Northwest Starz Attend Recruiting Tourney in MD, Visit Navy

The Starz programs in the Northwest submitted top players to  participate in a recruiting event in Maryland November 10th-12th. Coming from all different Lacrosse backgrounds, these guys would be playing together to represent the Northwest Starz to a myriad of East Coast All-star teams.  Additionally, they would get an opportunity to see and feel a Division I program in a tour at the Naval Academy. Finally, they would all get to play under the watchful eyes of college coaches from all of the major Division I programs.

Friday  

After arriving at 8 in the morning from an overnight red-eye on Friday, the Northwest Starz piled into a 15-passenger van packed in with their gear similar to sardines in the can. From there, we traveled to the hotel to drop off our gear and then to an Annapolis favorite “Chick and Ruth’s” Jewish deli, for Lunch. 15 kids together including four from Oregon representing the Oregon Starz, and 11 from Washington including Tacoma and Seattle Starz sat together for the first time collectively getting to know each other and their relative love for the same game. Meeting new people with the same passion is one of Caldwell Rohrbach’s favorite parts of the Lacrosse world.
From there, the Northwest Starz took an escorted tour on “the Yard”, the terminology referring to the campus on which the Naval Academy resides. We had a meeting with Assistant Coach Moran and a young long-stick player on the team for a tour of the academy. Each player took something away from the experience, whether it was the gold titanium face masks made especially for the Navy Varsity visible in the locker room, or the motto of John Paul Jones ever present in Memorial hall, “don’t give up the ship”;   these guys were inspired.

A quick trip back to the hotel allowed us to grab helmets and gloves for practice. If going to the academy was fun and exciting, the opportunity to practice on the Varsity practice field would be remarkable. With colors sounding in the background on Veteran’s Day, Coach Wilmot reminded everyone what this experience means; the history and tradition the Naval Academy holds is powerful.
Finished with our workout practice, we then drove back to the hotel to change, and shower, for the boys’ first taste of all things Holy, Maryland Blue Crab. We went to one of the best places in Maryland, Cantler’s Riverside Inn, and dove into 6 dozen large Blue Crabs, hushpuppies, fries and drinks. Watching the guys eat this crab, different from the Dungeness was an experience I enjoyed thoroughly. Laughing, crab smashing and crabmeat feasting were the orders of the night. I think each of the guys thought smashing crabs worked up more of an appetite than before they started eating!  Soon, it would be bedtime, with dreams of Lacrosse dominance for the college coaches on Saturday.
 
Saturday
Saturday morning, the Northwest Starz rolled out of their racks and into the Sardine Van, our 15-passenger van loaded to the gills with gear and players. From there, it was on to their first East Coast Lacrosse experience. Ten minutes later, we arrived at Broadneck High School and unpacked our gear in the Sun and brisk temperatures.
 
Saturday scores:
Game One - Green Turtle: The legendary Greene Turtle club played very well against the first game effort for the NW Starz. On a short 60-yard field, the NW Starz were just getting their feet on the ground.
 Game Two - St. Mary;s Ryken: 11-10 overtime victory which caught the attention of all who were watching, especially some of the college coaches. Seattle scored first and battled back and forth throughout the game over a 1-goal lead, leading up to Travis Wright tying up the game.  Rohrbach won it in sudden victory less than two minutes into the overtime.
Game Three -  Broadneck High School: Wright wins the game 6-5 against Broadneck beating them on their home field while injuries drop the numbers to 16 on the NW Starz sideline.
Game Four - Tri-State White: This game would end with an 11-3 victory with great ball movement and ferocious riding on the part of the Starz. This was a younger team, but well balanced. The NW Starz hustled impressively, and demonstrated tremendous work ethic. Aaron Gillman and Aaron Prosser showed Oregon proudly, as did Zimm and Joey Hazell.
 
At the end of the day, a welcome from the Loyola Head Coach, Charley Toomey, let us know we did pretty well during the day. We then returned to the hotel for team time, healing up, and some Maryland Pizza. Only 15 players, lost two guys we picked up to play, and then lost another to injury.
At the coaches meeting Saturday night, impressed coaches commented on the talent and also playing ability of the kids from the Northwest. It was great to have a win under the belt of a top team in the tourney. I think the funniest thing was a question I was asked, “Northwest where exactly, Pennsylvania? Maryland?” “No, from Oregon and Washington”, I replied. “Wow, I guess you guys really do have Lacrosse over there! Great to see!” said the coach.
 
Sunday
Down to four middies, we played Tri-State White again with their older guys, and fell victim to home field advantage. Though the day was cold, rainy and overcast, we felt this would be the best demonstration of the abilities of Northwest players- our home element. In a battled game, tied into the last four minutes, a goal going outside the age, was ruled a goal since there was a hole in the bottom of the net. With that, NW Starz redoubled their efforts and finished a score in the last second which was contested. The final score would be 6-4 in what should have been a 5-5 game. Great hustle again, and notable coaches interested in the game included Coach Pietramala, Maryland coaches, and Navy coaches.
 
Maryland Crabs- a team composed of the best players in Maryland, similar to the Mermen Seattle played in the summer, would be the best game of the day. Seattle, with no legs, subbing attackmen to midfield and vice-versa, gave the crabs the best run of the day, with the Boys Latin Head coach commenting on the NW ability to move the ball so well in a close 8-5 loss. Rohrbach led the team with 4 big goals in the effort, and earned nods from several of the Maryland players.
 
The last game against Charlotte Selects was even until the last few minutes in a shortened half an hour game. The weather was wonderful on Saturday, sunny, and warm- Sunday was a staunch opposite. Rain falling early in the day would help us feel right at home, but would be detrimental to the fields, and our light numbers would keep us within one in the final game, shortened to 30 minutes.
Several coaches came up to discuss the players and the Northwest ability to play. I think we not only surprised some people, but played some great competition for the Northwest. Additionally, the exposure our players received, and feedback from other great coaches, was unparalleled. Flying back on the plane, everyone talked about their great time, and for me, it was very exciting to see the number of players wearing Navy lacrosse shirts, shorts and hoodies. A great weekend of Lacrosse and something a little bit more- a great weekend of character building experiences and development of the understanding of what the game means to people at a higher level. Coaches really do look at the little things during a game, and now these guys know that first-hand having heard it from the horse’s mouth. More than anything, I was impressed with the level of play, the tenacity and the dedication of the players we took to Annapolis. They set a standard for the caliber and level of commitment to Lacrosse that we exhibit here in the Northwest.

See pictures from the trip HERE