Hess joins the Titan family

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Tim

GLS regular Reg Hartner goes out and does some actual journalism and tracks down Birmingham Seaholm attack JD Hess, who has committed to Detroit.

When UDM commit Kurt Urban decided to take his talents to Albion, the Detroit Titans were looking for one more playmaker at attack. Enter Birmingham Seaholm’s JD Hess.  The 5-10, 160-pound attackman is coming off of a great senior season where he captained Birmingham United to a surprising Final Four appearance and earned 1st team all-area, all-region, all-state, all-American and team MVP honors.

JD was originally accepted to Michigan State in October, and planned to go to school and maybe play some club lacrosse for the Spartans. However, a series of twists and turns during his final year of high school changed his plans in a big way.

Last fall, an All-League, All-County and All-Metro North football season earned him recruiting attention on the gridiron. He took visits to Hillsdale and Albion and was recruited by a number of other small Midwest schools, but wasn’t sure he wanted to put football over a degree from a Big Ten school. The Michigan State football staff took interest in him as a preferred walkon, and he was even hosted by Detroit-area recruiter Archie Collins at the spring game in April.

“The trip was very cool,” Hess said. “All-access stuff and the facilities and coaches were amazing. I’ve been a Spartan fan my whole life, but I realized being a walkon was not what I was looking for.”

Fast forward to spring. Birmingham United brought in a new coaching staff, led by former headman Bert Engel. Engel’s belief in the potential of the program and his expectations for the season were laid out clearly, and very early in his tenure.

“The senior class really bought into it and wanted to help Bert change the culture before we left,” Hess said. “He really knows his stuff and he’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had in any sport.”

Birmingham’s run to the state semifinals – eventually resulting in a 17-6 loss to rival Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice – gave Hess an urge to continue his lacrosse career. His individual success, including 50 goals and 36 assists on the year, inspired him to continue playing at a high level. It also earned him interest from college lacrosse coaches.

When Michigan State lacrosse coaches Dwayne Hicks and Chris Cooper were fired by the Spartans’ student leadership, Hess really reconsider his options. He had planned to suit up for MSU’s club team, and wasn’t sure if he was ready to do that with a new coaching staff in town.

“Their getting fired was a big turning point,” he explained. “It opened my eyes to step back and make sure I reevaluated everything to make sure I knew what I really wanted.  BCS football walk on, D2 football scholarship, D1 lacrosse and MCLA lacrosse was a lot to think about. [Detroit assistant lacrosse coach Chris] Kolon had been kind of talking to me my whole high school career, but I always brushed it off and didn’t think he was serious. I played for him for 2 years on 1763 club, and he tried to get me on campus for a visit, but I kind of laughed it off.”

The combination of on-field success as a senior year and upheaval at MSU led Hess to sit down with his family to discuss his options. They decided that the opportunity at UDM was worth a solid look. Although Detroit was not in Hess’s original plans, one trip to campus was enough to change that in a hurry.

“I finally went on a visit 3 weeks ago to Detroit and fell in love with it,” he explained. “I loved the campus and it was a lot nicer than I expected. I was excited about being a Spartan and the Big Ten experience of football Saturdays and the Izzone, but I really liked the idea of smaller class sizes and being a D-1 athlete more. Coach Kolon laid out his plans for me and I decided to commit right there while on my visit.”

Hess is the fifth All-American in the Titans’ 2012 class and another multisport athlete – a category they love to recruit. I’m excited to see what he, Chris Perry, Paul Bitetti, Shannen Wesley and Jack Slomsky can do once they focus on lacrosse full time.  It’s great to see another local kid commit to the Titans and get a chance to join the Sons of Detroit.

Thanks again to Reg, and congrats to JD on his Division-1 opportunity.

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Lax Links: July 10, 2012

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Tim

Rounding up the latest in state of Michigan lacrosse. As always, e-mail or tweet me any links or news tips you want to share.

High School

Chris Walker Brother Rice Warriors Michigan Wolverines Lacrosse

Chris Walker is one of five Brother Rice All-Americans. Photo by GLS

I missed this when it first came around, but the list of All-Americans from the Michigan region has been released. Boys All-Americans include:

  • Holt A Stevie McKee (Queens)
  • Holt FO Alex Hrapkiewicz
  • Seaholm A JD Hess (UDM)
  • Northville A Jakob Kippola (GVSU)
  • Clarkston A Kevin O’Grady (Albion)
  • Rockford G Connor Flynn (UDM)
  • Rockford A Kento Nakano
  • Brother Rice M Sergio Perkovic (2013 – Notre Dame)
  • Brother Rice A/M Riley Kennedy (Michigan)
  • Brother Rice FO Danny Gorman
  • Ann Arbor Pioneer M Dylan Swanson (UDM)
  • Forest Hills Central D Chris Bosscher
  • Troy Athens M Kevin Lining (Queens)
  • Cranbrook M Matt Giampetroni
  • Forest Hills Central M Colin Schlosser
  • UD-Jesuit M Michael Wroblewski
  • Brother Rice D Chris Walker (Michigan)
  • Brother Rice A Henry Nelson (Marquette)
  • Okemos G Matt Henry
  • Detroit Country Day G Ahmed Iftikhar (Penn)

Congrats to all the selections.

