SportsForce is excited to share the announcement of La Costa Canyon and NC Starz Elite player Alex Pardieu’s commitment to Florida State to play Men’s Lacrosse.
Florida State Men’s Lacrosse shared the news in a press release:
La Costa Canyon senior midfielder Alex Pardieu will attend Florida State University in the fall. LCC High School is located in Carlsbad, California.
The 5’10”, 165 pound Pardieu was a four year varsity letterman and as a junior, was named All-County and All-Conference in the highly competitive San Diego section. Most recently, he was invited to play at the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships in Manchester, England on the U19 team.
“Alex can break down a defense and get his hands free for a shot or to get the offense moving”, said LCC Head Coach Dallas Hartley. “He plays team defense on and off the ball and is great in transition”. Added FSU Head Coach Bill Harkins, “We are excited to have Alex join the program”.
La Costa Canyon senior midfielder Alex Pardieu will attend Florida State University in the fall. LCC High School is located in Carlsbad, California.
The 5’10”, 165 pound Pardieu was a four year varsity letterman and as a junior, was named All-County and All-Conference in the highly competitive San Diego section. Most recently, he was invited to play at the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships in Manchester, England on the U19 team.
“Alex can break down a defense and get his hands free for a shot or to get the offense moving”, said LCC Head Coach Dallas Hartley. “He plays team defense on and off the ball and is great in transition”. Added FSU Head Coach Bill Harkins, “We are excited to have Alex join the program”.
Chris Rotelli is co-founder of Golden State Lacrosse Academy in San Francisco, CA (http://www.gs-lax.com/). Golden State Lacrosse offers clinics, camps, workshops, and private lessons as well as community outreach programs to bring lacrosse to new people. SportsForce caught up with Chris to find out what it’s like to play professional lacrosse, share his story and much more. Chris is a three time MLL All Star, winner of the Tewaaraton Award, and was named ACC Male Athlete of the Year (2003) among other honors.
When did you start playing lax? How and why did you get started?
I started playing in 3rd grade. My dad gave me a stick and taught me how to throw, and I feel in love with it instantly.
What caused you to make lacrosse your sport? What do you love about it?
I love the speed of the game, and the teamwork. It is extremely fast, and a total adrenaline rush the whole time you are on the field. Unlike other sports where only a couple people are involved with each play; in lacrosse every person on the field is involved in the game at all times, and that keeps it mentally engaging. Since everyone is always involved, it makes teamwork and communication huge parts of the game, and I love it.
How has lacrosse impacted your life?
Lacrosse has completely shaped my life. It gave me focus growing up, and taught me how to pursue my goals. It helped me get into a great college and gave me a career working with a sport that I love. Through lacrosse I’ve met so many amazing people, and now I have friends all over the world that I have either played with or against at some time in my life. I’ve been able to travel the country, and now I get to teach young kids that same way my role models taught me how to play the game growing up. I feel pretty lucky, and lacrosse has definitely given me a lot.
What advice would you give to young lax players hoping to play in college or beyond?
Shoot on a goal, and pass on a wall as much as possible.
You were a highly decorated player in great programs in both high school and college. What advice would you have for athletes who are trying to make themselves stand out at schools without such great programs, or those just playing club?
I came from Rhode Island where lacrosse at the time was only played in five schools, so I understand what it is like coming from a ‘small pond.’ My advice is to use that as motivation and work harder than everyone. If you are coming from an area where lacrosse is young, but you want to play with the best, you have to keep raising the bar for yourself, and out-work not only your teammates, but also every kid playing in Baltimore, Long Island, etc.
You were drafted first overall in the MLL college draft, tell us what that experience was like.
That was very exciting. We had just won the National Championship four days earlier, so it was truly an amazing week for me, and actually very humbling.
What is the life of a professional lacrosse player like?
It is very fun. We’re fortunate to get paid to play a game we love, and do it with our friends. I love it.
When did you start to think about “going pro?” What was that decision process like?
