Michigan Chapter of US Lacrosse

Lacrosse Friends- The Michigan Chapter of US Lacrosse would like to thank everyone for making the 16th annual 7 v 7 tournament an outstanding event! We held our first ever two day event and had a record breaking 128 teams. We thank you for the support you’ve shown us over the years. Net income from the 7 v 7 is spent on developing lacrosse. Money will be spent on new programs, equipment grants, scholarships, youth teams, our Michigan Lacrosse Hall of Fame and other means of growing “the fastest game on feet.” The tournament is an all-volunteer effort. As it grows larger, it grows more difficult, but it’s a product of our love of the sport. The 7 v 7 is intended as a fun day of lacrosse, a last day of outdoor play, a preview of next spring’s matchups, and a chance for lacrosse opponents, friends, parents, officials and coaches to join in a low-stress and fun event. We appreciate those of you who “get it” and enjoyed the day. Some years we get great weather, some not so great. Our date has been set to follow the end of many high school sports. Also, we need a large facility, typically after soccer has ended. This year we were rewarded with some of the nicest weather that the 7v7 has ever seen. You never know in Michigan and this year it was great. Northville was a new location this year. It was a quick move after we were told our initial location at Novi would not be available. Many thanks to the Township of Northville for rushing through our special event application. Mary Barbieri, Jeff Moon, and Jason Nezich of the Northville Parks and Recreation Department were incredibly helpful in making this event happen. Kathy Koupal of Northville lacrosse also helped with the loan of their goals for the event. Thanks to all! The 7 v 7 could not happen without our supporting vendors, and IN PARTICULAR, our amazing staff of volunteers. Our crew spends countless hours in making this event happen. Special thanks go to: Jeff Holden, Bill Waitz and the Ann Arbor Pioneer lacrosse people, who each year tirelessly and graciously assemble a bunch of needed goal cages, deliver them to the 7 v 7 fields, and then return them to their source .Owen Blank, who turns a large park into a mecca for lacrosse by laying out the fields and organizing the lining with the help of Jason Watts and the Michigan Dearborn lacrosse team. Kristy Zelenka, who handled the crazy registration task and parking madness! Jason Gratson, who took the 128 boys, girls, varsity, JV, and youth teams and turned it into a workable schedule in only a couple of days. Next year we will give Jason more time to complete this huge task. Jason and Karin Gratson were also on hand during the tournament to help make sure the event went smoothly. Angie and Mike Ward, Ryan Demorest, Chris Cooper who coordinated PARKING! Jaime Corl, our trainer who was able to fix most boo-boos on the spot. Kim Hagan and Clark Bell who secured the game officials. Ken Brubaker of our board, for field signs and his can-do attitude. Emilia Ward and her Adrian Women’s Lacrosse team, for graciously serving as parking marshals and conducting spontaneous clinics for the girls teams.Ken Rymiszewski and Detroit Lacrosse Co., for supplying the cool Northville 7v7 staff hoodies that made our crew easy to locate. Judy Roberts and the crew from AMJ Distributing, extraordinary BBQ catering specialist’s- amjdist@yahoo.com Michigan Lacrosse Store, your west side source for everything lacrosse- www.michigan-lax.com Warrior Lacrosse, Michigan based, and world leader in performance lacrosse equipment- www.warriorlacrosse.com We are working hard to improve this tournament. If you have any suggestions or just want to help in the effort with the tournament or other chapter events please contact us. It is the people that make this Chapter work. We also suggest you join US Lacrosse, if you’re not already a member. The benefits are great. Nice supplemental insurance , equipment and other discounts, and Lacrosse Magazine. You will benefit, and you will support the sport. We are working hard to move the State of Michigan to the top of the lacrosse world. Your membership would help. We look forward to seeing everyone back for next year’s tournament. Clark Bell, President, U.S. LACROSSE MICHIGAN CHAPTER

Arriving at the 7v7

Click here for Saturday’s schedule.

Click here for Sunday’s schedule.

