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Drop the D’s

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

Whenever we talk to high school lacrosse recruits, we always say drop the D’s when researching schools. Meaning, when doing your research, don’t worry about whether a lacrosse program is Division I, II, or III.

Lacrosse recruit: But, I want to play for a Division I lacrosse program?

FLG: Why?

Lacrosse recruit: I want to travel across the country to play games, I want a more serious lacrosse experience, I want to play with talented players…

At this point, we must interject. It’s fine for an athlete to want all these things. However, it’s wrong to think you can only get these things playing for a Division I program.

Today, I got a chance to attend the Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) Men’s Lacrosse practice. This group flew from Delaware, Ohio to Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island to compete against Messiah College for a non-conference game. Tonight they go to Black Stone steak house, one of the finest restaurants on Long Island. Tomorrow they play a game and fly back on a chartered plane from Republic Airport.

When I first arrived at practice Head Coach, Mike Plantholt, handed me a practice plan with a minute to minute break-down of drills, description of offensive and defensive concepts, offensive and defensive depth chart with positions, last names, and jersey numbers, a complete list of injured players with job descriptions for each guy, reminders for the team, and freshman duties.

During practice, I saw nothing but athletes with speed and quickness. OWU’s style of play…fast!

Ohio Wesleyan is a Division III University that competes in the NCAC for Conference Championships year after year, this group experiences playing in NCAA playoff games, and they look to compete for a NCAA National Championship.

An athlete that only wants to play DI doesn’t know about OWU.

Advice to lacrosse recruits:

Drop the D’s
Do your research
See what OWU is all about ↓

For more photos from OWU’s practice today, check us out on facebook.

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Give Your Mind a Break

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

Give your mind a break.

All day it’s on.

Firing.

Thinking.

Connecting.

Re-wiring.

Wandering.

Dreaming.

Working.

Pulsing.

Put down that screen.

Turn off what your watching.

Just breathe.

Tomorrow is another day.

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Evaluating What’s Best For Your Athletes

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

Every February break, the FLG Directors meet with each boy/girl recruitable athlete in the FLG Select Program. In our meetings, it’s all about the athlete. We use this time to get to know our athletes on a deeper level.

We like to say, “Lacrosse is why you’re sitting here today. That being said, it’s your interests, passions, and academic expectations that gives a better understanding of what you want in your college experience.”

These meetings aren’t all about lacrosse. They are about getting our athletes on the right path. We want our families to channel their efforts in the right direction. No wasted time. No wasted money. No false hopes.

We shoot it straight.

We ask questions.

We listen.

We make suggestions.

We give advice.

We share stories.

We target schools.

We make a plan of action.

We stay in touch.

We never stop.

We let our families know that we are here to help and guide. We aren’t here to take credit for your son or daughter’s commit. There are so many resources out there for families to use. Guidance counsellors in school, an old youth coach, a neighbor, a twitter account. Take advantage of them, don’t let your club be your only resource or the end-all, be-all.

For more information on what we discuss with our athletes, don’t hesitate to reach out! We too want other clubs, high schools, and teams to build more than just athletes.

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FLG to launch Long Island Lacrosse Journal

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

This Spring, FLG Lacrosse will be launching the Long Island Lacrosse Journal. The LI Lax Journal will include pre-season rankings, coach and player interviews, team previews, games of the week, players to watch, key losses, video highlights, opinions, and much more.

Stay tuned for the March 1st release of pre-season team rankings for the top 16 teams in Nassau & Suffolk County Boys teams!

Be sure to follow FLG Lacrosse on Instagram & Twitter @flglax for more information on FLG’s #LILaxJournal

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The True Meaning of Commitment

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

In our program, we don’t promote the committed players from our program until they sign their National Letter of Intent or get into the school they are verbally committed to. As players in High School begin to ‘commit’, it’s important for FLG to educate our players on the true meaning of ‘commitment.’ In the eyes of FLG Lacrosse, one might ask, “What is the true meaning of commitment?”

Developing each year in High School as a student and athlete is commitment.

