Summer Lacrosse Highlights
After a great season, in which six Illinois teams finished in the top 25 rankings in the midwest, including three in the top 50 in the country in the coaches poll, the summer started out with the annual Chicago Chapter of US Lacrosse awards night. The event recognized players, coaches, officials and people in the community who have supported both the boy`s and girl`s games. The event was held in Hinsdale Central at the Katherine Legge Memorial Lodge. The annual Lifelong Champion of lacrosse awards were presented to Hank Caldwell, men`s official and John Dwyer, head girl`s coach at Loyola Academy and also National team coach several years for the Great Lakes.
This summer also featured Illinois players competing in tournaments all across the country, and was highlighted by the 2005 World Cup for women`s lacrosse coming back to the United States. Players from all over the world came to Annapolis to play in the Cup of Nations tournament for high school and college club teams, which was part of the World Cup festival at the U.S. Naval Academy June 29 - July 2.
Illinois had two teams compete in the Cup of Nations tournament, which was of a tournament to celebrate lacrosse and compete against teams from all over the U.S. and from other countries, as it had no overall champion. No Limits, a club team coached by Lauren Rippy Boask from the western suburbs had players from Neuqua Valley, Hinsdale Central, Oak Park, St. Charles and Fenwick. Wildcat Elite, a club team through Northwestern and coached by NU assistant Dani Shearer, Pete Collins, John Dwyer and Steve Dunn, had players from Barrington, New Trier, Evanston, Hinsdale Central, Loyola and Lake Forest. Wildcat Elite also took teams to the National Draw in New Jersey in June and All-Star Express in Maryland in July.
Also this summer, Lakeshore Lacrosse, headed by Bridget Olp, took a team to the Vail Shootout in Colorado with players from all around the Chicagoland area to compete in this annual event.
Summer is the heart of the recruiting season, as July 1st marks the first day that NCAA coaches can call or visit junior players. This year, more Illinois players are being recruited than ever before, especially at some of the top programs in the country, including Duke, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Cornell, Princeton, Brown, Vermont, Boston University, North Carolina and Denver. Players will start making early committments during the summer and recruiting will continue into the late fall with official visits to campuses by recruits.
Everyone enjoy the rest of your summer and keep playing some lax!