Below is a news release from US Lacrosse about the upcoming Hall of Fame ceremony and this year's inductees. It concentrates on the Baltimore inductees -- Dick Watts, Pat Dillon and George Tracy -- but I'd like to point out that Tom Marechek has made his home in the Baltimore area for 20 years now and is a Baltimore guy to me.

I thought you'd enjoy a couple of anecdotes about some of the inductees. I don't know them all but some like Marechek and Virginia coach Dom Starsia are quite familiar to most lacrosse fans.

The best Marechek story I know is really a story about how he made his way from Western Canada to Syracuse, which is where he started his U.S. Hall of Fame career. Here goes -- Gary and Paul Gait were recruited to upstate New York by Roy Simmons Jr. and had a fabulous first year. They lost to Cornell in the NCAA tournament semifinals that year, if memory serves, in a brilliant game by both squads. Hopkins beat Cornell in the final, played at Rutgers. But by the end of that season, the Gaits were established as huge stars, even as freshmen.

After that season, the story goes, one or both of the Gaits approached Simmons and asked if he had been pleased with their performance on the field that year. Simmons laughed and said he was very pleased, knowing that the two would be the cornerstone of a Syracuse surge over the next few years. The Gaits responded with a simple follow up, "'Cause y'know, you left the shooter at home." The shooter was Marechek, who had played with the Gaits back in Vancouver and was, in their opinion, one of the reasons for their great success there. Simmons took heed and brought Marechek to Syracuse the next year. The rest is history.

Marechek is easily the best closer I have ever seen. He's a trick artist that actually converts his moves into points. In a club game or maybe an MLL game I once saw him do the "Celebration Move," where he fakes the shot so well that the keeper thinks its already passed him for a score. Marechek raised his hands, pumping in the air as if he'd scored and while the goalie hung his head thinking he'd lost the point, Marechek revealed that he still had the ball and placed it softly past the completely fooled keeper. It was a truly original moment.

Marechek was a truly innovative scorer who kept his streak alive for years. At one point I think he was the oldest player in the MLL and had a stellar season, helping the Bayhawks to a championship and Canada to a world title. He will go down as one of the greatest indoor pros ever and thrilled Philly fans for years. Many in Philadelphia still wear No. 42 jerseys at games.

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For a long time, I did not know who Pat Dillon was, but I would see her everywhere during my work for E-Lacrosse over the years. She was one of the most prolific referees in the women's game and seemed to be involved in every big game and many small ones. I learned later that she was a leader in the women’s game and very involved in the growth and organization of the game. She's a great lady and it's nice to see a ref get some recognition at the highest level.

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Dick Watts is one of the funniest guys I have ever seen coach and was the organizer of one of the summer leagues I used to play in when I was in college. I remember that in my best individual year of lacrosse I shared the lead in scoring in the Loch Raven league with Jeff Wills, who was heading off to Johns Hopkins the next year, with one game left to play in the summer league – the championship. I had never come close to such an honor before, but Willsy had like seven goals in the final, while I had five. Wills won the scoring title, but Watts offered me some of the most encouraging words I've ever heard after the contest. He told me that he respected the fact that I had played to win, feeding teammates when I could have tried to amass points in that final by going to the cage. I had never won a championship and wanted that far more than the scoring title, but having won neither, only Watts relieved my disappointment that day.

Watts is still a bigwig in Baltimore. I was standing outside the scorer's trailer at the recent Senior Players Championship at Baltimore Country Club only a couple weeks ago on the final day. I skipped back from the 18th hole every once in a while to get an autograph or two from some of my all-time favorite golfers, like Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw. At some point, an official from the tournament came out of the trailer with some signed photographs in special portfolios -- very official and a prized memento that I envied. The official walked past all of us by the trailer and greeted a man who was with some young kids. He handed the man those signed photos and thanked him for something. The man smiled and looked up and I was stunned to see that it was Dick Watts.

I have no idea what his affiliation was with a golf event but he was beaming when he received the framed photo signed by Crenshaw, I imagine. Half of me wanted to shout something like, "Somebody ought to get his autograph!" or "Do you know who that is? That's Dick Watts, one of the greats in my sport!" But the prevailing half just admired a man who had a great career in lacrosse while being such a fan of golf that an autograph meant so much.

Watts coached like that. He was a fan of the game as much as a star. I'm guessing he can play some golf, too. He was never bad at anything. He was a very effective coach and especially during games. I've seen him win games he should have lost badly with his UMBC teams.