Staying with the community you were raised and developed in is commitment.

Giving back to your community, club, or the game itself is commitment.

Learning about your future home and supporting your future school is commitment.

Fighting to make your teammates better each and every day is commitment.

Verbally telling a coach, “I want to go to your school” is the beginning of a road towards fining the true meaning of committing. It’s a means to the end. It’s not everything.

Below we’ve listed the 2017 studletes who are signed, sealed, and committed to taking their talents to the next level. These studletes know the true meaning of commitment. They’ve worked tirelessly to get an amazing opportunity to play collegiate lacrosse. Congrats to all the great young men and women in the FLG 2017 class who are moving on to play college lacrosse!

Girls

Karline Bartels – Molloy
Jillian Mayer – Manhattan
Grace Steinthal – Manhattan
Alexa Ritchie – Ithaca
GinMarie Wilson – Hartwick
Gabrielle Picolo – Bloomsburg St.
Giana Kapoosuzian – Bryant
Jess Losquadro – St. Bonaventure
Kristen Decicco – LeMoyne
Maggie Bridges – Sewanee
Megan Keener – Adelphi
Talia Maccarino – Molloy

Boys

Nolan Parisi – George Washington
Jack Gatto – Franklin & Marshall
Brian Schindler – Wagner
Jared Strauss – Williams
Connor Griffin – Suny Geneseo
John Mandola – Adelphi
Justin Malpica – Manhattan
Peter Scavone – Suny Brockport
Ryan McAllister – LIU Post
Tommy Whelan – Wesleyan
Rob Connors – Suny Oswego
Kyle Higgins – M.I.T.
Mark Rafuse – Lycoming
David Loehle – Salisbury
Brody Agres – St. Johns
Joe Miller – Navy
Liam McAuliffe – Fairfield
Chris Gray – Boston University
Kevin Mack – Michigan
Phil Puccio – Bucknell
Christian Kuhn – Air Force

Be sure to follow FLG Lacrosse on instagram @flglax to see action shots, high schools, and positions for all our 2017 committed studletes! #LoveTheGame

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The Mask You Live In

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

Teacher Ashanti Branch created an after school program which was started because he noticed a trend of smart middle school boys failing his math class. The boys responded as most do in this particular school in a very rough part of Oakland, “You don’t get any respect walking around with a big heavy backpack, that’s not cool.” In an effort to get these young men to become more successful students, learn to express their emotions, and figure out healthier ways to “be cool,” Mr. Branch performed the following exercise:

Mr. Branch: “I want you to take one of these masks [a piece of paper with the outline of a mask on 1 side, and blank space on the other] and on this mask you’re gonna draw what represents you. On the front of that mask draw what you put up every day when you walk into school that you want other people to see. Then, on the back of that mask, I want you to write what’s inside you that you don’t want others to see. Like, what’s behind the mask? Now, I want you to take your mask and ball it up. Throw that ball across the room at one of your classmates. Pick-up the piece of paper that was thrown at you, and let’s have someone read what’s on that paper.”

As the 10 boys sitting in the circle start reading what’s on the front of their classmates masks there is a common theme:

Funny

Caring

Happy

Smile

Friendly

Fun

Mr. Branch: “Now, I want you guys to start reading what’s written on the back of the mask that’s in your hands.”

Again, a common theme emerged. This time, very different types of emotions.

Sadness

Fear

Anger

Pain

Scared

Mr. Branch: “Why do you think we hold back our pain?”

One of the student responds, “Because you gotta keep your poker face on, you can’t let people know what you got.”

Mr. Branch responds: “How hard is that to walk around every day with that poker face on? This isn’t just an activity on paper, this is about real stuff that we are dealing with as young men that we hide behind because we don’t feel safe. Almost 90% of you have pain and anger on the back of that paper, that’s not a coincidence. That is real. We are only 8 here, there are hundreds out there with same experience but they don’t have any one to talk to. They are holding back, because they don’t have someone asking what’s up with you? How can I support you? I want each of you to be able to say what you need to say. Because if we are ever going to dig down to the deepness of our pain, young men, if are ever going to dig down to the anger that we are holding behind so we don’t just end up like another man in jail because we exploded on the wrong person for the wrong thing. We have got to have a safe place to deal with it. That’s brotherhood.”

