Building Lacrosse In Chicagoland - Chicago Machine on the Local Scene
July 26, 2006 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chicago Machine News Release
Major League Lacrosse (MLL) motored into Chicago this year as the Chicago Machine began its inaugural season. The MLL, which began play in 2001 in six Eastern US cities, recognized the significant growth of lacrosse in the Chicagoland area and wanted to give local lacrosse enthusiasts the opportunity to watch professional lacrosse in the Midwest. The Chicago Machine is composed of players with tremendous experience and significant success in the sport. Michael Culver (Virginia, 2006) and Sean Morris (UMass, 2006) joined the Machine roster just days after their respective teams competed in the NCAA Division I Championship Game. Many other Machine teammates have played for NCAA lacrosse premier programs at Syracuse, Princeton, and Maryland to name a few.
As lacrosse continues to strengthen in numbers around Chicago, there is an increasing need for experienced coaches and players to work in local programs to help develop and enhance the youth level of play in the region. The Chicago Machine is committed to the growth and development of the sport and is becoming very active in the lacrosse community of the greater Chicagoland area.
VARSITY MACHINE
In addition to their Major League Lacrosse season, the Machine has developed a high school travel team called the Varsity Machine. The Varsity Machine is composed of high school players from over ten high schools including Barrington, Fenwick, Glenbrook South, Loyola, Lyons Township, Neuqua Valley, New Trier, Oak Park River Forest, St. Charles, and West Chicago.
"Although the Varsity team is composed of players from ten different high school teams, it is great to see how much they gel as a team both on and off the field," said Varsity Coach Jacques Bagley who is also a Chicago Machine Assistant Coach.
Last weekend, the Varsity Machine traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to play in the Summer Sizzle Tournament. After playing six games, Varsity Machine came out with a 4-2 record. The losses were in games against two powerful Maryland teams and the Chicago Varsity Machine team was narrowly defeated by one and two goals in those games.
College coaches from Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Villanova, Virginia, and Towson just to name a few were present at the tournament and had the opportunity to see the players from Chicago compete against top teams from the East Coast.
Eric Ziegler from Neuqua Valley and Kevin Overby from Barrington played outstanding games for the Varsity Machine in goal and Farley Connelly and Dane Swanson gave standout offensive performances in each of the games. On the defensive end, Matt Dixon, Matt Gralen, Mike Slovak, Pat Johnson and David Federico set the tone and played strong throughout the tournament.
Last Wednesday, the Varsity Machine continued its competitive play and scrimmaged another local travel lacrosse team - ChicagoLax. The teams played at Heritage Park in Burr Ridge and are planning to scrimmage again on July 29th before the next Chicago Machine home game at Benedictine University.
The Varsity Machine is coached by Chicago Machine Assistant Coach Jacques Bagley and Machine players Zach Heffner, Kevin Kelley, and Kevin Leveille.
On Sunday, July 30th, the Varisty Machine will travel to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to participate in the STX Shootout.
CHICAGOLAX
ChicagoLax is another high school travel lacrosse team from Chicago which is presently in its inaugural season. Last weekend, the team participated in a lacrosse tournament at Notre Dame that brought in teams from all over the country.
With the surge of lacrosse interest developing throughout Chicago, many parents have been frustrated with task to foster their child's interest in the sport with quality instruction. That is how ChicagoLax came into existence. Tom Lonergan and Matt Mueller, two residents of Chicago's western suburbs, recognizing the need for lacrosse coaches and competitive travel teams developed a team for local high school students with coaches from prominent easten lacrosse programs. Mike Waldron, Ryan Danehy, and Kane Russell all came to Chicago to coach the ChicagoLax team and are excited with the potential of the sport in this region. Mike Waldron was a three-year Varsity lacrosse letter-winner at Washington and Lee University, and both Danehy and Russell played for Division I Dartmouth College of the Ivy League. At Dartmouth, Danehy was a three-year starter at mid-field and Russell was a senior captain in 2004.
"Ryan Danehy has been coaching in this area for three summers and has basically been working with the same kids every year," said Tom Lonergan. "The consistency and coaching experience these guys bring to the team is exactly what these players need." What did ChicagoLax do to bring in some amazing lacrosse athletes to coach the youth in Midwest suburban towns? They brought together the opportunity to coach High School lacrosse enthusiasts with the opportunity to work a summer internship in the city of Chicago. This is a powerful formula that will continue to bring lacrosse knowledge and expertise to meet the needs of the rapidly growing youth lacrosse programs in greater Chicagoland.
COACHING
A number of young athletes in Chicagoland are developing a love for the sport, and with the rapid growth of lacrosse teams and programs there is a greater need for qualified coaches. The biggest challenge for lacrosse in this region is to find coaches who have the experience and the skills to build programs with quality training and increase the level of lacrosse skill. Both the Chicago Machine and ChicagoLax are dedicated to bringing high quality coaching to lacrosse players across the spectrum of youth interested in playing lacrosse. The Chicago Machine uses professional lacrosse players to coach younger lacrosse enthusiasts in the sport and ChicagoLax recruits collegiate lacrosse players to develop the level of lacrosse as well.
For more information about the lacrosse programs mentioned in this article, visit www.chicagomachine.com and www.chicagolax.com .
First Name Last Name School Position
Scott Pfiffner Glenbrook South Midfield
Dane Swanson Glenbrook South Midfield
Patrick Johnson Glenbrook South Defense
Griffin Kinzie Lyons Township Midfield
Eric Ziegler Nequa Valley Goalie
Matt Colello Nequa Valley Midfield
Farley Connelly New Trier Midfield
Walker Connelly New Trier Midfield
Thomas Feicco St. Charles North Attack
Mike Klein West Chicago Midfield
Jack Buckley OPRF Attack Matt Dixon OPRF Defense
Mike Slovak OPRF LS/D
Eric Lindeman OPRF Attack
Matt Gralen Lyons Township Defense
Ben Bernado Barrington Attack
Kevin Overby Barrington Goalie
Ryan Grodzki Barrington Michael Guido Barrington Midfield
John Morrow Loyola Attack
Sean Canty Midfield
David Federico Fenwick LS/Mid
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