Gait Cup

Over the Fourth of July weekend, the Hinsdale Central Boys’ Lacrosse Summer Team traveled to Gettysburg Pennsylvania to compete in the Gait Cup.  Not only did they sweep their round-robin pool, but they made it to the final four before losing to a very powerful all-star team from Connecticut.

The Gait Cup is a tournament for club teams – 39 of them this year – and a showcase for college recruiters.  Over two dozen colleges were represented during the week as players tried their best to show their skills and hopefully get to keep playing lacrosse in college.

Teams were arranged into two divisions, Elite and Upper, each with four pools of five teams.  Hinsdale was in Pool A of the Upper Division.  A series of games or round-robin was played within the pool to determine seeding for the single elimination tournament.  Two other teams from Illinois were on hand, the Team Illinois West made up of players from the Naperville area, and Team Illinois White, an all-star team of emerging sophomores and juniors from the Chicago Area.  Hinsdale Central was one of two teams in the tournament coming from a single high school.

Hinsdale won the opening game of the round-robin on Wednesday evening by defeating the Black Jax Red, an all-star team from Boston, MA by the score of 4-3 in overtime. 

Thursday held two games for the Red Devils.  The first was a win over a strong Louisville, KY all-star team by a score of 4-2.  The second was a victory over the ORL Possums U17 an All-star team from Orlando, FL by a score of 4-0 where goalie Eddie Coyle delivered the only shut-out of the trip.

On Friday morning, the fourth of July, the Red Devils clinched one of the top four division tournament seeds.  A win over Team Excell from Greenville, SC by a score of 9-2 was their most decisive victory in the tournament.  The scoring for the Red Devils was led by Jake Knotts with three goals.

With the booms, bangs, and trumpet calls of the Gettysburg battle re-enactment as background music, the Red Devils took the field in their first tournament game against University East, a team from Annapolis, MD and came away the winner with a score of 5-4. 

After an hour’s break, the Red Devils were back on the field to face the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Team Harrow, a team of athletes from eight states assembled after nationwide tryouts.  The Red Devils defeated the Christian Fellowship by a score of 5-4 led by Tucker Woolfolk’s three goals.  This set the stage for a Saturday morning showdown in the tournament final-four with last year’s champion, the Connecticut Seminoles. 

Brian Suprock, a Red Devil defensemen, said, “The Connecticut Seminoles were the best team I have ever played against.  They could triple-team our attack at will, every single player on their offense was a shooter, and they were constantly preventing us from transitioning to offense.  It wasn’t a Lacrosse game; it was a 40 minute defensive six-on-six drill.” 

Coach Vic Pasqualicchio was much more up-beat when he said that, “our boys will never face this kind of Lacrosse in Illinois.  This game is why we came here, to test our skills against some of the best in the country.  I couldn’t be prouder of our team; they fought from the beginning to the end of the game and never gave an inch the entire time.”

Without any defensive subs available, long-poles Harris Budding, Brian Suprock, and Jack Trager, with long-stick midfielder Mike Tenerelli and goalie Eddie Coyle played the entire game.  Unfortunately, the Seminole attack was relentless and the Red Devils fell with a score of 0-11.

Throughout the tournament, Nick Dobrez and Taylor Hess contributed significantly by winning the majority of the face-offs.   A.J. Truckenmiller was the assist leader, feeding the ball precisely where it needed to be, allowing the Red Devil attackmen Keelan Steincamp, Matt Schwartz, and Connor Strong or midfielders such as Jack Kelly, Ryan Kelly, or Colin Kiesel to score.

Defensive midfielders Peter Santulli and Nick Dobrez along with long-stick midfielder Mike Tenerelli were standouts in their ability to disrupt opponents in transition.  The two goalies, rising Junior Eddie Coyle and rising Senior Jimmy Doheny kept the opponents to an average of less than four points per game, which is quite low for tournament Lacrosse.

Team members who played Junior Varsity in the spring that were significant contributors in their first major Varsity outing were Kevin Coveny, Joe DiVittorio, Keelan Steincamp, Jack Kelly, Connor Strong, Colin Kiesel, and Matt Schwartz.

This “final-four” finish brings the 2008 spring and summer seasons to a close.  The 2009 Red Devil Lacrosse spring season begins with the first practice on Monday, March 2, 2009.