All-Oakland County team: not quite as prestigious, but close. Riley Kennedy earned player of the year honors.

FHC and Rockford “dominated” honors on the West side of the state.

Stevie McKee is the Lansing State Journal player of the year.

Cranbrook’s lacrosse camp is ongoing. See info about that (and more camps in the state) at this GLS destination.

NCAA

UDM’s Shayne Adams and Tom Masterson are showing off their skills in the Ontario Junior A leagues this summer. Teammate Jordan Houtby is also participating in the league, as is incoming freshman Ryan Callaghan.

College Crosse eulogizes the Titans’ season. OK, much of it is stuff you already read here, but clock over anyway. More post-season UDM coverage should be arriving on these pages shortly.

The 2013 MAAC lacrosse championship will be held in Buffalo.

The Grand Valley State women will have a conference home for lacrosse, and it’s a familiar one for the rest of their sports: the GLIAC.

Olivet College will be traveling to Vermont for its spring break games. Apparently this is rare for D-3 teams. I have no idea.

Men’s lacrosse has a photo up for vote in Michigan’s athletic department-wide photo of the year bracket. Make your way over there to vote for Trevor Yealy’s goal against Ohio State.

Recruiting

UD-Mercy has picked up another commitment, in the form of Seaholm attack JD Hess. He was all set for Michigan State before the Division-1 lacrosse oportunity presented itself. GLS should have more on Hess in the coming days.

You may recall from the most recent links post that the Michigan women have picked up a commitment from Radnor (Pa.) Brooke Pancoast. PhillyLacrosse.com goes into more detail.

Michigan freshman Brendan Gaughan was named an All-American.

My impressions of Michigan’s recruits after seeing them in person, and a host of photos. John Carroll’s twitter operator believes Michigan’s current recruits are a sign of good times in the future.

#GrowtheGame

Not that it was expected, but there are no plans for MLL expansion, meaning the hopes for a Michigan-based pro team will have to wait to come to fruition.

A Chicago teacher is bringing lacrosse to the city. I love to see stories like this, and would also love to see youth clinics in the city of Detroit.

Etc.

History of the sport in Michigan:

Monsieur de Sabrevois, commandant of Fort Pontchartrain, penned a description of the region in 1718. Referring to the Potawatomi village located near the fort, he wrote:

In summer they play a great deal at la crosse, twenty or more on each side. Their bat [crosse] is a sort of small racket, and the ball with which they Play is of very Heavy wood, a little larger than the balls we use in Tennis. When they Play, they are entirely naked; they have only a breech-clout, and Shoes of deer-skin. Their bodies are painted all over with all Kinds of colors.

Interesting stuff if you have the time for a quick read.

Highlights from the Heat Lacrosse Exhibition, thanks to TheRush.com. Photos of the event.

As always, thanks for visiting GreatLaxState.com. If you would like to get in contact, e-mail and Twitter are the best ways.

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Michigan Team Camp: Recruit impressions

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Tim
Michigan Lacrosse Recruits 2012 2013 2014

The future of Michigan lacrosse

I took in a handful of games that “Michigan’s First Class” played in at the Wolverines’ inaugural Wolverine War team camp over the weekend. Photo gallery is included in the post prior to this one.

Keep in mind that they were pretty easily the best team in attendance, so the level of competition wasn’t the greatest for divining details about their play. Some thoughts on the incoming freshmen:

