TOURNEY RECAPS!!

SANDSTORM– PALM SPRINGS, CA
JANUARY 16-17

We had an AHHHMAZING weekend in BEAUTIFUL Palm Springs, CA at the Sandstorm Tournament! With 7 full BOUNCE teams, a PHENOMENAL facility (Empire Polo Grounds) and the most GORGEOUS backdrop, XTEAM had a FANTASTIC time - WAHOOOOOO!!

MANY THANKS
TO … all of the PARENTS & PLAYERS who traveled to Indio, CA
TO … the SYNAPSE SPORTS for putting on such an GREAT event
TO … all of our STAFF for flying and coaching their tails off
TO … SAM SCHWARTZ (XTEAM '09, Sweet Briar '13) for coaching XTEAM BLACK
TO … MARY-KATE GERATOWSKI (Connecticut College) and STEPHY SAMARAS (University of Richmond) for participating in the recruiting meeting!
TO … SETH BAKER + MELANIE WONG for taking TONS of GREAT pictures to share
TO … the HASTIE FAMILY for bringing the lax balls to practice!
TO … deBeer for your uniforms and our AWESOME new coaching shirts!

BOUNCE COACHES … ON THE WEEKEND

CRISTA // WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I was so impressed by the improvement of ALL teams from practice until the very last minute of the very last game. It’s amazing to watch all of you laughing, cheering, competing and working so hard to improve your skills and increase your level of experience by taking risks. I’m so psyched to see the way each of you represent BOUNCE and wear your uniform so proudly. Luuuuv ya! (For the full effect, read this paragraph again at full volume and with a lisp!)

CAITLIN YOUNG – XTEAM BLACK// The amazing weather and facility in Palm Springs seemed like nothing compared to the hard play and effort XTEAM Black brought to Cali this weekend. After a tie in our 1st game, it was off to the races winning the next 3. In the end we earned the top spot for our division making it into the playoffs! WHOOP WHOOP! The last game was certainly a doozy, fighting hard to the end defeating a very talented Team 180. It was such a blast coaching these girls. Being able to have a front row seat on the heart, will to get better, and determination to win XTEAM Black displayed this weekend was the bomb!!! For some of the 2010's this tournament was especially memorable, and marked the culmination of their XTeam playing days. Best of luck to them on the next step. We got spirit! YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!

KARI MORRISON – XTEAM FIGHT // XTEAM Fight had a great weekend in Palm Springs!! Every player worked extremely hard all weekend to improve their games' and it paid off in our team's success! AWESOME LACROSSE, TRUE FRIENDS, GORGEOUS WEATHER, and much more combined to make the event amazing for all who attended. XTEAM Fight showed determination, resilience, and commitment throughout the entire weekend and I am looking forward to working with everyone again REAL soon!

CAITLIN YOUNG – XTEAM RISK // XTEAM Risk also did an awesome awesome job this weekend!! The second game each day was our jam! The girls really started to connect and it was so fun to watch their progress and improvement throughout the weekend. We went 2-2 between Saturday and Sunday and had such a blast! They really started to put things together especially transitioning the ball all the way from a defensive clear to a sick nasty shot and goal to complete it! So proud. The last game certainly was the highpoint and direct result of all their hard work and progress as they played an outstanding game against L.A.X.itude, ending the weekend on an amazing note! XTEAM Risk is a superb bunch of girls and I am so pumped I got to coach them in sunny Palm Springs this weekend!

EMILY MASON - XTEAM BLUE // This weekend was AMAZING! Perfect weather for lax! I had so much fun coaching XTEAM Blue. The weekend started off slow, but finished with a bang! Everyone came together and became a family and that is what XTEAM is about. We were able to be intense while still having a blast! I loved the XTEAM spirit. Y’all learned what it means to play for XTEAM! Good luck with your high school seasons! Great ready for a crazy summer of lax and don’t forget to sign up for the BIGGIE WEEKEND!