Hinsdale Central Lacrosse Summer Team 2008 --

Back Row: Coach Pasqualicchio, Jack Trager, Matt Schwartz, Taylor Hess, Coach McBride, Keelan Steincamp, Eddie Coyle, Mike Tenerelli, Tucker Woolfolk, Jimmy Doheny, A.J. Truckenmiller, Harris Buddig, Brian Suprock, Ryan Kelly

Front Row: Jake Knotts, Joe DiVittorio, Kevin Coveny, Peter Santulli, Jack Kelly, Connor Strong, Colin Kiesel, Nick Dobrez

Team Members not at Gettysburg: Stefanos Bezanis, Alec Cangelosi, Sammy Cefaratti, Grant Crawford, James Maillet, Alex Manta, and Matt Walker.

Hinsdale Central Boy's Lacrosse Summer Team

The Hinsdale Central Boys Lacrosse Board is excited to announce our Club’s first summer lax program under the direction of Varsity Head Coach Vic Pasqualicchio and his coaching staff.  Our summer program will be open to all currently registered freshmen, sophomore, and junior HCBLC players.  This program is ideal for the player interested in taking their game to the next level with enhanced skill development, high level tournament competition and exposure to national college recruiters.  Plus, you’ll have a blast playing with your Club team!

Varsity Program

JV Program

Practice Dates -- Both Teams

June 9, 10, 12, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 26 and 30th.

True Lacrosse Camps

Come learn from the Pros! True Lacrosse wants to remind everyone of the upcoming camps and clinics for this summer. Please visit their website and register at www.truelacrosse.com.

Offensive and Defensive Elite Camp for High School Players

TRUE LACROSSE CAMP for 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders

Offense, Defense, & Goalie Competition Camp for High School Players,

Battle of the Windy City Lacrosse Tournament:

Directors:

Midwest Combine/Recruiting Camp Powered by Lightning Lacrosse

This camp combines the best of a recruiting camp with the best of a teaching camp! The same college coaches who will be teaching will also be evaluating and recruiting! This camp is for underclassmen who want to know what it takes to play college ball and for upperclassmen who want to get recruited this summer! Please look below for a list of the schools who will be represented as evaluators and coaches during the combine.

Combine

Will will test each player in the following drills:

  1. Forty Time - test each player in their forty yard dash time
  2. Bench Press - How many times can each player bench a specified weight
  3. Shuttle Run - test each players' quickness and start/stop speed
  4. Shot Clock - test each players' shot speed with both hands
  5. Shot Accuracy - test each players' accuracy

Teaching/Coaching

Recruiting

The coaches are on hand to evaluate each player in daily games and drills. On the night of June 24th we will have a "Recruiting Night" where players and coaches can meet off the field and the coaches can gain info on each player's grades, academic interests, school size preference, and lacrosse commitment. Coaches can give players a sense of the commitment level at each of their respective schools, and their academic standards.

Schools Who Have Committed to This Event

This school list is subject to increase but this schools have all committed to coach/evaluate so far

Registration Information

Registration is Now Open for This Event! Visit www.LightningLax.com or call 877-812-2219 to register.

Lacrosse America Sponsored Camps

Ultimate Lacrosse Camp 

Directed by Hank Janczyk, Head Lacrosse Coach Gettysburg College

More information at Lacrosse America

Chicago Machine Sponsored Camps

Chicago Elite Lacrosse Camp

Directed by John Combs, Head Coach Chicago Machine

Assistant Coaches will be players from the Chicago Machine, select area high school coaches, and NCAA Division I and III coaches.

More information from the Chicago Machine

Bill Pilat's The Goalie School

"The Best Goalie Camp in the Country"
Sessions:
  1. June 21-25 in NY
  2. July 5-9 in Virginia,
  3. July 16-20 in Ohio,   
  4. July 23-27 in Virginia
   Go to web site for information and application www.laxcamps.org

University of Denver Skill Camp, Denver CO

Game Breaker Lacrosse Camp

Players Choice Boys Lacrosse Camps

More Camps Available

For a comprehensive listing of LOCAL Lacrosse Camps, see the Illinois High School Lacrosse Association web site.