  • Gerald Logan is a very good goalkeeper. He’s a solid ball-stopper who is able to make plays in the clearing game with his legs and passing. He’s a pretty aggressive keeper who likes to face a lot of shots, a very different mentality from Emil Weiss. Both bring something different to the table, and can contribute for Michigan next spring.
  • Cooper Charlton wasn’t on the team (my understanding is that the players who have already enrolled at Michigan were not eligible to participate), but he’s a huge defender. Physically reminiscent of former defender – from the club days, but a transfer from D-1 Bucknell – Pat Stansik.
  • Without being integrated into the team system, it’s tough to say what the individual defenders did and didn’t do well in terms of how they’ll be used. Almost all of them were pretty big guys, a much-needed size upgrade for Michigan. Most of them were able to throw takeaway checks pretty easily against the players they were facing. There was a bit of fancy stickwork, but nothing special for the most part.
  • I saw Chris Walker play several times this year, so I basically knew what to expect: excellent stick work, but a smaller frame. Those thoughts were both confirmed, since I believe he was the smallest defenseman, but also had some of the best handles. Those stick skills will allow him to see the field, but he’s not going to be an intimidator. I know he’s thought of as more of a close defenseman, but his size and athleticism could see him fit at LSM, too.
  • I had previously predicted Chaminade midfielder Matt Graham would be a d-middie, based on offensive production in high school. After seeing him in person, that’s definitely not the case. He has the stick skills that you’d expect from a player coming out of a Long Island powerhouse, and also a pretty good shot (which we saw mostly on the run) with either hand. He has more offensive punch than I’d given him credit for.
  • Like Graham, there wasn’t enough information available on Hernandez to know what to expect from him, but I came away impressed with his game. He doesn’t have the polish of some of the hotbed recruits, but California is turning out talent, and he’s no exception. He is bigger and taller then I was expecting, an obvious plus.
  • After not getting much action in the Under Armour All-American game, I didn’t know what to expect from Gaughan. Obviously, a collection of one school’s recruits is a less talented pool than the best players in the country, but would he stand out among them? He’s tall and thin, and has a good knowledge of the game. If the team had been coached up (instead of playing together for the first time in the games I saw), he would likely have been more involved. His frame has room for development though.
  • Evan Glaser has a bit of a stocky build – or he’s just more filled out with muscle than some of his incoming classmates – and played a pretty tough game (easier to do successfully against a random assortment of high schoolers than on the D-1 field, but he was good nonetheless). He carried the ball for the team quite a bit, and can handle it well.
  • Like his teammate Walker, I’ve seen Riley Kennedy play in person enough times that I wasn’t forming many new opinions about him, but rather seeing how he would adjust to a different level of talent than he saw for much of the season – both on his team and from the competitors. Like he was for Brother Rice this spring, he was a very calm, precise ballcarrier and passer. He didn’t dodge much that I saw, but his stick skills are very smooth and should translate well.
  • Like Glaser, Peter Kraus is a thickly-built kid. He didn’t get as much playing time as some of the other incoming freshmen, but a big brace on one knee is probably to blame for that.

A few of the incoming guys (in addition to Charlton, of course) didn’t play: Josh Stauffer, Kyle Jackson, Brad Lott, and a couple others. Some of those guys are already in school and therefore couldn’t play, and I’m not sure the reasoning on others.

I haven’t profiled the incoming 2013 and 2014 recruits yet, so seeing them over the weekend allowed me to form some first impressions, rather than shaping what I’d already researched about them. Like with their future teammates in the 2012 class, a few guys were not there.

  • Stefan Bergman is a physically intimidating defender, though he was at times caught lunging at the defender with his checks instead of keeping his feet and playing solid positional defense. In a summer camp situation (and realistically, an all-star situation), that’s bound to happen here and there.
  • Will Biagi and Brian Archer were both excellent on faceoffs. I don’t think they lost one in any of the games that I watched unless they moved early, or their wing players didn’t get the GB after a long scrum. Biagi in particular impressed, and it seemed like he controlled every draw. The only serious competition these two would have had in the games I saw would have been if they’d gone against each other.
  • Christian Wolter was able to uncork a couple impressive shots, though I only saw him shoot lefty that I can recall.
  • Mitchell Kelln has impressive size for a midfielder, and he was one of the biggest non-defensemen on the field.
  • I mentioned Michael Hernandez above, but two of his fellow members of the Alcatraz Outlaws club program – Mike Schlosser and Andrew Simor – played as well. All three showed that you don’t need to come from a hotbed to succeed at the next level (Kelln is also a California native, actually).
  • As for 2014s, attack P.J. Bogle and midfielder Chase Young were the only two there that I know of. I saw Bogle play with Culver Academy a couple times this spring, and he’s a tall-ish, thin attackman who carries the ball well. Young is a miniature (couldn’t have been an inch over 5-8, and he’s very thin as well) midfielder who has excellent stick skills, and doesn’t hesitate to uncork his shot.

I know a few readers may have been in attendance at some of the games. Did anybody have thoughts they’d like to share?

Posted in division 1 | Tagged | 15 Comments

Michigan team camp photos

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Tim

Photos from Michigan recruits at the Wolverines’ annual team camp. The members of Michigan’s 2012-14 classes organized themselves into a team.

For high-quality and non-watermarked photos, e-mail me.