I honestly didn’t think about it much until after the National Championship. I was in my senior season in 2003 at UVA, and was only focused on winning a championship. Fortunately we did, and then I could think about the MLL. But the draft was three days after that game, so I really didn’t have much time to think about the MLL until I was in it. I played my first game six days later.
Explain a little bit about the mission of Golden State Lax Academy. Could you highlight some of the programs you offer?
Our mission is to create better players, and increase their enjoyment of the game. We teach them the right way to play, but also keep it as fun as possible. For us, practice was always fun because we loved lacrosse. So we really try to show kids that hard work not only can be fun, but should be fun. We do day camps, overnight camps, and clinics throughout the year. www.gs-lax.com
What is your favorite part about working with young and up and coming lacrosse players?
Seeing their excitement, and making a positive difference in their lives.
What do you think about lacrosse being the fastest growing sport in the country? Why do you think it is growing so fast?
I love that the sport is taking off. Lacrosse is addictive, and the most fun team sport you will ever play. In my humble opinion, it will not stop growing.
How did you land in California?
My favorite activities have always been lacrosse, surfing, and skiing. I moved to CA so that I could have easier access to surf and snow. In the northeast, you have to drop everything you’re doing to get the small windows of good surf or good snow, and I wanted to live somewhere it would be easier to work those into my daily routine. When I got here, I fell in love with all of it. San Francisco is the friendliest city you’ll ever see. People here are so fun and cool; it’s hard not to love living here.
SportsForce has partnered with the Surfside Cup. WomensLax.com is hosting the event which will serve as the season opener for the 5-time defending national champion Northwestern Wildcats. The Wildcats will be facing off against Atlantic-10 Champion UMass Minutewomen. The event will take place Saturday, February 6th at 8pm at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego. The game will showcase some of the nation’s top women’s lacrosse players.
Sunday, February 7th will also feature a high school tournament, a coaching seminar, a youth clinic, and a high school shooting clinic. The clinics will be led by Northwestern Lacrosse Coaches, including 2009 World Cup Champion, Lindsey Munday, of Team USA. Tickets for the game can be purchased online at www.womenslax.com and also at the gate the day of the event. Gates for the Northwestern/ UMass game will open at 7pm.
WomensLax.com’s Ashley Gersuk said of the event, “The inaugural Surfside Cup was very well-received by an enthusiastic and growing San Diego Lacrosse community in 2009 and we look forward to building on this momentum in 2010. This weekend promises to be exciting for lacrosse players, coaches, and enthusiasts of every level.”
The SandStorm Lacrosse Festival returned to Indio, CA this past weekend for the third year in a row. This year’s festival brought top competition that made up 45 teams from all over the country, including Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon, Texas, Connecticut and New York to the Empire Polo Fields the showcase some great talent over the two days. Among the many teams Triple Threat, a San Francisco-based program in the Coachella Division and Denver based Team 180 for the Indio Division returned to defend their titles and with hopes of the 3rd consecutive year of wins in the Coachella and Indio divisions respectively.
The Coachella Semi-Finals were hotly contested between Team 180 12′ vs. Xteam Black and Triple Threat Green vs. West Coast Starz 11’ as the previous winner battled hard to keep their titles. Team Triple Threat Green held on to their reign, winning the championship for the 3rd consecutive year. Team 180 2013 also won the title for the 3rd year in a row for the Indio Division beating out Bear Lax Blue from the Bay Area. For the La Quinta Division, The Minnesota Storm defeated Bear Lax White in the finals to take top honors.
See below for highlights from the tournament. It is not too late to order a game DVD. Click here to visit our store and select your game(s).
Players whose games were filmed also have the option of selecting the Sand Storm Tournament college recruiting video package.
The Arizona Burn Program brought the heat to the beaches of San Diego, where there wasn’t anything that could cool them off. Arizona began the tournament as the no.7 seed in a field of twenty-four total teams in the Elite Division. Despite a tough loss early on, the team was able to gather itself and finish strong against the LaxDawgs Brown Elite of San Diego. It was a one-sided affair as the Arizona Burn Elite Orange captured an 8-1 victory, a game in which six different Burn players scored at least one goal. Goalie Brett Lawless (Desert Vista) had a strong showing Sunday as he only allowed seven total goals on the day.
