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TEAM ULAX.ORG at the OC LAX Classic
8/19/2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at approximately 1:00 P.M.: My friend and team co-founder gives me a ring three days before our team’s first game and tells me our jerseys won’t arrive in time. Rather than panicking, my friend gets into contact with the guys at ULAX. He tells me he played at one of their tournaments and recognized their commitment towards helping the game of lacrosse. Sure enough, they are committed, handing over 20 free jerseys. Within minutes we became Team ULAX.ORG.
Friday, August 13th at 12:00 A.M.: Four bros from the states of NJ, CT, and OH stay the night in NJ before shipping off to Ocean City. It feels a lot like the night before Christmas.
Friday, August 13th at 1:30 P.M.: After a hellacious drive, we have arrived. Ocean City is an awesome place right on the Atlantic Ocean. By 2:50, ten minutes before our first game, only nine of our players have shown up. We need ten to play. Three minutes later a shipment of five of our dudes show up and we can now play. Against all odds we are actually about to play as an organized team in the Ocean City Classic. Three days ago we didn’t have jerseys.
Friday, August 13th at 10:00 P.M.: After winning our first two games by a combined two goals we decide to hit up the OC nightlife. We went to some place called Fagar’s. It was an awesome scene. It was huge, and had been taken over by all the lax dudes and lax ladies.
Saturday, August 14th at 8:00 A.M.: Woke up to eight other teammates sleeping in our room. We are not the best planners. Our first game of the day is in an hour, and boatloads of water take the place for food.
10:00 A.M.: After winning our third straight game by again, one goal, we sit ourselves on the bench. I notice that the next team to take the field has Kyle Harrison and Joe Walters on their team. Joe has his back towards us, and for whatever reason I yell out “Joe. Hey Joe Walters!” When he actually turns around, I realize I actually said that out loud. He’s definitely thinking what does this 21 year old dude want. “Umm, what kind of stick is that?” He doesn’t answer. It’s all good, ULAX.ORG is 3 and 0.
12:00 P.M.: We lost our last game. Had we won, I may have found revenge against Joe Walters. Nonetheless, we all enjoyed our time on the lax field. After the game we decide to jump in the Ocean and fight the waves. Later that day we make our way to this bar called Seacrets. Calling it a bar doesn’t do this place justice. It’s an amusement park for those 21 and over. Girls in bikinis and places to sit in the bay.
On Sunday we all make our way to our respective homes. We had an awesome time in Ocean City. What was even more awesome was the fact that ULAX made this all possible. We all would like to thank ULAX.
ULAX Women's League
8/16/2010
After several years of entertaining the idea, ULAX is in the process of adding it's first ever women's league to the network. The idea makes sense since the women's game has been steadily growing on par with the men's game. Together lacrosse has become the fastest growing sport in the United States over the past couple decades.
The founders of ULAX understand the importance of integrating the women's game, however there never seemed anyone present to take the helm. That is until New Jersey native, Vienna Pharaon entered the picture. Pharaon grew up playing the game on the East. She has a passion for lacrosse that is known to the people around her, and which seems an excellent fit for the organization.
"The Somerset County League is well on its way to having a fantastic first season. We are excited to be the first women's ULAX league in the country, and even more excited that we'll be able to include a wide range of ages in the league," Pharaon said. "The women's game is growing quickly and we have been receiving interest from individuals ranging from age 16 to age 33. It doesn't matter your age, as long as you love playing the game of lacrosse and you're looking for a
competitive and fun atmosphere to play it."
There is no doubt that women in central Jersey are excited to dust off their sticks and step on the field together. On top of her organization, Pharaon has also taken steps to ensure sponsorship of the New Jersey league, providing even greater perks to the participants.
At ULAX, we are excited to see what happens in the coming fall season... and know that getting women involved is important to the overall growth of the game. Anyone interested in playing, or getting involved with the league can contact Vienna at somerset@ulax.org.
Liberty Cup 2010
7/21/2010
The second annual Liberty Cup tournament kicked off in Manhattan this past weekend. Teams met at Columbia University amidst sweltering heat and humidity, pulling talent from Long Island, Connecticut, New York and Colorado. Several teams returned from the previous years tournament, but the 2nd annual event also attracted new teams and some of the best talent ever seen at any ULAX event.