Side note: If someone is misidentified (or not identified) in a photo, e-mail me or comment with a correction.

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Hello: Gerald Logan

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Tim

The final member Michigan’s 2012 signing class yet to be profiled is Hotchkiss postgrad goalie Gerald Logan, originally from Sachem (N.Y.) North.

Michigan Wolverines lacrosse James Pannell Sachem North Hotchkiss

Logan defends against Virginia-bound James Pannell. Photo by Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke of Newsday

Relevant Articles

Michigan’s commitment brief:

Logan will spend a postgraduate year with head coach Chris Burchfield at The Hotchkiss School. In 2011, Logan lettered at Sachem North High School for head coach Jason Mauro. He had a .608 save percentage. Logan also lettered at Shoreham-Wading River High School. He also earned four letters playing soccer.

Local commitment article brings the goods:

“Gerald is a great kid, a great teammate, has a diligent work ethic and I believe he’ll be very successful at the University of Michigan,” said Sachem North lacrosse coach Jay Mauro. “In speaking with their coaching staff, I know they are very excited to have Gerald become part of their program.”

Logan attended a postgrad year at The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut this past spring. It’s easy to see why he might have thought he needed a bit more college exposure, given that he was splitting time in net as a junior, and transferred high schools his senior year.

It’s easy to see how a kid like that – no matter how talented – could get lost in the shuffle (though it sounds like there may have been serious drama at S-WR leading to the transfer).

The Sachem North roster listed him at 6-1, 190. With a year of post-grad under his belt, he’s probably a little heavier than that now. He put up some gaudy save numbers in high school. He was a big part of Hotchkiss’ success this past spring.

“Logan, our goalie played real well, and we did a good job of taking away the inside,” Hotchkiss coach Chris Burchfield said. “We wanted to take away the close stuff.”

Taking away close stuff (aside from being an obvious strategy) likely means that he spots the ball well against outside shooters, something that is clearly important. He can also stop the point-blank shots. WHAT CAN’T HE DO???

He was named an All-Star for the 2012 class at the 2011 King of the Hill tournament, playing with Long Island Express.

Take it for what it’s worth (which is to say, not much), but an Inside Lacrosse commenter mentions that he’s a “stud,” and will keep 2013 commit Robbie Zonino (the No. 35 player in the nation) off the field. Another commenter chimes in to note that he’s an impressive pickcup for Michigan after seeing the kid play with LI Express. A LaxPower forum member echoes the sentiment that he’s “excellent.” “Best in the country” according to another IL commenter.

Michigan Wolverines lacrosse Gerald Logan Hotchkiss school

Logan clears against Brunswick. Photo by Bob Luckey of Greenwich Time

On the field, he certainly seem willing to come out of the net in the clearing game:

But Shoreham, with its goalie, Gerald Logan, carrying the ball most of the way, countered quickly for 10-5.

Photo depicting his AWESOME CLEARING ABILITIES at right. He also gets props for turning saves into fast-break opportunities the other way, another sign of good clearing ability.

Logan played soccer in high school, and was a stellar keeper in that sport, as well. He’s also a good student: as a junior at Shoreham-Wading River, he was named to the All-Scholar team for his league. A soccer article mentions his long wingspan. Not sure if that applies as a positive in lacrosse, but it can’t hurt.

His father, also named Gerald, is a cancer survivor.

Other Interest

No word on any other interest. The post-grad year looks (to me) like an indication that college interest was not what Logan was expecting leaving high school, and he committed to Michigan prior to his time at Hotchkiss.

Teammates of Note

We’ll start with Logan’s teammates this season at Hotchkiss. Logan is one of five Division-1 signees (including East Grand Rapids alum Jake Coretti, an attack who will go on to Rutgers). The other three are attack Connor Gallegos, bound for Georgetown, defenseman Michael Quinn, who will play at Yale, and Notre Dame-bound attack Matt Kavanaugh. Four more Hotchkiss grads are taking the D-3 route, all from the high school team (all five D-1 signees appear to be postgrads).

Sachem North and Shoreham-Wading River both put out the talent you’d expect of high-caliber Long Island teams. Members of Logan’s graduating class at Sachem North went on to UMBC and Stony Brook, plus a Division-3 commit and three Division-2 players.

Video

You can watch an entire game from the Shoreham-Wading River days on Vimeo. Based on the stats alone, Logan seemed to be the most-used of the three goalies.

The Upshot

I like what Michigan has to work with in rising sophomore Emil Weiss, but Logan is another valuable piece of the arsenal (and John Paul has said in radio/podcast appearances a few times this spring/summer that he expects Logan to challenge for the starting job). Both guys should get significant minutes, and there’s no reason to doubt JP’s statements that Logan will have a chance to unseat Weiss as starter.