Starting from a young age, Coach Chris Malone, of both MCLA’s Arizona State and the Arizona Burn teams, has instilled his players with a high level of lacrosse IQ.
In the South Swell High School Division, consisting of 9th and 10th grade students, yet another Arizona Burn team took home a trophy.
The Warrior Elite Division was taken by the Norcal Pups in a 7-4 defeat of the LaxDawgs Royal team. However the LaxDawgs Program did not go home empty-handed, their ladies team won the Women’s Elite Division in an 11-6 contest against the Coastal Cougars.
Watch out for these Arizona Burn players: Brock Ghelfi [M/So./Brophy Prep], Charlie Hushek [D/So./Brophy Prep], Rockne Repp [A/Jr./Saguaro], Brandon Moranz [M/Jr./Chandler], Ramie Arbid [D/Jr./Mesa Heat]
For the second consecutive year, SportsForce has partnered with Synapse Sports to offer video services at their Sand Storm tournament this weekend.
Annually hosted by Synapse at the elite Empire Polo Club, the 2010 Sand Storm tournament will showcase a wide array of girls’ lacrosse athletes from both the high school and middle school levels. Over 50 teams from across the country are scheduled to attend including, California, Minnesota, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Texas. SportsForce will be in the heart of the action, partnering with Synapse and providing video coverage.
The tournament is a fantastic opportunity for athletes to be recognized and recruited by college coaches, and this year over 20 coaches are scheduled to attend from universities and colleges across the nation. 2009 attendees included coaches from Yale, Stanford, Cal-Berkley, Cornell, U. Oregon, and Loyola.
SportsForce will be at Sand Storm to support athlete recruitment by providing video coverage of games, in addition to distributing helpful recruiting and game packages.
Take a look at Meghan Jordan’s Highlight Video which was created with footage from last years SandStorm Tournament below.
I am an executive recruiter by day and High School Varsity Head Coach by afternoon. I rub elbows with top level executives nationwide in the retail world. I coach and speak to executives about their professional experience and how to effectively communicate their skill sets and successes in order to make them the best candidate for the job they are interviewing for. I have coached hundreds of professionals, critiquing their resumes, improving their interview style, preparing them with potential questions and rehearsing answers. I am a master interview preparer but when it came to preparing myself to interview for a Girls Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach role – I was terrified. Scared stiff, actually.
I counseled with my boss, college teammates, fellow High School Varsity Coaches and college coach friends and acquaintances regarding strategy and preparation. I took all of their advice and combined it with my own knowledge of executive recruiting to answer all of my questions. The result: I got the job.
Q: How does one prepare for a Head Coach interview?
Prepare a coaching book, ideally a 3 ring binder including:
-Detailed practice plans with objectives and coaching notes, draw out your drills.
-Drawn out offensive and defensive strategies
-Offensive plays drawn out
-Goals and game plan for the season including: County / State Championship, highest GPA, implement a study hall for student athletes, create a relationship with teachers to ensure grade accountability, community service project to promote teamwork off the field.
-Letters of Recommendation
-Professional resume including ALL coaching experience
Talk to your friends who are coaches and players, pick their brains, talk to parents of student athletes you have coached – ask them what concerns they have for you coaching, they will have some and stress that you want to hear them to overcome them. Create a coaching philosophy and write it down.
Q: What is the Athletic Director looking for?
An accountable, responsible, assertive individual, who is confident, articulate, strategic, plays by the rules and values sportsmanship. Always speak and think in the best interest of the school. Read the school’s mission statement and be sure your coaching philosophy is in alignment with that. The AD wants strong student-athletes and he wants a coach who will be there long-term, not one season.
Q: Who will I be going up against?