One of the funniest things I've ever seen in a college game was Watts getting himself removed from a game to motivate his team. He's done it before and usually pulled a sideline tirade to get the hook. On this occasion, Joe "Spanky" Reppert was the official, who is also one of the funniest men in the game. Spanky would tell the crowd a joke between plays in summer league games. He's as much fun to watch as any game. On this day, Watts wanted to be ejected -- his team needed a boost and he'd sacrifice himself to give them a chance that day. He was very familiar with Spanky, having known him for years, but as he walked onto the field in some emotional response to a play, Spanky approached him, warning that Watts would be ejected if he did not return to the sideline. I just remember Watts yelling, "Give it to me, Spunky," and the ejection came immediately. Watts smiled, gave a knowing look to his assistants and left the playing area as if he'd just won the game. His team played better in every way from that moment on.

He had succeeded at motivating a team of fragile confidence and gave them a chance to win that day. I remember that as an influential moment in my lacrosse development. It was my first look at an intentional ejection and that kind of coaching strategy and it stuck with me. I never did it as a coach but considered it many times calling it the "Watts Move” in my brain.

Congratulations to all of this year’s inductees but a special thanks to Watts, who really influenced me at a young age as a coach and league organizer.

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Here's the unedited US Lacrosse release:

Three Baltimore Area Stand-Outs to be Inducted into 2008 National Lacrosse Hall of Fame

BALTIMORE- US Lacrosse will be inducting the Class of 2008 into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 8 at the Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md. Pat Dillon and George Tracy of the Greater Baltimore area and Dick Watts of Annapolis will be inducted at the black tie optional reception and induction ceremony commencing at 5:00 p.m. The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Induction Celebration honors men and women, past and present, whose lives have deeply impacted and contributed to the game of lacrosse.

Pat Dillon, a top-rated college and high school official, and a dedicated national and local leader in lacrosse organizations, has given her devotion to the sport and helped nurture its growth at all levels over the last 25 years. She was introduced to the sport at Towson, playing on the newly formed women's lacrosse team, and began her umpiring career in 1983. By 1989, Dillon earned a National rating and went on to officiate at the championship level in both high school and college. She has a well-earned reputation as one of the sport's best officials. Her contributions, however, extend well beyond the playing lines. She recently completed a decade of service on the Executive Committee of the US Lacrosse Board of Directors, serving as chair of the organization from 2004 to 2006. Prior to that, she also served on the board of the USWLA. Dillon has served as chair of the US Lacrosse Rules Committee since 1991 and as secretary/rules editor of the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Rules Committee since 2006. She is a longtime member of the board of directors for the Potomac Chapter of US Lacrosse, currently serving as its treasurer. She also served on the National Umpiring Committee for 10 years and as the chair of the Washington Lacrosse Umpires Association from 1985 to 2003. Dillon was inducted into the US Lacrosse Potomac Chapter Hall of Fame in 2004. She is being inducted as a truly great contributor.

George Tracy, a three-time All-American, was one of the leaders on Navy teams that captured three consecutive USILA national championships from 1961 to 1963. An attackman and midfielder, Tracy was captain of the 1963 team and played in that year’s North-South game, scoring three goals. Tracy developed his early lacrosse skills on Baltimore's Bolton Hill, inspired in part by his lacrosse cousins, the Corrigans. A three-sport athlete at Loyola High School who also played football and ice hockey, Tracy contributed two goals to help Loyola win the final MSA hockey championship in 1956. Tracy's awards include the U.S. Naval Academy's Stuart Oxnard Miller Memorial Lacrosse Cup (1963), the Navy Commendation Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal (three stars) and the National Defense Service Medal. Following his collegiate career, Tracy played and coached for 15 years on the club level in five different states. He has been inducted into the USNA Athletic and US Lacrosse Greater Baltimore chapter halls of fame. Tracy is being inducted as a truly great player.

