He was so excited about engaging with players and coaches who were moving him to play better and work harder, especially hearing Coach Alberici's Speech. 

As the sun rose over the Hudson Sports Complex in Warwick, NY, hundreds of players, parents, coaches, professional players geared up for what was to be an incredible weekend of learning, development and competition. The anticipation of getting some of the best players from around the country was palpable! The full list of coaches, PLL/MLL players and guest speakers were:

Mark Messier - NHL Hall-of-Famer, 6x Stanley Cup Champion
LCDR Evan Sullivan
Alex Gephart, Captain, US Army
Joe Alberici - Head Coach, Army West Point

Duke - Ron Caputo, Defensive Coordinator
UNC - Dave Metzbower, Offensive Coordinator
Army - Joe Alberici, Head Coach
Fairfield - Andrew Baxter, Head Coach
Hobart - Greg Raymond, Head Coach
Rutgers - Brian Brecht, Head Coach
UPenn - Mike Abbot, Associate Head Coach
Yale - Ed Williams, Assistant Coach
Johns Hopkins - Daniel Annino, Assistant Coach
UMBC - Joe Bucci, Assistant Coach
Bucknell - Ryan Danehy, Assistant Coach
Navy - Rob Camposa, Assistant Coach

PLL/MLL Players
Zed Williams - PLL Whipsnakes, MVP of 2020 Season
Matt Rambo - PLL Whipsnakes, MVP of 2019
Austin Pifani - PLL Atlas
Kyle Bernlohr - PLL Whipsnakes, 2X PLL Champ
Blaze Riorden - PLL Chaos, 2020 & 2019 Oren Lyons PLL Goalie of the Year 
Jim Fahey - MLL, Defense Factory
Frank Brown - NLL Bandits
Chris Aslanian - MLL Outlaws
Pat Aslanian - MLL Outlaws

To kick things off Saturday morning for the event, Mark Messier spoke to all players and parents about leadership, humility, and hard work. Following on the heels of Messier, LCDR Evan Sullivan then spent time speaking to everyone about the important lessons being taught every day on the field, and how they would transfer to real life. It was important for players and parents to understand that the knowledge they would garner over the course of the next 48 hours would aim to serve them long after their playing careers.

After a thorough and inspirational dynamic warmup from Coach Na'ati Akauola , the boys received individual and small group instruction from the best players and coaches in the world. Matt Rambo and Zed Williams took the attackmen, Frank Brown and Chris Aslanian coached the midfielders, Austin Pifani and Jim Fahey took the defenseman and the goalies worked with Blaze Riorden and Kyle Bernlohr. Sprinkled throughout all the drills were some of the nations very best college coaches. For the next hour and a half the players were given the very best coaching tips and instruction you could possibly get.

After breaking out into skills players got into gameplay and that’s when the real fun started. The atmosphere of the event was high paced and full of electricity. Coaches and players were getting fired up for the little plays, and really celebrating the big ones. Each of the teams was coached by pro players, and Matt Rambos team Alpha seemed to lead the pack. While the event had a lot of top level talent a few clubs sent players that seemed just as talented as seasoned HS starters. 

From the start there were four clubs that impressed above any other BBL, Team MN, Thunder LB3, and The Socal bulls. BBL players seemed to be making highlights all weekend. Chase Houser, an attackmen from BBL, seemed to have his own highlight reel on the offensive end, and his teammate Will Pendicano was a stud on defense. Play after play the BBL boys were contributing to their teams success, and coaches took notice. Another elite program bringing guys all the way from the Midwest was Team MN. Leading the group of Minnesota boys was Kevin Graff. Graff did It all on attack and looks to be a natural born leader with the ball in his stick. Hailing all the way from Georgia, Thunder LB3 players showed up to play this weekend. Led by Gavin Young and Liam Banks Jr. these boys made a habit of putting the ball in the back of the net. Outstanding play from midfielders Luke Kelly (3D New England), Carson Eustay  (Penguins) and Trey Clayton (Laxachussetts) was also very noticeable. An incredibly skilled player from Upstate New York, Winter Rivera was making defenses look silly all weekend, his box lacrosse background and stick skills were on full display!

Rounding out the list of top clubs was the SoCal Bulls. Defensemen Eli Ray dominated on the ground and was in offensive players hands all weekend long. The coolest story from this weekend involved an MVP from the SoCal Bulls Lincoln Herring.

Sunday morning the players arrived to another Guest Speaker, Former Army West Point Lacrosse Captain and current US Army Captain Alex Gephart. Captain Gephart spoke to the boys Sunday morning before Day 2 got underway. Using several real-life anecdotes, Captain Gephart hammered home the important lessons you learn from playing sports and how they will serve you later on in life. With this in mind, the boys again rolled into another incredible morning session of learning with the college coaches and staff.

MVP HELMET WINNERS
 

LIAM BANKS, ATTACK, LB3 THUNDER

ELI RAY, DEFENSE, SOCAL BULLS

GAVIN YOUNG, MIDFIELD, LB3 THUNDER

TREY CLAYTON, MIDFIELD, LAXACHUSETTES

NOLAN SABEL, MIDFIELD, BBL

WILL PEDICANO, DEFENSE, BBL

DILLION LICHT, MIDFIELD, ALBANY POWER

LINCOLN HERRING, ATTACK, SOCALL BULLS

ANTHONY DRAGO, DEFENSE, BBL

PRESTON HAWKINS, GOALIE, RESOLUTE

KEVIN GRAFF, ATTACK, TEAM MINNESOTA

WINTER RIVERA, ATTACK, GOWANDA

LUKE KELLY, MIDFIELD, 3D NEW ENGLAND

By the end of gameplay on Sunday, all players and parents were sad for the weekend to be over. Everyone recognized just how special the previous 48 hours had been. The amount of heartfelt and genuine" Thank You's" between players, coaches and parents made for a very long break-down!

Players and families congregated on the grassy knoll at the end of the weekend for what was to be our final guest speaker, Coach Joe Alberici from Army West Point. Coach Alberici spoke to the players and parents about what it truly means to be a "Tough Guy" and how it permeates into every day life. This speech was a fitting end to the weekend as he emphasized Character, Discipline and Courage. 

On behalf of everyone from Apex, we would like to thank all the players for an Incredible Weekend! We are looking forward to the next Futures event, stay tuned!

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