You may be going up against another Varsity Head Coach, the JV Coach, the Assistant Varsity Head Coach or a parent. Whichever the case, do your homework on the other candidates and cater your strengths to eclipse their weaknesses. Think strategically and be careful to NOT mention their names. Any advertisement is good advertisement; do not waste your precious time in front of the panel by addressing your competition. Take the high road and focus on yourself.
We have all won championships and played in tournaments, received #1 medals, ribbons, and trophies; however, if you had the choice to go against the #2 or #3 team to decide the title, who would you choose? In some sports, the way that playoffs are structured is as follows:
First round:
#1 vs. #12, #2 vs. #11, #3 vs #10, #4 vs #9, #5 vs #8, #6 vs #7
Based on the winners of those games, #1 seed plays the winner of the #6 vs #7 game. Usually teams aim to go into playoffs being seeded #1 so that you are guaranteed an “easier” game to face off against the lowest seeded team. This is an earned position, the #1 team has performed well all season to dominate the field and have a stronger chance of advancing. Of course we have all witnessed the upsets in March Madness where the #15 team takes out the #2 seed at which time the debate arises, should the #1 seed play the #2 or #15 team to decide the true “Champion?”
In May 2009, our #1 seeded HS Varsity Girls’ Lacrosse team went up against the #2 seeded High School team in the county. The #2 team was clipping at our heels all season and the regular season games were tied 1- 1, they beat us away and we beat them at home. It was an incredible match up of talent and will and a cross town rivalry. The CIF playoffs culminated in a Championship game of #1 vs #2, the winner would truly have earned the CIF title this year. Our #1 team squeezed out a 6-5 win at the end of a game riddled with checks, interceptions, incredible saves, perfectly placed shots and some of the best girls lacrosse the fans, the Head Coach and I had every seen. It was an incredible sense of accomplishment and pride for the girls, it was a true championship and they felt they had beaten the team who challenged them and pushed them the most. I don’t think the 2009 CIF victory would have been as sweet against any other team, both teams have a great deal of respect for one another, they pushed each other to play beyond their normal capabilities and stretch their limits.
It’s important for coaches to teach their players, and for parents to teach their kids, that in order to BE the best you must BEAT the best. It’s a lesson that applies throughout life. In academics, in business, in any area in which your goal is be the “best.” Push and motivate yourself and your team to continuously improve your skill level, your game, and consistently challenge yourself to compete against the very best competition the field has to offer. You may lose at first but you learn lessons to improve and better prepare for the next time.
SportsForce is hosting a launch party August 6th at The Local, sports bar and eatery – in downtown San Diego. We’ve invited friends, family, coaches and sports enthusiasts that are interested in getting a sneak peek at the new website and some of its key features.
Everyone in the office and some out of office are busy getting the site ready to launch. In order to get the site ready to launch we are busy polishing up and uploading videos, finalizing copy for different sections of the site and implementing HTML designs for different pages. I’m not sure the average person understands how much goes into preparing to launch a sports portal where you are combining professionally produced video, certified profiles, editorial content, events and more.
If you happen to read this before we launch you will be able to see our landing page with our demo video at www.sportsforceonline.com.
San Diego Surf Cup Offers College Soccer Coaches a Recruiting Paradise
The second weekend of the San Diego Surf Cup Soccer Tournament saw some of the top U15 – U19 Boys and Girls teams in the world. SportsForce was in attendance to talk to club team coaches, college coaches, film some of the game action and enjoy world class level soccer. It was Surf Cup’s 29th year which had 650 teams apply to play with only 350 available slots. The tournament was held at the San Diego Polo Fields which is arguably the best venue in the nation for aspiring soccer players to garner attention from colleges and gain tremendous exposure to hundreds of coaches at one event.
The Surf Cup tournament is split into two levels of skill within each age division. The Super and Gold, with the Super bracket offering a slightly higher caliber of play.
The previous weekend of Surf Cup play was dedicated for U15 and below age groups and was dominated by Southern California teams. This weekend was a different story as many teams from all over the country ended up winning their respective divisions.