Top Cheddar was a squad comprised of several laxers from Syracuse University, most notably, attackman Alex Giocondi and goaltender John Galloway. These guys were a lot of fun to watch and compete against. Some other D1 schools represented in this years' tournament were Duke, Villanova, Bucknell, Fairfield, Lafayette, Yale, Brown and Harvard. There was also talent from D2, D3 and MCLA schools.
Tournament MVP, Matthew Hull, who is a current attackman at Harvard University, led the tournament with 31 points (22 goals, 9 assists). His performance in the finals (7 goals) was what eventually led to the crowning of this years' Liberty Cup Champions ... the Gotham Goats. That and the stellar performance from Gotham's goaltender Joe Marra.
The Gotham Goats are one of the teams that participated in the 2009 Liberty Tournament. The Goats also participate regularly in ULAX NYC leagues throughout the year. They were one of the favored to win last years' cup tournament until they were dethroned in the Semi-Finals by the 2009 tournament winners, the Dutch Rudders.
This years Goats team seemed far more resilient taking on several teams that were much bigger, faster, and more talented then any seen before at ULAX. Within forty eight hours and among sweltering temperatures, the Goats prevailed, going 7-0 throughout tournament play. When it came time for the trophy presentation, the Goats' players didn't celebrate in an overly obnoxious way. Instead they took turns passing the cup and smiling as if it was nothing more than a job well done.
We at ULAX were happy to see the tournament turn out such an array of talent from so many top level schools. If anything, this year proved to us that the Liberty Cup trophy is only becoming more coveted and that the 2011 tournament will be something even greater to witness.
Congratulations to the Gotham Goats, and special thanks to all of the teams that came out to participate. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.
- Tim Leonard
ULAX Rhode Island
5/23/2010
ULAX has brought something to Rhode Island that it has needed. The opportunity to play in a good men's lacrosse league during the spring has gotten a great response. Working on its third year in the Ocean State ULAX has developed into a reputable and recognizable spring league. The move to Cranston Stadium, a state of the art field, in the center of the state has offered a playing experience second to none. The response from every player has been, "we want more." As the reputation grows in the state we have been able to grow our numbers over the past three years, the competition has improved, and the experience continues to get better. This being my second year running ULAX Providence, my third year involved, I can confidently say this was our best year yet. Four great teams, with solid numbers on each team, allowed for great games every Sunday afternoon. I look forward to next spring.
Sincerely,
Andy Procopio
ULAX Providence League Manager
Managers Notes
5/5/2010
When I heard in January that there was nobody to run the ULAX league in Ann Arbor this year, I immediately stepped up and jumped on the opportunity to manage the operations. I’ve always loved lacrosse, and there was no way that there was going to be no competitive league on campus if I could have anything to do with it. I knew that taking over the management of the league was not going to be easy, but I learned a lot of valuable skills and important lessons along the way.
The first step towards building a league was to find players. This was a time-consuming endeavor that involved marketing and promoting ULAX all around campus. I posted fliers, made several phone calls, sent numerous emails, and got in touch with all of the U of M fraternities. In order to facilitate the process, I assigned a captain to each team whose job it was to ensure that their teammates signed up.
This was my first lesson on creating incentives for people to carry out tasks that you need completed. In this particular case, I offered a discount for the captains to get their players registered as quickly as possible. Another incentive for people to register by a certain date was to offer them free ULAX shooter shirts as a reward for their timeliness.
Once the league finally got under way in March, my responsibilities switched from salesman to manager. My job was to ensure that the league was running as smoothly as possible and that all the participants were satisfied with their experience. Doing this involved a substantial amount of organization, but also interpersonal skills in order to work with the referees and players in meeting their needs and requests. I made sure that field times were set, referees were hired and paid, and players received their jerseys once they completed their payment.
All in all, managing the ULAX league in Ann Arbor was about running a business. Maintaining customer satisfaction by offering a quality product was really what it came down to. When people pay money for a product or service they expect to be compensated, and a good business knows how to provide that service effectively. At times the position of league manager can be difficult and stressful, but I certainly do not regret my experience for a second because taking advantage of on an opportunity like that is invaluable down the road. In the end, there is no greater satisfaction than knowing that your hard work paid off and that it led to another successful season of ULAX lacrosse in Ann Arbor.
- Kenny R.
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