MLL New York Lizards

For the Love of the Game: Rob Pannell

February 17, 2016 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
New York Lizards News Release


Major League Lacrosse athletes are often motivated by their love for the game. Each year, the game grows more and more and this is due, in large part, to players like Rob Pannell who dedicate parts of their lives to the game's growth.

The New York Lizards' All Star Attackman grew up a fan of the New York Lizards and aspired to be a Lizard one day. Today, he is an integral part of a championship team but is even busier off the field. Rob has worked hard to build up and create his own brand, RP3, inspired largelt by Kyle Harrison and Paul Rabil. He also spends a significant amount of his time running clinics and hosting camps around the country for young lacrosse players.

Rob grew up playing as many sports as he could only to realize his love for lacrosse after spending time away from the sport. This year, he will be joined by his brother, James, who was selected by the Lizards with the 24th overall pick in the 2016 MLL Collegiate Draft. Now no longer just brothers in the backyard, they'll become brothers in the Big Leagues.

See the full conversation with Rob below:

Q: Did you play any other organized sports growing up? Why did you ultimately choose to pursue lacrosse?

RP: Growing up I played as many different sports as possible. My dad and I always agreed that whichever sport I chose to pursue in college, I would be better at if continuing to play multiple sports. You learn things in other sports and become a more skilled all around athlete because of it. Growing up I started playing baseball and soccer, both of which I stopped around 5th grade. I then played football, basketball golf and lacrosse through middle school. In high school, I played golf for three years, basketball for three years (was cut from the team my junior year, started my senior year), and football my senior year along with lacrosse for all four years. And still today I play golf (my favorite sport) as much as I can, play in the Urban Professionals basketball league in NYC and play any other sports when given the opportunity. All sports are important to me in order to continue to play lacrosse at the highest level.

Q: What was your major in college?

RP: I majored in Lacrosse...kidding but seriously. No, I was an Applied Economics and Management major with specializations in Finance and Strategy in the Dyson School of Business. Yes, very fancy.

Q: As a successful collegiate lacrosse player with a bright future in Major League Lacrosse, had you planned to make lacrosse a full-time career?

RP: No, in 2011, I interned with Citi in a sales/trading role where I planned to work full time after college after I was offered a full time job. In beginning to work there, I was still planning on playing in the MLL. However, in breaking my foot my senior year and taking a 5th year, I realized how important the sport of lacrosse was to me. I wasn't ready to completely give it up right away and wanted to concentrate all my efforts on growing the game, winning with the Lizards, playing for Team USA in the 2014 World Games, and being the best player that I could be.

Q: Playing for the Lizards has now become a family affair with the addition of your brother, James, during the MLL Collegiate Draft. What type of team dynamic do you hope to form with him when he joins the Lizards in May?

RP: James is a great kid, a great personality and although we are brothers, we are very, very different. He will be a great addition to the locker room and I believe the guys will enjoy having him on the team. James is a talented player at the college level but I believe with his skill set and the players that will surround him on the Lizards, that he will be an even better player at the professional level. We have chemistry from growing up together and playing in the backyard, knowing one another's game very well. I would imagine once we start to play with each other a little bit, it could be very special. I look forward to not only being his big brother out there and showing him the way, but also being his teammate.

Q: MLL is a league in which players play mostly for the love of the game, how does this speak to the passion players have for lacrosse?

RP: I think what separates the MLL from every other sport is the fact that most players work all week and then give up their weekends in the spring and summer to play the sport they love. Right now, most players aren't playing for the money, they are playing for the love of the game and to be part of a team, to be in that locker room setting. The product on the field is one of guys who generally love the sport and care about being out there. They aren't playing for their game check. This along with the concentration of talent from college to MLL is what makes the MLL so unique and the highest level of lacrosse in the world.

Q: What was the driving factor in creating your own brand, and what was the hardest part about doing this?

RP: When looking at what Paul Rabil and Kyle Harrison had done with creating their own lines with their respective companies, and being really the only two guys to do it and have success, I didn't know how realistic it would be for me to do the same. However when Brine came to NY to talk to me about signing on with them, we talked about a plan to do the same. I think my senior year at Cornell was really a big part of this with both the success we had as a team and the success I had individually. When seeing some of the mock-ups of products that Brine was going to bring to the table, it was a no brainer. Brine was ready to invest in my brand. Growing up, every kid has their lacrosse stick, it's their baby, and now to have the chance to create the RP3 line of products. It was a dream come true.

Q: You co-founded Alpha 423 Lacrosse with another MLL Great, Max Seibald. Can you speak a bit about the camps and clinics you run around the country, the goals of the business and what you want your athletes, young and old, to strive for?

RP: Max has been one of my best friends and business partner for quite some time now. He also gave me the nickname RP3 my freshmen year of college after CP3, saying that we had similar playing styles. Max had grown his own company over the years while I was at Cornell. Over the summers I had worked for him and helped build his brand that we re-branded upon me graduating, into Alpha 423 Lacrosse. Our main business is camps in Atlanta, Texas, and Nebraska among other areas. We also put on clinics year round in areas all around the country. People love having us come in and work with their club/youth program or the players in their geographical region. We also do training for individual teams for those who are interested, putting them through a college style practice.