The depth at goalie is helped immensely. It was clear in 2012 that Emil Weiss was head and shoulders better than the other keepers on the team, and that when he went down (which was an unfortunately frequent occurrence) that Michigan was going to struggle. Having two viable options in net is going to be a huge boost.

There’s a zero percent chance that Logan doesn’t play this year (barring injury, of course), and only a year separates him from Weiss – and in the 2013 class, from Robbie Zonino. The goaltending situation at Michigan gets a huge boost from a talented and experienced player.

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Periodic Expansion/Realignment post

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Tim

Every so often, I like to delve into the topic of lacrosse growth (particularly at the Division-1 college level). Now is that time. It’s not strictly on-topic for this site, but any moves in the D-1 landscape have potential effects on the teams in the state, so here we are.

First up, a predictive-type post on From Old Virginia. What will the world of lacrosse look like in five years? A couple things align with some of what I’ve predicted in the past.

The MAAC will become a “fully funded” league.

There will be a Southern Conference.

The ECAC will re-evolve into a reincarnation of the Great Western Lacrosse League.  The GWLL formed in response to the NCAA dropping the “western region” from the tournament, and it was a fairly viable league until schools like Butler and Michigan State dropped the game… I think Fairfield and Loyola will [eventually leave the ECAC]; further, the idea of Detroit staying in the MAAC is a 50/50 proposition at best.

That’s just a small snippet of the post, with the most relevant portions blockquoted more liberally. I recommend the whole thing if it’s a topic you’re interest in. I’m in full support of a GWLL-like substance that includes Detroit but not Loyola and Fairfield (even if it means potentially weakening the overall roster).

Last I talked conference realignment, Boston University’s eventual conference home was a question mark. Now, we know that the Terriers will play in the Patriot League. That’s no surprise, given that Boston U is making the move from America East to the Patriot League in all sports. Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Navy will be their conference-mates.

Furman initially planned to begin playing Division-1 lacrosse in the spring of 2015, but the Paladins will actually start a year sooner. Their conference home is as-yet unknown. A mythical southern conference could be a good home.

College Crosse’s Hoya Suxa takes on a few questions from Dawg Sports about what it might take for the University of Georgia to field a Division-1 team (and a competitive one at that) in the future. Though it would take UGa a bit of time to be competitive, that would certainly a bigtime boost from a branding standpoint to the mythical southern conference.

412 Lax is operating on a tip that Southern Methodist is soon to add lacrosse (though it didn’t happen yesterday as expected, an announcement could still be on the way). Obviously, that would be another boost to lacrosse in the South, and possibly expedite a southern conference of some sort.

Effect on the Great Lax State

Obviously, some of what we’re dealing with here is more in the realm of rumor, innuendo, and hypothetical than anything concrete, but some of the above-linked stories (basically all except the Boston U news) could have effects on both Michigan and Detroit down the road. First things first, I think a southern conference of some sort is inevitable, and the more programs (and more quickly, in the case of Furman) add the game, the closer we are to that happening.

Ultimately, I think what we’ll see happen is two entities, the MAAC and ECAC, radically altered when all is said and done. Those changes will result in (or perhaps be instigated by) the formation of the Southern Conference, as the MAAC loses Jacksonville and more than likely VMI. The MAAC – now fully funding its programs – is more enticing to Loyola and Fairfield, convincing the two members to switch affiliations for lacrosse.

That leaves the MAAC improved, a Southern Conference seeking a few more members, and some schools primed to make a move. The ECAC – which I’ll just start calling the GWLL – has already lost Loyola and Fairfield, and could also lose Bellarmine to the Southern Conference. Thanks to that attrition, they shore up the ranks a bit by adding Detroit (but are still short a couple members).

The potential ripple effects are even more widespread – is USC as close to adding men’s lacrosse as it seems? Is the Big East going to peter out as a lacrosse conference after losing Syracuse? – but the formation of western and southern conferences is one hell of a way to continue encouraging growth outside of the traditional areas.

For teams based in Michigan, that can only be a good thing.

Even further outside of the normal purview of this blog: alignment in college women’s lacrosse. However, the ALC (future home to Michigan) lost a member today when Johns Hopkins announced that the women’s team will join their men as an independent.

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Lax Links: June 29, 2012

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Tim

So, uh, it hasn’t been a long time since the last links post, right? Rounding up the past couple weeks of items that have been brought to my attention.

Gear

Delta Lacrosse club coach Nick Zoroya sends along some imagery of the team’s uniforms:

Courtesy of Delta Lax coach Nick Zoroya

Courtesy of Delta Lax coach Nick Zoroya

Gear for the Detroit Catholic Central alumni team.