Click here for team assignments.

Click here for map of park.

GOOGLE MAP HERE!

We hope that this year’s event will be enjoyable for all. Please help it be fun and safe.

Please follow these instructions. The Township of Northville and the Northville Parks and Recreation Department are being very good hosts and we want to have a safe and orderly situation with the traffic at this year’s event.

First off there are 2 entrances to the park. One is on Beck Rd and one is on 5 Mile Rd. The girls teams will be closer to their fields if they use the Beck Rd. parking and the Boys teams will be closer to their fields if they use the 5 Mile entrance. That being said, the Boys parking will fill up before the Beck road parking so you may be told to go to the Beck Rd parking when the other parking is filled.

Girls Teams enter Beck Rd Entrance!

Boys teams enter 5 Mile Entrance!

5 Mile parking will fill up first!

Parking is limited so parking passes will again be used. Please only bring cars with a pass to the event. There is parking close by to drop off extra cars. The church immediately to the North of the park on Beck road can also be used for parking. The Home Depot south of the park on 5 Mile rd can hold some cars as well. There are some businesses on Technology Drive to the east of the park off Beck Rd than could also be used for overflow parking.

A suggestion is to drop off the cars before coming into the park. If you want to drop off players you need to do it at the Beck Rd parking lot.

 Saturday is a smaller event and cars without passes may be allowed in but cars coming into the park must have passes for Sunday.  We will stamp your pass if you need to leave the park for any reason.  Please see a parking attendant for that. We will be setting aside parking for Northville people to use their Dog Park. Do not park in the Dog Park parking if you are attending the Lacrosse tournament. Don’t be surprised by what happens to your car if you park in there without the proper credentials! 

Please help us by following these simple rules. There will be parking assistants in the parking areas to help you get to where you need to be.

Anyone treating the parking assistants rudely may not be allowed next year.

The 7v7 field numbers are different than the Northville Park Field Numbers.

Thanks. I hope to see you there.

Clark Bell, President

US Lacrosse Michigan

Northville has approved our use of their facility at Five Mile and Beck Roads.  Here, for your information, is a map-link to the new site: http://www.northvilleparksandrec.org/ParksAndFacilities/PDF/CommunityParkMap.pdf

More information will be sent out on Monday!

Lacrosse Friends- 

1.  At the last minute, Novi has told us that their fields at our tournament site are “trashed.”  They sought to move our tournament to a second, less-desirable location.

2.  We quickly contacted Northville, next-door to Novi.  We anticipate that Northville will approve our use of their excellent facility at Five Mile and Beck Roads.  Here, for your information, is a map-link to the new site: http://www.northvilleparksandrec.org/ParksAndFacilities/PDF/CommunityParkMap.pdf

3.  Because of approval processes, we won’t have a final determination from Northville until approximately this Friday (October 30.)  However, we don’t anticipate any problems.  We expect that the tournament will be held at the Northville site.

4.  We will provide definite field information as soon as we have that.  Please watch your e-mail, and please check our website: www.michiganlacrosse.org

The 16th annual 7v7 tournament will be held on Sautrday November 7 & Sunday November 8th at the Novi Sports Park off of 8 Mile Road.  For more information on the tournament, click here.

Our 2nd Annual Girls Lacrosse day will take place Sunday, September 13th in two locations,

Grand Blanc and Lake Orion. College and Highschool lacrosse Coaches, players and officials will be on hand to teach the fundamentals of lacrosse for any age girl that wants to try the sport of lacrosse. 

All equipment will be provided. Click here for more information and how to sign up.

The 2nd annual Hall of Fame Day was held at Detroit Country Day on June 13th and was a tremendous success.  Both the Boys and Girls games showcased some of the top lacrosse talent in the state, with over 100 players attending, including 10 US Lacrosse All-Americans and many all-state recipients.

To view this year’s photo’s click here.

USLM 2009 Scholarship Winners:

Gina Garnago- Graduated from Notre Dame Prep and enrolled at Michigan State University.

