Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. The Premier Lacrosse League named the six coaches that will man the sidelines for its inaugural season. Hall of Famer Dom Starsia headlines the list, which also includes Chris Bates, Nat St. Laurent, John Paul, Jim Stagnitta and Andy Towers.
Three PLL coaches have previous ties to Major League Lacrosse. Starsia, who retired from Virginia after the 2016 season as a four-time NCAA champion and then the all-time winningest coach in Division I history, was an assistant coach with Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse last summer. Stagnitta served as the head coach of MLL’s Charlotte Hounds for the last three seasons after two seasons in the same role with the Denver Outlaws. St. Laurent was an assistant coach for the Ohio Machine.
In a video posted by the The Lacrosse Network, Starsia equated the talent to the NBA All-Star Game, but with players who cared about the end result.
“This is gonna be like the NBA All-Star game with players that actually care about what’s happening at the end.” -Dom Starsia on @PremierLacrosse CHILLS pic.twitter.com/HOfXtkPV5k
— TLN (@LacrosseNetwork) December 12, 2018
Also, Towers embodies his surname.
Shouldn’t have stood next to Coach Towers!
— James Stagnitta (@Stagsj) December 12, 2018
Imagine being a kid trying to date the daughter of Andy Towers(far right)...knock on the front door and you have to deal with that? No thanks! His arms are the size of Saquon Barkley’s thighs. @LacrosseDraws #HBeltBaller pic.twitter.com/6kPJE7IG0L
— Paul Carcaterra (@paulcarcaterra) December 12, 2018
2. Tennessee will become the 25th state to sanction or recognize lacrosse in 2020-2021. The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association approved Tuesday a proposal to add both boys’ and girls’ lacrosse to its lineup for sanctioned sports —putting the sport on the same platform as others that vie for TSSAA state championships and receive priority funding, field space and scheduling.
3. The National Lacrosse League season opener is just two days away. We continued our team-by-team previews with the Rochester Knighthawks, who are relocating to Halifax after the season, and the San Diego Seals, an expansion franchise that’s positioned to succeed immediately in 2018-19.
4. Kailey Conry, a thrill-seeking junior attacker for the Boston University women’s lacrosse team, reveals more about herself — including her battle with a heart condition — in the latest installment of our “Give & Go” series.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Georgetown women’s assistant coach Nick Williams waxed poetic on the beauty of lacrosse in all of its forms in “Beautiful Game,” the latest post in the IWLCA “Behind the Whistle” series.
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Tate Green, a junior defender for the Harvard women’s lacrosse team, is doing her part in the fight against ALS, the disease from which her father suffers. With the support of family and friends, the Crimson have raised $55,000 for Tackle ALS, founded by Green. Inside Lacrosse has the story.
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A week after unveiling its NCAA Division I men’s preseason top 25, Inside Lacrosse released its women’s rankings Wednesday, with Boston College coming in at No. 1 on the heels of consecutive NCAA championship game appearances.
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If getting the bluebloods to play in your house is a sign that you’ve arrived, Albany fans should take heart with Yale and Maryland coming to town in 2019. Syracuse could soon follow.
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The time is right for the NLL to return to Long Island, writes Peter Schwartz of New York Sports Day.
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Darryl Seibel, the FIL’s new chief brand and communications officer, oasts significant international sports experience, including work at 10 Olympic Games.
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The story of Graham Harden, covered in the pages of US Lacrosse Magazine and more recently in a post on USLaxMagazine.com recognizing his role in inspiring the Mariemont (Ohio) girls’ lacrosse team’s state title run, will be the subject of a documentary. Harden, the former Schmeisser Award and NCAA championship-winning defenseman at North Carolina, suffers from ALS.
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You snooze, you win. Get your Zs.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
We’re losing our heads over this performance by the Millersville women’s lacrosse team in a campus talent show.
WHAT’S ON TAP
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A discussion with Paul Rabil and Kyle Harrison tracing their experiences from Johns Hopkins 2005 to PLL 2019.
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