#GrowTheGame

High school lacrosse participation reached an all-time high in the state for both genders.

D-3 Kalamazoo College will add men’s and women’s teams. (HT: The Growth Blog).

Lacrosse Magazine’s Joel Censer talks about the increase in parity of the game, brought about by expansion at all levels. And yes, I’m linking it with the phrase “increase in parity,” even though his title calls that into question. Not directly related to the in-state teams, but its lessons can apply to both U-M and Detroit.

High School

Brother Rice’s eighth-straight state championship is only the No. 15 best spring championship moment, according to MLive.

The Warriors finished third in the Midwest region, according to Laxpower, though it wasn’t  able to unseat Dublin (Ohio) Jerome. Ohio – where the sport is not sanctioned by the state high school athletics governing body – finished with all but nine of the region’s top 25 teams (I’m just sayin’).

You can watch the state championship games – and a few selected games from the 2012 season – on the MHSAA.tv website.

Detroit Country Day goalie Ahmed Iftikhar was profiled on State Champs! High School Sports:

Iftikhar will play at Penn next spring.

Mike Costello names his all-area team for Ann Arbor. Troy Senior Nick Kondoleon is the Troy Patch Athlete of the Season. Utica Eisenhower’s team packed the All-State teams.

Novi will play a tough schedule in 2013, with Catholic Central, Birmingham, and Holt all on the docket so far.

Collegiate

Bloomfield Hills Lahser grad Justin Tuma – a three-time All-American at D-3 Roanoake – has joined the coaching staff at Randolph-Macon College:

For his career, Tuma finished with a program-best 460 ground balls, averaging 6.30 per-game during 73 career appearances. Tuma also fashioned a 63 percent success rate on face-offs during his career, winning 511 of 808 attempts. Offensively, he had 141 points on 67 goals and 74 career assists.

Tuma is actually somebody that I thought would be considered for the opening at Detroit. It remains to be seen who will lead the Titans’ offense going forward.

Speaking of coaching openings… Inside Lacrosse touches on Judd Lattimore’s departure for Penn. GLS #strongtakes here.

Detroit will host a summer camp for faceoff specialists July 23-25, featuring former Notre Dame FOGO Jake Marmul. The Detroit Catholic Central alum won 166 of 295 (.563) faceoffs in three years with the Fighting Irish, and missed his junior year due to injury.

The official Detroit site ascribes to a pretty standard few of growing a program:

  1. No expectations, no results
  2. Low expectations, exceed with results
  3. Higher expectations, don’t meet them
  4. Higher expectations, meet or exceed them.

…and 2012 was the Titans’ phase three of the growth process. An article whose premise is basically “hey, we didn’t live up to expectations” comes off a little negative from a PR angle, but at the same time, it’s refreshing to see the honesty.

Michigan coach John Paul joined Inside Lacrosse’s Terry Foy for a podcast on Michigan’s Team One, and growing for the future. Thanks to a tweet from coach Paul, Hoya Suxa of College Crosse has pledged his allegiance to the Wolverines. Mssr. Suxa is pretty kind in his season recap for Team One, all things considered. Michigan had a league-leading eight All-ECAC Academic honorees.

U-M alum Brekan Kohlitz was picked up by the MLL’s Charlotte Hounds, where he’s currently listed as a practice squad member.

Don’t forget, the Michigan women host their inaugural summer camp starting tomorrow.

Grand Valley State is primed to take on some of the best competition in MCLA-2 next season.

Recruiting

Michigan signee Brendan Gaughan was named first-team All-Avocado League (note to self: move someplace where sports conferences have names like “Avocado League). In the category of “I’m not sure why something like this exists,” you can also see him introduce himself to the world of Youtube. Internet! Gaughan will participate in the Under Armour All-America Classic this weekend, airing on ESPNU at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Fairfield (Conn.) senior Charlie Keady, also a Michigan commit, was named second-team All-State.

2013 Michigan commitment Austin Shanks led his Paul Dwyer Saints team to the field lacrosse championship at the OFSAA festival. His photo was the one that the print edition of the newspaper ran with the story. Shanks was invited to Paul Rabil’s elite camp this summer.

His incoming classmate, Conestoga (Pa.) goalie Robbie Zonino, led his squad to the PIAA championship:

Zonino, a junior, was sensational in the third period with five saves, many of them on point-blank shots.

While Michigan’s incoming 2012 class is sure to provide a huge boost in the talent level on the team, 2013 looks like one that will really help raise the level of play in Ann Arbor.

A couple commitments for Michigan on the girls’ side. Philly-area 2013s Kelly Kubach (Penn Charter) and Brooke Pancoast (Radnor) have joined the Wolverines’ inaugural freshman class.