TOM MESSMER - TEAM OC ORANGE & HOT PINK // Team OC had a wonderful three days at Sandstorm in Palm Springs, bringing a huge group of nearly 60 players, for three teams, with girls ranging from 7th grade to HS seniors. Everyone had a great time both on and off the field. We agreed on Friday that we would think of the tournament games as 8 halves of lacrosse (instead of four games) and that we'd strive to improve a few specific individual and team skills every half. The girls did an OUTSTANDING job of accomplishing this, with each team improving dramatically over the weekend. Even our few losses didn't feel like losses, as we walked off the field as better teams, and better individual players, than we were before the game. I was particularly moved by the huge amount of "heart" shown by the players on all three teams, especially in the really tough games. Thank you for giving us your very best.

TEAM OC HOT PINK // As a coach, my favorite part of Team OC is seeing girls from different school programs gel as one unit, and the Sandstorm Tournament in Palm Springs was no different. We had girls from 10 different schools come together and embrace one another as teammates over the course of a three hour practice on Friday. We agreed that we'd treat four games as 8 "halves" of lacrosse, with the goal of improving specific skills each half. While we won games, it was a loss on Saturday afternoon that may have been the highlight of the tournament. We played so incredibly well that we had to ask the score at the end of the game.....that's how focused this team was on playing well as opposed to just winning. This team did everything I asked, every half, and brought a huge amount of "heart" to the field. It's very gratifying to coach players who are so willing to give their very best, regardless of the score, win or lose.

LINDSAY FEIG – XTEAM/OC POWER // What a fun weekend of lacrosse! Team OC Power was “young and fun” and consistently challenged throughout the tournament, but they never backed down and fought for every ball until the final whistle blew. It was a weekend of improvements from spreading it out on offense to working on our midfield transition and finding the open player. Also, our talking in all areas of the field was much improved over the course of the weekend. No matter the score everyone always had a positive attitude and was always having fun. Great jobs girls!

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MIDATLANTIC – OWINGS MILLS, MD
NOVEMBER 21-22

WOW….What a great weekend! The sun was shining and the competition was fierce. Despite the change of the dates, we were able to retain enough players for two teams. Amazing!

MANY THANKS
TO … all of the PARENTS & PLAYERS that rearranged their schedules to attend
TO … the TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS for acting swiftly to ensure a fall playing opportunity
TO … our STAFF for doing a fantastic job throughout the weekend
TO … BILL CANNON (UB) for bringing & setting up the team tent

BOUNCE COACHES … ON THE WEEKEND
MARY JANE SWEETLAND – NewLax/XTEAM BLACK
"I am so glad that I could be a part of this weekend with two outstanding Bounce teams! After a few introductions... and reintroductions... we took the field and got to work. The black team made progress with every game we played- improving as a defensive unit, in transition and keeping possession on attack, all the while backed by our fearless Louisa in goal! Sunday was most exciting for me because the black team was totally cohesive, collaborating and enjoying themselves on and off the field. I had so much fun and I'm so proud of your hard work, progress and adaptability! Can't wait to see you all soon!!"

LIZ CONNELLY (LC)– NewLax/XTEAM BLUE
"This weekend at MidAtlantic was GREAT! We were quick to create chemistry and I LOVE that!! It didn't matter if it was Black, Blue, or a mix of both teams... we were ready to BRING IT! We took lots of risks and proved successful because of it! Overall, just an AWESOME weekend of lax! Great job to everyone!"

