A question that gets many lacrosse fans from Strong Island to give an emphatic “YES!” However, for those who live off this great island, their response can be summed up with a “Here we go again.” If
Let us start by dissecting what is means when us lacrosse nuts say, ‘the best.’
The association between ‘the best’ and ‘largest hotbed’ is evident when lacrosse enthusiasts debate. A lacrosse hotbed includes deep roots in the game in one geographical area, tremendous growth at the youth level with players picking up sticks before they can walk, High School programs who are dedicated to going above and beyond in order to compete during the Spring lacrosse season, and programs unfolding players who go on to become impact players at some of America’s elite lacrosse programs. Using this definition of hot bed, Long Island is no doubt a lacrosse hot-bed.
Ward Melville can be described as a lacrosse rich town with great youth coaching, families who have deep roots in the game, and a High School program that is known for winning championships and producing some of colleges most impactful players! Photo-cred: FLG Lacrosse
Second, the best lacrosse includes sophisticated, persistent, and regimented player development from youth thru High School. Long Island is an example of a geographical area with an over-abundance of moms, dads, and coaches who know and teach the sport. These coaches passion for teaching the game has given athletes on Long Island a chance to learn the game young, play the right way, and go on to excel beyond High School. There are other pockets around America that have parents and grandparents who were raised on the game, now offering their passion and insight to the next generation of stars. Some of these pockets include Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Boston.
Lastly, the best lacrosse includes areas who have people that talk about the game. Philadelphia, for example, has a site (PhillyLacrosse.com) dedicated to promoting the sport, the players, and teams in their area. The Genesee Valley area of New York has a site (BLaxFive.net) with in depth score updates, stats, write-ups, and player commits for every High School lacrosse program in the area. On Long Island, FLG’s digital magazine (Long Island Lacrosse Journal) previews every High School team on Long Island, includes key returners with highlight videos, coaches interviews, games of the week, and much more. Media surrounding the sport of lacrosse is growing, especially in some of America’s top hot beds. National networks, such as the Lax Sports Net (LSN) are doing a great job covering the sport Nationally at all levels, youth, high school, college, professional, and indoor.
While it’s up for debate who has ‘the best’ lacrosse, it’s evident that many pockets around the country have some really good lacrosse. For FLG, the rise and interest surrounding the sport has created this urge to talk more and more about it. Besides FLG’s digital magazine, blog posts, weekly email updates on lacrosse on Long Island, we are rolling out a LIVE STREAMED show via YouTube & Facebook called Beyond The Game. This new platform will not only give us an opportunity to talk about the sport, but we can now connect and share linchpins, mavons, coaches, experts, professionals, and enthusiasts surround the game itself.
Be sure to follow FLG Lacrosse on Instagram to stay in the loop on everything we are doing to promote the game in ‘the best’ area of the country ; )