Kristy Kowalski- Graduated from Avondale High School and enrolled at Oakland University.

Shivani Radia- Graduated from Notre Dame Prep and enrolled at the University of Michigan

Brandon Davenport- Graduated from Grosse Pointe North and enrolled at U of D Mercy.

Hall of Fame Inductees:

Women’s Division:

Elaine Torvinen has been involved in developing and shaping the voice of safe and knowledgeable lacrosse in Michigan for over twenty years.  Although she never played the game herself, she dedicated herself to learning the rules to become an effective official.   She has been stalwart in recruiting and training new officials in the rules as the game has grown in popularity in the state.  Because of her dedication to the sport and though encouragement from others affiliated with the game, such as Jean Blevernicht who introduced her to the game, she has become an important leader in the state lacrosse association.  She is the key person at all the rule interpretation meetings.  She is a nationally ranked official, the only active one in the state.Additionally, she has organized countless clinics to educate aspiring officials and coaches in the game.  She writes the newsletters, she is a tireless worker on behalf of the game of lacrosse.  Congratulations to Elaine on being inducted into the Michigan Lacrosse Hall of Fame.  It is an honor richly deserved.

Pat Hayes began her lacrosse career at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grosse Pointe in 1960.  She introduced the game at the school and played/scrimmaged games against Grosse Pointe University School and Kingswood.

From 1964-1970 she coached Lacrosse and Field hockey at Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills.  In 1985, she coached the J.V. Basketball Team at Seaholm.

Her last coaching position was at D.C.D.S. where she built a very successful program beginning at the Middle School all the way to the High School level.  Throughout her years at D.C.D.S., she also offered clinics in Field Hockey, Lacrosse, and Officiating.  Many aspiring players and officials had their start at her clinics.

Pat is a tireless worker.  She has umpired High School and College Field Hockey for 51 years.  She has umpired lacrosse for the past 47 years.  Quite a legacy!  Presently along with her umpiring, she is also an Assignor for High School Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Soccer, and Volleyball.

Men’s Division:

Robert W. (”Turf”) Kauffman - First Michigan State University Men’s Varsity Lacrosse Coach.

Turf Kauffman came to MSU as a football player, but left his mark as a lacrosse coach.

Turf played and coached MSU’s highly successful club teams during the 1960’s.  Turf was a crease defender beginning in 1965, and later took on a full-time role as coach.

Along with some of the club players (notably Larry Berger, who went on to become President of US Lacrosse nationally), Turf played a key role in constituting men’s lacrosse as a varsity sport at MSU.  From 1970 though 1996, the MSU men’s team was the first and only D1 varsity lacrosse program in the state of Michigan.  The team’s last D1 game was a victory over Cornell in Spartan Stadium.  (Cornell of course, lost the 2009 national championship game in overtime.)

Turf continues his unflagging efforts in support of both men’s and women’s lacrosse.  Turf hopes to regain varsity status for the MSU men’s team, and to gain that status for the MSU women’s team.  His efforts on behalf of both squads have been equivalent.  In this and other ways, he has supported lacrosse in the state of Michigan at the collegiate and other levels during five decades.

Turf is honored for his personal service to lacrosse and for all that his work has fostered.  Turf planted a seed that has  blossomed well.  Alumni of the MSU club and varsity programs have honored and served the game in may ways.  In addition to the notable example of Larry Berger, Turf and his programs have produced coaches, officials, athletic directors and lacrosse administrators in all capacities.  It would be unfair to name all of Turf’s lacrosse progeny and their accomplishments, for fear of overlooking anyone.  It would be easier to name those who did not serve lacrosse in some capacity, but we wouldn’t want to call them out!

In addition to Turf’s lacrosse accomplishments, he is in the American Football Association Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio for his amazing 75-7-2 coaching record in semi-pro football.  He is also in the Susquehanna Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

We celebrate Turf’s accomplishments and everything he has built.  We look forward to his continuing efforts to grow the game and build the institution.