COLLEGES IN ATTENDANCE
There were a total of 108 colleges that signed in with the tournament (others may have been there without signing in). Here is the official list:

Adelphi, Adrian, Albany, American, Bard, Boston College, Boston University, Brown, Bryant, Canisius, Catholic, Cincinnati, Colgate, Columbia, Connecticut, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Delaware, Denver, Detroit Mercy, Dickinson, Drexel, Duke, Duquesne, Eastern, Elizabethtown, Fairfield, Florida, Franklin & Marshall, Fresno St, Frostburg State, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown, Gettysburg, Hamilton, Harvard, Haverford, High Point, Hofstra, Holy Cross, Hood, Indiana (IUP), Iona, James Madison, Johns Hopkins, La Salle, Lafayette, Lebanon Valley, Lehigh, LeMoyne, Lenoir Ryne, Lock Haven, Longwood, Louisville, Lynchburg, Marist, Maryland, Massachusetts, Monmouth, Mount St Mary's, Muhlenberg, Navy, New Hampshire, New Jersey, TCNJ, North Carolina, North Central, Notre Dame, Notre Dame – Balto, Ohio State, Old Dominion, Onondaga, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Regis, Richmond, Robert Morris, Rutgers, Salisbury, SCAD, Seton Hill, Shenandoah, Shepherd, Siena, St Bonaventure, St Francis, St Mary's (CA), Stevens, Stony Brook, Susquehanna, Temple, Towson, Trine, UMBC, Vanderbilt, Vermont, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wagner, Washington & Lee, William Smith, Wilmington Univ, Wittenberg, Wooster, York

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UGA SCRIMMAGE – LOGANVILLE, GA
NOVEMBER 15

COACH JILLIAN on SCRIMMAGE:
"YOU GIRLS ROCK - WOW! What a scrimmage! With a combination of ATL and XTEAM, we dominated over the 8th ranked UGA!"
PLAYER SHOUTOUTS
LINDSAY BRINKER – the BRINKER is BACK!!!!!!! There is no stopping her on a clear!
LYDIA CASSADA – A threat on offense. Fabulous stick skills and a powerful shot!
ERIN FLAGG – Dominated the draw and tore down the field. UGA could not keep up!
AMANDA LOCKWOOD – The interception queen!
CLAIRE ENGLISH - A feeding frenzy from behind the cage!

COACH TARA on SCRIMMAGE:
WHAT WE DID WELL
-Tackling back was KEY - the attackers that played aggressive, went for interceptions, put pressure on the ball coming out of the defensive zone really created a ton of turnovers and in result GOALS for us! Great job!
- The goalies did a fabulous job making saves
- Defense was loud and communicating well
- The draws were incredible! ATL Lax definitely beat UGA Club in terms of draw stats which is very important - the more draws, the more possessions, and the more opportunities to score and thus WIN the game!
By focusing on what we are strong at - draws, aggressive play throughout the field, and loud defense, we can continue to have successes against teams -- these 3 aspects of the game help contribute greatly to wins as you girls saw today! Congratulations!

WHAT WE NEED TO WORK ON
- We need to keep MOVING on attack. It is okay to "settle the ball" and give the middies a rest by just passing around the perimeter - but keep your feet moving, keep cutting through and moving the ball quickly. If you are next to the ball, cut through! Keep the defense busy by moving around - you may even feel a little funny doing this, but bounce around in place, do a fake cut and then cut again, dodge your defender and change directions - you want the defense to go crazy and be overwhelmed by your movement - once they become confused, they loose players, focus and sight of the ball - giving YOU the attackers to do my favorite thing, score! As soon as we became static (not moving and just standing passing the ball) the defense took advantage and went for the checks - stripping us of the ball.
- Also – KEY - it has to become a habit as an attacker, ALWAYS make sure someone is behind for the side line on shots that go wide - this is a really unfortunate turnover when no one is behind.
- Defense - your head needs to be on a swivel - never stop looking around and seeing the entire field space - see the BALL, your girl, and the player next to you...anticipation will get you more involved as a defender!