Dick Watts, an outstanding player, coach, administrator and supporter, has been dedicated to the sport and its growth throughout his life. Watts earned All-America honors as a defenseman at Johns Hopkins and played in the 1956 USILA North-South game. Following college, he remained an active player on the Mt. Washington Club team. He was a coach at the high school, collegiate and club level, enjoying his greatest success at UMBC, where he coached from 1971 to 1993. He led the Retrievers to the 1980 NCAA Division II championship when he was named the USILA’s Coach of the Year. Watts was a member of the US Lacrosse Foundation Board of Directors from 1977 to 1980 and again from 1984 to 1986. He served as USILA President from 1974-76 and was a member of the organization’s Executive Board from 1967 to 1994. He was the first president of the US Lacrosse Greater Baltimore chapter and also chaired the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Committee from 1981 to 1986. Watts has been inducted into the UMBC Athletic and US Lacrosse Greater Baltimore chapter halls of fame. He is being inducted as a truly great contributor.

The rest of the 2008 Lacrosse Hall of Fame Induction Class consists of Roberta Brennan, Lynn Craun, Tom Marechek, Chris Sailer, and Dom Starsia. For biographies and backgrounds on the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Class of 2008, please visit http://www.uslacrosse.org/news/2008/hofclass08.phtml.

The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame was established in 1957 to honor men and women based on outstanding lacrosse achievement and contribution to the game. More than 325 lacrosse greats are honored in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, which is located in the Lacrosse Museum at US Lacrosse Headquarters in Baltimore.

Tickets to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fall Induction Celebration can be purchased at www.uslacrosse.org/events.

This is an e-mail exchange between a reader and me:

Dear John,

My friends on my team started taping the butt ends like an inch higher than the end of the shaft to make it shorter while playing, but does it take power and speed off the shot?

Thanks, Kenny

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Dear Kenny,

What do you mean, making it shorter?

-- John

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Dear John,

I meant to say speed and power off the shot because they essentially made the shaft shorter by taping the butt end higher on the shaft.

Thanks, Kenny

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Dear Kenny,

I'm not sure I understand. I mean what are they doing exactly?

-- John

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John,

They were putting tape maybe 2 inches higher than the end of the shaft and pretty much making it shorter because our hands will be choked up on the shaft. And I was wondering if that would slow down the shot since we're using a smaller portion of it.

-- Kenny

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Dear Kenny,

Now I get it. And you are right about the loss of power using less of the shaft's leverage in your shot. But you want to use the whole shaft for other reasons, too. You never want to leave that butt end hanging as check bait anyway. If your bottom hand is on the bottom part of the shaft, nobody can check it. When a player chokes up on the shaft in a two-handed cradling situation, that's when we get those helicopter checks you see where the stick leaves the player's hands and spins around a couple times in the air before landing. That's embarrassing, letting a defender look that good so easily. -- John

Well, last weekend another successful Lacrosse for Leukemia Tournament was held at St. Paul's School and a milestone was reached. After 11 years of holding the event, the $1 million dollar mark was reached for total giving. Orange wrist bands, commemorating the life of one young man who recently lost his battle with Leukemia, were everywhere as a reminder of how serious this fight is. The crowds were good, the weather was beautiful, the lacrosse was terrific, but the stars were the kids with Leukemia who inspired us all day long, each of them possessing more worldly maturity than most adults and carrying more than we would ever wish for a child to bear. But their disease is a fact they deal with every day (Read my previous post, which includes an interview with John Valenti, father of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia survivor Matthew Valenti).

As far as the action went, I saw pretty good fall efforts from Delaware, St. John’s, Towson, Rutgers and UMBC, as well as the Hopkins, Maryland, Rutgers and Loyola women’s teams. I only caught a moment of the Penn State and Towson women’s teams, which was a shame. The Towson coach, Missy Foote, was instrumental in getting the women's teams involved this year from what I hear. And the women’s teams really responded to the kids there. The Loyola team warmed up in T-shirts devoted to one of the kids. The Towson team brought their honored teammate, a little girl fighting cancer, a wagon filled with gifts. Seeing her rip apart the wrapping paper on her gifts and the reactions of the Towson team gathered around was special and embodied the spirit of the event. It’s really about these kids who are at the varsity level of life’s struggle at such young ages.

