Long before box lacrosse training became en vogue and long before teams began visiting colleges, a high school on Long Island was carving an unlikely path to lacrosse royalty doing just those things.

Sewanhaka High School had its players playing “box” on the school’s tennis courts in the winter, even if they had to shovel snow. In the spring, they ventured to colleges, envisioning a future many never imagined.

Under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Bill Ritch, Sewanhaka won a national record 91 consecutive games from 1948 to 1957 and 360 in his career. Tom Flatley, the architect of several gold medal-winning U.S. teams, served under Ritch, took over in 1979 and led the school to 114 wins in seven seasons.

Hall of Fame coaches Tom Hayes, Jack Kaley and Richie Moran all played in the program, and one of the greatest players to ever pick up a stick, the late Eamon McEneaney, a Cornell All-American and Hall of Famer who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, starred at Sewanhaka.

There were countless other greats that walked the halls, but what Sewanhaka may have done best is create opportunities.

“We did everything we could to promote the game,” Ritch said in a 1970 Sports Illustrated article. “We gave equipment to other schools, and we kept putting pressure on athletic directors. Baseball and track coaches didn’t like us much, but a lot of the football coaches thought at first it might be a good way to sneak in some spring training.”

“We made overnight trips to Cornell, Maryland and Penn, staying on campus in their visiting team dorms,” wrote Greg Raschdorf, a 1975 Sewanhaka graduate who won two national titles at Cornell and then helped develop the sport in New Jersey as a coach and volunteer. “For many of us, this was our first introduction to college campuses. We lived in a blue-collar neighborhood and many of us ended up being first-generation college graduates.”

Joe Lore, a 1973 graduate, remembers the box games.

“Saturdays were the best,” Lore wrote. “We chose up sides. We played for hours. What camaraderie we had — and all for the love of the game.”

Earlier this year, the school celebrated the program’s 80th anniversary, welcoming back more than 140 players and coaches.

The wins haven’t come as readily in recent years, but coach Pete Burgess hopes rekindling the past will show what’s possible.

“The 80th anniversary put things in perspective for the kids,” Burgess said. “Hearing stories first hand made it easier to relate. They walk the same halls as so many lacrosse legends.”

“We’re nowhere near 91 games in a row, but it’s about establishing that tradition again. This is more than lacrosse. It’s life. There are so many parallels. Some of those original guys were the first in their houses to go to college and that’s the same thing we have now.”