We also founded the Lacrosse Club of New York with Mat Levine which is a NYC based club program, offering year round services to the elite players of NYC.

In all of our work, Max and I focus on the fundamentals. We have a system in place for teaching kids everything from the basics of catching and throwing to doing the question mark dodge. The way we teach will allow players to self correct when working on their own. We understand a coach isn't always present so a player must understand what they are doing wrong and how to correct it. People are always looking for something groundbreaking in a sport that is going to make their kid better. However, till this day I still do wall ball, the same drills and work on the same moves I did when I was 9. It's just the speed at which I do it that has increased year in and year in out. It's teaching kids these fundamental skills and drills that we pride ourselves on.

Q: You recently asserted your love of fashion and its ties to lacrosse in an RP3 website blog. Why do you think that lacrosse, more than other sports, is one where players express themselves through apparel and equipment?

RP: I am not so much for the loud colors and crazy patterns on the field (actually don't like it at all, Brian Spallina loves it though) as much as I am off the field. On the field I like to keep it pretty simple for the most part. However I am more into the fashion aspect of things off the field, something I have always been into since my mom started dressing me at a young age and has grown especially with my move into NYC. Fashion has always been of interest to me and something I hope to pursue in the future. I love wearing a suit, always have. But I also love pushing the limits when it comes to going out in NYC, grabbing a soda with some friends, dinner, walking around the city, or when traveling to a game. I am always on the lookout for new styles and brands that intrigue me. I love how in other sports, they highlight player's outfits when traveling to and form games. It gives you insight into their personality. When they are on the field, they are in uniform and look the same as everyone else aside from maybe some cleats or sneakers. As you get older in the sport of lacrosse this is the case as well, everyone is in uniform and you care less about what you look like on the field and more about how you play. Also, growing up for me the variety of lacrosse apparel wasn't there. The most drastic thing we had to choose was which college to wear on your shorts when at Lacrosse Unlimited. Lacrosse is a sport where players have a ton of opportunity to express themselves through fashion. Whether it's the style of their stick, color of their gloves, the cleats they are wearing, the stickers on their helmet, the crazy pattern on their shorts, there are plenty of opportunities for kids to do this. There are more protective pads, which means more chance to express yourself through your personal choices.

Q: Can you take us through your typical weekly schedule while in season?

RP: During a week in June/July

Sunday: Fly out to location of that week's camp.

Mon: Day 1 of Camp, workout in the morning or after the day is over.

Tuesday: Day 2 of Camp.

Wednesday: Day 3 of Camp, workout in the morning or after the day is over.

Thursday: Last day of camp, flight back to NY or to where that weekends game is.

Friday: Practice

Saturday: Game

Repeat. I think last summer in between June and July I slept in my apartment in NYC 6 times in 45 days or something like that.

Q: How important is growing the sport to you and how do you believe you are helping do this?

RP: One of the reasons I chose to do lacrosse full time was to grow the sport so this is extremely important to me. I remember growing up as a player and wanting to learn from the best, taking any chance to learn from top players at NY Saints or Lizards camp. There are a lot more offerings these day so a lot of opportunity to do so. Through the camps and clinics and through my own brand, growing the game means everything to me in hopes of giving the MLL players of the future a chance to do it full time as well!

Q: The 2016 season will be your 4th season in Major League Lacrosse. What are your thoughts on the growth of the league and progressing into a mainstream sport?

RP: It is going to take time. The league is still very young and although it is growing, television coverage, sponsorships, Lax Sports Network, the best players playing for longer periods of time....I still think there are things that could be done and need to be done in order help it grow at a faster pace and get to the level where more players can do it full time and invest more time in the game. With that being said, even with it being part time, it is still the best product of lacrosse out there and the highest level at which it is played.

Q: What is your favorite and least favorite part about playing in this league?

RP: My favorite part would be the locker room. Between Matt Gibson and some of the Hofstra characters we have on our squad, to Jerry Ragonese and Kyle Hartzell, our locker room is one of a kind. We are an extremely close group and that is a large part of our success on the field. My least favorite part about playing in this league, well we can leave that discussion for another time.

Q: Fifty years from now in the world of lacrosse, what do you want to be remembered most for?

RP: Aside from being remembered as a guy who won multiple championships on those New York Lizards teams of 2015 on, I want to be remembered as one of the first guys to commit full time to being a professional lacrosse player in the MLL. One of the guys that paved the way for more and more MLL players of the future to do so as well! Also, my question mark dodge.

Join Rob and the Lizards as they start their title defense in a Championship rematch with the Rochester Rattlers at Hofstra University on April 23rd. Season, group and single game tickets are available now. For more information, please call 1-855-NYLizards.

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