Girls Results:
Winning the Girls U16 Super division was the Mustang SC Rampage team out of Danville, CA and Oregon Rush Nike team won the Gold division for the U16 division. In the U17 Girls Super division, the SoCal Blues took top honors. The Neusport FC Green from Las Vegas finished at the top for the U17 Girls Gold division. Southern California team, Real SoCal White won the U19 Super Division. The Sonoma County Alliance took first for the U19 Gold.
Boys Results:
For the Boys, the CDA Academy from Sacramento, CA won the championship for the U16 Super division. Players SC of Las Vegas won the U16 Gold division. Real SoCal White dominated again, this time for the boys U17 Super. The Gilbert Arsenal premier team of Gilbert, AZ took the top honors for the U17 Gold division. Pachuca USA international, from Chevy Chase Maryland, won the championships for the U19 Super division, while the Santa Clara Sporting 91 took the honors for the U19 Gold division.
The Surf Cup showcased an extremely high level of soccer and Congratulations to all the winners and those invited to play!
The Starz Cup Wraps Up A Busy Summer of Lacrosse
SportsForce was at the Starz Cup Lacrosse Finals this weekend in San Diego, CA. We had the opportunity to film parts of both the girls and boys elite championship games. The Laxdawgs Brown won the Boys Elite Cup, while the Quad City Elite took top honors for the Girls Elite division.
The Starz Lacrosse Club is an elite program created to provide additional instruction and competition to select players. Designed to compliment local middle and high school programs, Starz takes the best players, male and female, and provides the opportunity to compete at the elite level with some of the best coaches in the sport today! The Starz look for players who have a passion for the game, want to compete at a higher level, and/or have thoughts of continuing their lacrosse careers beyond high school.
SportsForce is even busier than usual as we prepare to launch our site very soon. As usual we have a ton of events coming up on the calendar as well as finalizing some clients’ final products. Though many of our team members were in the office on Friday working hard, the 4th of July provided a nice break for the team and chance to recharge and continue to move forward.
Fox Sports en Espanol sportscaster Adrian Garcia Marquez Stops In
Fox Sports en Espanol and the San Diego Chargers Radio Network en Espanol sportscaster Adrian Garcia Marquez was in the office this week to talk sports, the future of SportsForce and more.
New Addition to SportsForce Street Team Ronan Galvin
SportsForce is still growing as a company as we get closer to our site launch. This week SportsForce added Ronan Galvin to our street team. Ronan said of his experience so far, “SportsForce is a unique atmosphere wth like-minded people all working to help create the next big thing in high school sports. The Sports Development Intern is an ideal position because I get to research the sports I love and be in an environment of a small business.” With a background in football and basketball, we are excited to have him as an addition.
“Old Yeller” Swings by Office
Integral SportsForce Video Production Partner, Ken Heshler stopped by the office to check up on our equipment and outfit us with some new editing equipment to make our workflow even faster. Ken was also sure to share some stories of precarious shooting conditions in the early days of SportsForce. We’ve come a long way!
SportsForce’s Tom Antl Visits University of Louisville Athletics Department
SportsForce’s Tom Antl was visiting with the University of Louisville Athletics Department this past week. Though the trip was to visit a friend, Tom always on task, was sure to check out the program and even snap a pic of their pristine women’s lacrosse field.
Sara Fraschetti, Girls Lacrosse Coach, Stops In To Check In
Our own adviser for girls lacrosse, Sara Fraschetti stopped in this week to talk about the future of SportsForce and girls lacrosse. Sara graduated from La Costa Canyon High School (Carlsbad, CA) in 2001 when the Girls Lacrosse team seized their first California State Girls Lacrosse Championship. She went on to play at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as attack and center for three years where she helped the team earn three of their seven consecutive Club Division-I National Championship Titles. Sara returns for her third year as the La Costa Canyon High School Girls Varsity Lacrosse Assistant Coach. Sara helped lead the team to a 23-0 record in 2008 and 2nd consecutive CIF Championship (San Diego section).
Things are back to full speed with the holiday weekend behind us. Be sure to stay posted!