Robert (”Bob”) DiGiovanni started out as a goalie at Lower Merion H.S. in Philadelphia, PA.  He then played goalie for Cornell University from 1960-1963 and won the Cornell University team MVP award in 1963.

Coming to Ann Arbor in 1965, he helped found the University of Michigan team and played for several years before serving as player/coach and finally retiring to just coach the team.  He coached off and on (mostly on) during the 1970’s and before returning to coach full time in 1985 until 1997.  While at Michigan, the team compiled a record of 198 wins and 54 losses, and never had a losing season.  1988 was the “Year of the Family” as his two sons played on the U of M team, a third son was ball boy, and wife Judy was the scorekeeper.  (A role she filled for nearly all of his tenure.)

In the early years, the Michigan lacrosse club was a very loose affiliation of Michigan students and interested lacrosse players from the community.  Bob DiGiovanni moved the club towards an all undergraduate team, starting it on the path to its current varsity club status.

While still coaching at Michigan, Bob founded and coached the Pioneer H.S. Lacrosse team in 1990, and his youngest played as a senior.  He coached the team from 1990 through 1995.  After appearing in the B Division State Championship in 1990, he led Pioneer to the 1992 B Division State Championship which is Pioneer’s only lacrosse championship.

Bob’s three sons, Rob, Chris, and Tony have all played lacrosse at University of Michigan, and Rob continues to play as well as coach youth boys and girls in Northern California.  Bob and Judy have been living outside the country for the past ten years but are returning to Ann Arbor this summer.

Academy International is hosting a premier Girls LAX camp in Northville, MI  August 10-14, 2009.  Academy International instructors are well trained and experienced players.  Join us for a week of lacrosse training and game play.  Register online today!

www.adademyintenational.net   Follow the Registration tab on the left of the page to Michigan camps and Northville Michigan, Aug 10-14.  Hope to see you there!

The South Lyon Lacrosse Boosters/Coaches is sponsoring a lacrosse camp.  For more information click here.

Walled Lake Northern Knight’s Coach-Michael Farkas has put a camp together for the week of July 13th-16th from 6:00-9:30 PM, rain date being the 17th. The cost is $75, very affordable for a 4 day camp. If you know of anyone that might be interested in attending, please forward this on! This camp will be for 3rd-12th graders. Experience is not necessary and equipment can be rented through WLCE, with the exception of helmets (hockey helmets can be used). The camp will take place at Walled Lake Northern’s Campus 6000 Bogie Lake Road, Commerce Township 48382.

Detroit Lacrosse Company will also be there on the first day of camp and the last day of camp for purchasing any items that you might need to play the game.

The Walled Lake Northern LAX CAMP 09 is designed to break down all facets of the game of Lacrosse.  Drawing on the knowledge of both Players and Coaches from the Walled Lake and greater Southeast Michigan area, all of whom have different experience ranging from High School, MCLA, and NCAA lacrosse levels, the WLN LAX CAMP 09 aims to teach and instill all important aspects necessary to become a complete lacrosse player.

All skill levels are welcome, from kids who have never picked up a stick before to those who have been playing for years, everyone has something to learn.  All participants receive equal attention, with groups divided up at the camp based upon age and skill in order to isolate each player’s strengths and weaknesses in order to get the very best out of them.

Special guest coaches will include University of Detroit College Head Coach Matt Holtz and MSU Head Coach Dwayne Hicks.  Current college players will include Tony Maccio MSU Goalie and Patrick Nemes former Syracuse University –Attackman and current MSU Attackman. Also, one of MHSAA top Lacrosse Referee’s will be talking about the evolution of the game and the rules of the games. Parents are encouraged to attend this night.

For registration please contact:
Lisa Hefner at wlnlacrosse2011@aol.com to get an emailed camp flyer or contact Walled Lake Community Education directly:

Walled Lake Community Education
615 North Pontiac Trail
Walled Lake, Michigan 48390
Monday - Friday 8:30AM - 5:00 PM
(248) 956-5000
Camp code: RS09NL