Etc.

The Heat Lacrosse Exhibition at MVP Fieldhouse in Grand Rapids is happening… now. Schedule here. The Rush is providing highlights of the event.

As always, if I’ve missed anything, or you’d simply like to bring something to my attention, hit me on Twitter or via e-mail.

Posted in division 1, division 3, gear posts, high school, mcla | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fear the ref!

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Tim

Who says officials are just guys who couldn’t play the game? Passed along by GLS regular Reg Hartner, MHSAA official Ron Snook (accidentally, one must assume) takes out a Brother Rice player during the Warriors’ big quarterfinal win over Clarkston in late May.

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Judd Lattimore out at Michigan

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Tim

Apologies for the lack of content lately. Slow season and heavy obligations for the things that pay my bills have combined to lead to not a lot in this space. Hopefully it’ll pick back up, and soon.

Michigan Lacrosse Judd Lattimore Bucknell

Now-former Michigan assistant Judd Lattimore, in his Bucknell days

A source indicated to me a while back that staff changes could be coming at Michigan, but after the Wolverines finished the year on a relatively successful note (in that they were competitive with some teams that they probably shouldn’t have been able to stick with) and nothing had happened to this point, I thought they’d made it out of the woods without any changes.

However, that’s not the case, as Judd Lattimore is no longer listed on the staff page of the official Michigan site, and I’ve heard indications that’s he’s not only gone, he’s already primed to take a position at Penn. That costs the Wolverines their only coach with D-1 coaching experience, and one of only two (volunteer assistant Keith Euker was an All-American at Loyola) with D-1 playing experience. In the end, it sounds like a lack of chemistry ended Lattimore’s tenure prematurely. A lack of results on the field certainly didn’t boost the confidence among the staff members, to say the least.

It will be very interesting to see where Michigan goes from here. Lattimore has obviously been a successful offensive coordinator at just about every stop, and even if Michigan’s offense finished just No. 55 in the nation in 2012, he could be tough to replace. What I’m nervous about (and perhaps without justification, to be fair) is that Michigan will look to the club ranks to fill the assistant position, instead of looking for established D-1 or D-3 coaches to elevate the level of play among the staff. It has the same feel of the Michigan football team firing a good defensive coordinator (Scott Shafer) after 2008, only to replace him with a host of Rich Rodriguez’s buddies, rather than the best fit for success. Again, I have no indication they’ll do that, but it should be interesting to see where John Paul goes with his next move.

The recruiting perspective will also be a factor to watch, since Lattimore served as the team’s recruiting coordinator. Will the Wolverines hold on to all their underclassman verbal commitments? Will they continue to be successful recruiting? I have full confidence that John Paul – who has recruited successfully as a club coach in the past – will continue to recruit well going forward.

Stay tuned to see the latest developments in Michigan’s coaching staff.

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Hello: Cooper Charlton

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Tim

The season is over, and it’s time to profile the remainder of the 2012 Michigan lacrosse recruiting class. The penultimate profile belongs to Ohioan defenseman Cooper Charlton.

Hudson Explorers Hill Academy Michigan Wolverine sLacrosse Cooper Charlton

Charlton hoists the 2011 Ohio state championship trophy

Relevant Articles

Charlton might be one of the easiest players to write a post like this about, since he already did all the work for me. Not to be deterred, I soldiered on.

We’ll start with the size, which comes in at a consensus 6-3 and at or just above 200 pounds. With that out of the way, on to the articles:

He was named to the Under Armour Midwest team last summer, and was also on the 2010 underclass team along with future teammate Brad Lott. His profile from the 2010 team notes some of his accomplishments:

3 year Scholar Athlete – 2 sports. 2010 Defensive MVP junior year with 70 ground balls, 1 goal, 4 assists. 2010 All-Region (1st Team). 2010  All-State (2nd Team). 2009 Varsity Rookie of the Year. 2009 All-Region (2nd Team).Also plays basketball for his high school and this summer won Max Elite 100 Championship and was named to the Top 205 All-Star team. In his spare time, he enjoys snowboarding, basketball, frisbee, kiteboarding and music.

Many of these themes of being a very accomplished lacrosse player will be repeated. He was First-Team All-Ohio in 2011, and a Northern Ohio region U.S. Lacrosse All-American. He participated in the Reebok Top-100 last year. He was his high school team’s rookie of the year as a sophomore.

Moving on to comments… His commitment article from the Hudson Hub-Times comes highly recommended. A sampling:

“I’m very happy for him,” [Hudson lacrosse coach David] Blue said. “He was a captain and an All-American. He always put the team above everything. He gave little talks to the players and got them fired up. All the kids felt very comfortable because they knew Cooper was going to lead them.”

