crank out top rated women’s lacrosse teams back in 2008 (when Gina and her band of friends started their Bolles Bulldogs lacrosse club).

Lacrosse seemed to work out just fine for those girls even if the Bolles administration at the time did not feel the sport was the right fit. I still wonder to this day how many state final-fours Bolles could have gone to in a relatively short amount of time.

More of this story to come…

LaxManiax 2012′s Mentioned in JU Press Release!

Two LaxManiax players were mentioned in todays press release from Jacksonville University, highlighting their 2012 recruiting class. The class includes 11 players from four states and five club programs. Here are the mentions. The full release is available here.

Joining the class are a pair of athletes from Florida, Kirstin Purdy (Park Vista) and Katie Kastner (Palm Coast). Both were standouts for the LaxManiax Black elite club program. Their club team won 21 games against elite club competition at national recruiting events.

“The LaxManiax players are as competitive as they come and I don’t think any other program in the country utilizes southern athletes as well as we do,’’ McCord said. “The Florida and Georgia players have shined in our big games against top-20 opponents and we certainly want to keep the pipeline open in the south.”

Coach McCord’s Class Assessment

Samantha Bauer – Defense/Midfield, 6-feet: “We feel like Sam is one of the top defensive players in the country and she has all the tools for running the system. She is a defensive player, but she can run the midfield very well and is a tall target at 6-foot.”

Kelsey Wilson – Attack, 5-8: “Kelsey has a nice left hand and was a very productive scorer for Maryland United this summer. We think she can help our attack from the right side of the pipe. Sam and Kelsey played for a high school program that went 13-2 and a club program that won nearly all their games.”

Amy Cecere – Defense, 5-10: “Amy has as much athleticism as anyone in our class. She is tall and plays with a great amount of range defensively. When Sam and Amy play next to each other there is not a lot of daylight for attackers to see and their foot-speed closes down lanes in a hurry.”

Kelsey Wiglesworth – Midfield, 5-9: “Kelsey is deceptively fast but she is also tall and strong which are all rare combinations for midfielders. We think she is a blue-chip prospect who a lot of schools missed on. She is versatile and has a lot of potential.”

Kelly Lacy – Midfield/Defense, 5-5: “Kelly is a good athlete and one of the fiercest competitors in the class. She helped her volleyball team to a state title and her club team seldom lost a game. I love her passion and work ethic.”

Summer Wassel – Midfield/Defense, 5-4: “Summer has great quickness and is a very strong possession player. She is versatile and speedy and those are great attributes for our system.”

Allie Colson – Attack/Midfield, 5-3: “Allie has very soft hands around the goal. She is an excellent scorer. She is also very fast and quick and moves with deception. We think she is a great playmaker.”

Kirstin Purdy – Attack, 5-2: “Kirstin is a strong athlete who plays the transition game very well. She is a great connector on the field and a very hard worker off the field. She has not played lacrosse very long yet she is among the top players in the south. That speaks volumes to her potential.”

Katie Kastner – Goal Keeper, 5-5: “Katie is a nice stopper. She has a lot of energy and communicates as well as any keeper we have seen. In the south we feel she was the top goal keeper in the class of 2012.”

Kara Cunningham – Defense, 5-8: “Kara is a great defensive player who is a three-sport athlete. She is all-region in upstate New York which is a top proving ground for college players. We feel her athleticism is going to take over in college running our system.

Sally Holbert – Attack, 5-8: “Sally is a very productive high school player competing at a high level at Upper Arlington, one of the top programs in the Midwest. She is athletic and has good height on attack. She is a team-first player.”