PLAYER SHOUTOUTS
You girls are a great group and a lot of fun to watch, I am so proud of your success today - there is clearly a LOT of natural talent and potential. I really encourage all of you to keep playing/ practicing on your own, with teams, and friends as much as possible.
ERIN FLAGG & AMANDA LOCKWOOD - I was really impressed with the draws, speed and tackling back, you guys really opened up some great opportunities for ATL!
REBECCA SIEGELMAN & LANIE DINARDO - way to stop collegiate level players!
ALLISON THOMPSON & LINDSEY BRINKER - great aggression back there and defensive talk!
LYDIA CASSADA - way to go with your tucked in stick and face dodges as you were able to beautiful rocket off some great shots!
CLAIRE ENGLISH - way to use your height when tackling back and putting on pressure.

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RIVALRY CHALLENGE – ANNAPOLIS, MD
NOVEMBER 7-8

HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who made this such a GREAT event!! With PERFECT weather (70 degrees + gorgeous), and an AHHHMAZING venue (US NAVAL ACADEMY) all 5 of our teams played GREAT and everyone had an AWESOME time!!

COACHES TOURNEY RECAP:

KARI MORRISON - XTEAM BLACK
"Rivalry Challenge was a great success! All the girls came with a ton of energy and supplied great excitement throughout the weekend! XTEAM Black improved over the course of the weekend and it was awesome to watch people start clicking on the field and develop new friendships off the field! I can't wait for the upcoming tournaments so we can continue working hard and having fun!!!"

LIZ CONNELLY - XTEAM BLUE
"This weekend was, in the words of Crista, one big "nugget of awesomeness." X Team Blue came out ready to play with high energy and enthusiasm right from the start. The improvements made from the first game to the last game absolutely blew me away! Our team really knew how to flip the switch from laughter on the sideline to intensity on the field! Keep working hard! You girls are the bomb!"

JESS BEARD - XTEAM 2012
"Sunday proved to be a great opportunity to both play and learn "outside the box". 'Adapt' was the word of the day and each of you did a great job owning that word. You were put in situations that were unpredictable and asked to play in different positions. I was incredibly proud of the ability of each of you to make it work and for some, actually thrive in those new roles (i.e. AJ Athanas). We kicked off the day a little rough with our stickwork and defensive awareness being a little off. However, halftime of game 2 you were determined to change the tempo of the day and did you ever! It was like putting a completely different team out there. You were hustling after everything, winning draws, slamming it in the back of the net and most important of all..COMMUNICATING!! HOORRAYYY. A few that I would like to recognize for their consistency, coachability and intensity are Mackenzie Smith, Kathryn Denning and Lydia Cassada. My oh so fierce "ADAPTABLES" would be Samantha Collins, Rachel Berquist and Ann-Charlotte Proffitt to name just a few. Overall girls, you each were stars and you will get a good indicator of just how you contributed when you receive your personal evaluations. Thanks for the great weekend! See you in Cali!!"

CHRISTY MORLEY - NewLax 2011
"What a BEAUTIFUL dayyyy!!!!! The sun was shining, the temps were up, and the laxers were rockin' it out.
Rivalry started with a fab 2-hour practice full of scrimmaging and laughs. We ended the day with a super recruitingtrak dinner where we learned a TON from Crista's presentation and laughed our butts off.
Sunday, we were up bright and early for a full day of competitive lax. All the BOUNCE teams played their hearts out and improved throughout the day. NewLax is starting to gel and truly become a TEAM. After some awkward knee slapping and hugging... we embraced the awkwardness (no pun intended) and started to bond. Our communication finally started to get better and we finished the day with some SPECTACULAR connections in the transition. Our homework for the next event is to dig down in your gut and FIND WHAT PUMPS YOU UP! Let's see some passion out there people!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!!"

MJ SWEETLAND - NewLax 2012
"What an amazing weekend at the Naval Academy! I had a blast coaching Newlax 2012s with sailboats as our back drop- so beautiful! Everyone came out with lots of energy but what amazed me was how much we improved every game. YES! I can't wait to see everyone in Palm Springs! Keep up the good work!"