Well, the list of attendees from Seattle was nothing short of the who's who of enthusiasts and Lacrosse fanatics.  Flying in and out, I ran into Charlie Rosenberry to start and end the weekend. 

Aftter arriving Friday night, I ran into Todd Thorpe, the entire Mercer Island Coaching staff, Jim Anderson, Vern Smith, Tony Olney, Tim house, John Baumann, Eddie Travers, Coco Hess, Tom Wehe, Lorrie McKay, Sarah Medwell, Dejon Hush, Allen Scott and of course, Kris Snider. 

The convention played host to over 5,000 registered attendees this year, nearly double the amount just two years ago.  In fact, two years ago, there wasn't enough space in Baltimore precipitating the move back to Philly.

The City of Brotherly Love not only hosted this year's event, but will continue to do so for the next two years.  With the emergance of Lacrosse into the mainstream, there are few convention centers capable of handling the bulk of the convention attendees.

As much can be made of the Vendor spectacle set up to support the event.  Headline sponsors promised free gear to whomever filled out their mailing list, and newcomer Jimalax stringing kits let several folks demo their stringing kits.  Of course, the usual Cascade, Brine, STX and Bacharach booths were there.  Warriors booth, was anything but usual.  Models and a "Crows Nest" atop the booth, made Warriors dazzle anything but usual.  Of course, there was much controversy surrounding the Warrior, but that is another story.

Starting at 9am Saturday, the clinics this year included a live section of turf sponsored by Warrior, for clinicians to move players around the chess board to give the visually challenged coaches, a demonstration - not just a lecture.

After five sessions on Saturday and running the gamet of Vendors a couple of times, it was time to go do the rest if the things you do at the convention;)  We wound up having a large part of the Seattle Crew at a dinner table until about midnight.  Afterwards, the story continues to other venues, clubs and hotel suites, including a number of coaches, fans and pro players.

Sunday morning concluded the instructional aspect of the Convention with a few final clinics.  For some, it was a race to the plane to get back to Seattle, for others it was a football game first.  For all, it was another terrific convention.

As for me, I spent a lot of time with local Seattle folks and enjoyed the company while sharing some great coaching tips and their ideas on Lacrosse. A good friend recommended I check out a book called, "The spirit in the Stick," by Niel Duffy.  I stopped by the vendor fair to find him signing these books.  A Naval Academy graduate, Duffy's story is a must-have for all.  you can find it yourself at http://thespiritinthestick.com and either pass the beauty of the game on to your players or keep it to fuel yourself.

At my first convention, a coach was giving his description of the coaching lifecycle, "The first year, you just hold on and do the best you can.  The second year, you feel completely overwhelmed.  Your third year, you start doing something productive, and after that- you repeat the cycle."  I have to agree, no matter your experience as a player or coach, you can always come away with at least three things.   If you haven't been, you absolutely have to go.  Next year will be even bigger,  more exciting and more successful.

Fred Wilmot

Walax.com