From a game report, he’s capable of shutting down talented offensive players:

“But Cooper Charlton’s defense in terms of limiting Medina’s best offensive player to just three points, Adam Coberly’s key assist and Tyler Zickel’s 19 saves were all instrumental in the win.”

More of the same, with bonus inspiration:

“Our defense really stepped up,” David Blue said. “Cooper Charlton did an excellent job on (Schell). He’s not only our inspirational leader, but he did a great job on one of the best scorers they have. For a high school kid to take over like that is huge. That was special.”

Not just a solid on-ball defender, he also has takeaway checks:

Medina scored late in the contest to reduce the deficit to 8-7, but Cooper Charlton stripped a Bees player of the ball twice in the final 18 seconds to seal the deal.

The coach comments page on his site is downright fawning. A few choice selections:

“Great physical upside. 5th year of HS at The Hill Academy in Canada will be a huge advantage for him.”

“Cooper’s character, leadership and communication skills, his high lax IQ and athleticism are super-charged by his dedication to always train, practice and play hard. He is continuously taking his game to a new level.”

He also runs a defense camp for Hudson Youth Lacrosse. The blogspot page on which he has posted instructional videos for his youth players could use a better color scheme though.

He made the dean’s list at Hill Academy. His club team was Titanium Lacrosse.

Other Interest

Hudson Hill School Cooper Charlton Michigan Wolverines Lacrosse

Charlton signs with the Wolverines.

From the local article on his signing:

Charlton also considered Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York and of course, the Wolverines’ fiercest rival, The Ohio State University in Columbus.

“It came down to OSU and Michigan,” Charlton said. “I liked Michigan because it’s a program that’s just starting. But my biggest focus was academics. I like Michigan’s academic program better.”

A trio of ECAC finalists is nothing to sneeze at, but they’re hardly world-beaters. From the sound of things, that’s because he and his family didn’t play the “recruiting game” early enough in the process, and missed out on some opportunities because of it.

That explains the post-grad year at Hill, and could mean that Michigan is potentially getting a steal (oooh, foreshadowing).

Teammates of Note

Charlton played for a pretty successful high school before going on to a post-grad year at what amounts to a lacrosse (and hockey) talent factory. We’ll start with the Hill Academy, since their team will be pretty easy to break down. Along with fellow Michigan signee Kyle Jackson, two post-grads signed with Division-1 institutions: Sam Lewis with Albany and Henry Elmhurst with Vermont. Colton Watkinson signed with Division-2 Limestone.

Three members of The Hill’s high school team signed with Division-1 teams, including Zach Kerrewyers with defending national champion Loyola and Nick Fonte with North Carolina. The third is Parrish Young with Delaware.

Two members of Charlton’s 2011 graduating class at Hudson High School back home in Ohio signed with Division-1 colleges. Robby Lynott played at UMass this spring, and Alexander Carlson (a fellow defenseman) went to Air Force. Randall Nye played at Division-2 University of Tampa. The previous year, attackman Jake McHenry signed with Hobart.

After Charlton’s sophomore year at Hudson, lots of talent went on to the next level. Defenseman Griffin Vehar was the highest-profile signee, picking Syracuse (where he’s played sparingly in two seasons after redshirting as a freshman). Midfielders Bobby Tyler and Evan Frankovitz signed with UMass and VMI, respectively. Three more Explorers went the D-3 route, including fellow defenseman Ryan Drought at Carthage.

Going off the lacrosse field and onto the basketball court, Charlton is two years older than a fellow future Wolverine, and forward Ben Gedeon will play football at Michigan.

Video

Of Charlton’s many, many videos, I’ll use “Offense, Defense, Clutch,” which seems to show the most aspects of his game (it’s also the longest).

Visit the videos page on his site for much more.

The Upshot

So, although Charlton wasn’t a bigtime recruit coming out of high school (as evidenced by the choice to take a post-grad year at The Hill to gain more exposure and refine his skills), his profile is… pretty glowing, if you ask me. With the disclaimer that he’s made the information easier to find than other recruits, there is a lot of positive press out there.

Charlton has the size to be a contributor at the Division-1 level, and he also has been immersed in a lacrosse-centric lifestyle during his year at the Hill to add polish to the skill that had already earned him considerable accolades. He’ll effectively enter Michigan as a redshirt freshman in terms of experience, but a true freshman for eligibility.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Charlton find a place on the field for Michigan during his first year on campus – Lord knows they need the defensive help. With the reputation of a gym rat (and of course with the post-grad year), he may be a little closer to his ceiling than your average recruit, but that’s hardly a bad thing.

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