You can learn more about how Mr. Ashanti Branch and many others are impacting the lives of young men for the better by watching the documentary The Mask You Live In on Netflix.

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FLG Cribs – Chris Roufanis, Arizona State

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

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The Rivalry

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

Garden City-Manhasset in lacrosse, Duke-UNC in basketball, Yankees-Red Sox in baseball. These are all classic examples of rivalries in sports.

One of the best aspects of playing sports at the High School, College or Professional levels…rivalry games. These games give players an emotional high. It gives teams bragging rights for months or year to come. It gives sports organizations a prominent place in history.

It’s interesting to think where rivalries come from, how they form, and how they stick.

When you think of Duke-UNC, you have two colleges in close proximity. 1 school traditionally fun, cool, and flashy. The other smart, focused, and unassuming. Schools vastly differ, basketball programs both looking to achieve competitive greatness.
When you look at Yankees-Red Sox, you have two professional sports teams in the same conference. 1 organization located in a city that thinks its better than any other. The other organization located in a city representing the under-dog and blue collar man.
In lacrosse, Manhasset-Garden City brings together two teams from similar towns separated by a 10 to 15 miles stretch. Both with families who have a rich lacrosse history and choose to invest a significant amount of time and money towards developing their kids in the sport.

As rivalries form for different reasons, the fans always play a huge role in keeping them alive. From synchronized chants to orchestrated hand movements, fans look to distract the opponent and influence the game for the betterment of their team.

Tonight, tune into ESPN tonight and watch the end of one the greatest living rivalries in sports.

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Where Does Confidence Come From?

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

Back in 2012, when I first started working at FLG Lacrosse, I struggled.

For the first time, I assumed a role where my weaknesses vastly outweighed my strengths. Getting on the telephone to talk to consumers, dealing with collections, organizing teams so they can have a successful year; all was new to me and all I was not very good at. Overall, I wasn’t very confident my own abilities to do my job right.

As a player, I was usually very confident. But, not always. There were moments when I’d get exposed on the field. Exposed after going up against someone better, bigger, stronger, or more experienced. Exposed by my college coaches when I’d try the same things that worked for me in High School. Exposed when I thought my IQ for the game could never be surpassed by someone younger than me.

Each time my weaknesses were exposed, my confidence was tested, and my pride challenged. These moments got me thinking, “where does confidence come from?”

After pondering this question for years and working at FLG for nearly 12 months (2012 to 2013), I created what I called The FLG Confidence Model. This model creates a full circle that takes you through the when, why, what, and where confidence comes from. It’s something that I’ve used personally to grow as an employee at FLG, as a man at home, and as a coach for those on my team.

In the model, you will see how preparation, practice, repetition, and improvement prove to be the cornerstones for developing a sense of confidence. The beauty of this model, it works on and off the field. Which is exactly our goal at FLG – building more than just athletes.

Check out our confidence model below and feel free to let us know what you think!

The FLG Confidence Model

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FLG in 3d Fall Shootout PROMO by Lax.com

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Corey Winkoff

Featuring over 80 teams from across the United States and several from Canada, the FLG in 3D Fall Shootout was held in Middletown, Delaware at Appoquinimink High School. Played in front of coaches from the top DI, DII, and DIII schools, the two-day long event was one of the most highly anticipated recruiting events of the fall. In the fourth year of its partnership, FLG in 3d was started as a way to give lacrosse teams of any experience level and players of any talent level, the chance to compete in front of college recruiters that might not be exposed to in their hometowns. Along with STX, the official partner of 3d Lacrosse, Lax.com was on hand for the entire tournament. Check out Part Two of our highlights from the action featuring teams like Edge Canada, Predators 2019, 3D Georgia 2019, Philly Freedom 2018, and much more!

Shout out to Lax.com for putting together this awesome promo on the event, enjoy!

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