While a million dollars is a lot of money, I would have thought after 11 years, we all might have raised a bit more. Lacrosse is a rich game, played by rich people. When I look at the faces of those kids and hear the words of those female lacrosse players who lost their friend to the disease (the first video below), I feel like our game as a whole could do more. I am not criticizing the charity or the teams that participate -- they are stellar and have earned my respect and gratitude for their good works. But perhaps we all could dig a bit deeper and give ‘til it hurts. Even you can still help. If you enjoy the videos below, you can still show your appreciation and give to this great cause at these links:

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Matthews Foundation

Emotional ceremony at the tournament:

Towson vs. Rutgers men's lacrosse at the tournament:

UMBC vs. Mount St. Mary's men's lacrosse at the tournament:

Delaware vs. St. John's men's lacrosse at the tournament:

Maryland vs. Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse at the tournament:

Loyola vs. Rutgers women's lacrosse at the tournament:

The biggest coaching change in the offseason was the move from Ohio State to North Carolina by Baltimore’s own Joe Breschi. Breschi, a North Carolina alumnus, led the Buckeyes into the upper echelon of college lacrosse over the past decade, and has always been a friend of E-Lacrosse. When Breschi first took over at OSU, E-Lacrosse enlisted him to write NCAA tournament previews as his team wasn't in the field. We were so pleased when Breschi could no longer do that job because he had the Buckeyes in the playoffs. In the era of static or even diminishing big-college coaching opportunities, the North Carolina job opening was huge. Breschi was one of only a few that I thought would have a chance at this amazing post. And as you’ll see in the interview below, he is just the person to bring the UNC program back into the top tier of college lacrosse. I can’t imagine a Joe Breschi North Carolina program taking more than a few years to make the final four and perhaps even take the crown.

John Weaver: Congratulations! I know you loved OSU, but you’ve been a UNC guy for a long time. Does it feel like home?

Joe Breschi: Thanks, John. It's beginning to feel like home ... but home is getting the family settled, and my wife, Julie, and the girls are getting in the groove this fall. The players and administration have been terrific, so things are coming together very smoothly.

Are you still on a honeymoon of sorts or has the real work started?

Joe Breschi: I think the honeymoon ended the day I took the job. Between moving my family, hiring my staff and organizing the fall schedule, I had to hit the ground running. I'm surrounded by great people in assistant coaches Pat Myers, Greg Paradine and Brian Holman, and together we are as passionate about the Carolina family as anyone on campus. We are pinning our ears back, attacking this new opportunity to take UNC lacrosse to the top with everything we have. What's not to love about living in Chapel Hill or going to school in the best college lacrosse town in America? We've had a lot to do this fall. Implementing a new philosophy and system into a program always takes more time, but the players have embraced it every step of the way and I'm very impressed with their passion for success.

Who took over the Ohio State program? Will they be OK? I understand you will play them in the spring.

Joe Breschi: Nick Myers, my longtime assistant took over at OSU. He will do an awesome job there. Nick is passionate about the game and people. I know the program is in great hands as long as Nick is coaching the Buckeyes. We will continue to play OSU yearly in the Baltimore area for a couple reasons. We started a bull roast three years ago the Friday before the game for parents and alumni of both programs to help raise money for my late son Michael's memorial scholarship at Ohio State. Secondly, it's a neutral travel destination for both teams and we can drive there. Finally, it's fertile recruiting grounds where both teams have had success attracting stellar student-athletes from the Baltimore area.

Last year you played UNC and beat them for the first time. Did they subscribe to the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” theory when they hired you?

Joe Breschi: No, I think we (at Ohio State) had a solid team with great senior leaders who stepped up and played a great game. I remember how hard we played and I was extremely proud of the assistant coaches and the team's effort throughout the day, which in turn helped us have a terrific season!

Do you have specific expectations for your team in Year One? Year Two?

Joe Breschi: I'm a huge fan of taking one "play" at a time, much less one game at a time. The bar has been raised by the staff and players, so I think the expectations are what we as a team determine they are each week in preparation for the next opponent. I do know that we will play hard and fast each game, and the coaching staff will have the team mentally and physically prepared to compete.

How has the recruiting response been?

Joe Breschi: I'm very proud of the coaching staff and our effort to find the best student-athletes in the country to join the Tar Heels lacrosse family. When you’re selling what we feel is the best university in college lacrosse, it really makes our job a lot more about building great relationships and trust with prospects. With that being said, the staff has attacked recruiting with everything we have and that has really made an enormous difference in the interest we've generated.

Will you tap into the traditional UNC pipelines in Baltimore and the traditional Breschi pipelines, too? In other words, will we see a lot of Loyola and Calvert Hall kids in blue?

Joe Breschi: John, I want the best people in Carolina Blue. Our staff will recruit across the country to find the best student-athletes to be a part of the Carolina lacrosse family. There are a lot of great players out there and our goal is to find the best students, players and people who have the drive to be champions both on and off the field.

UNC has always been a family team -- lots of kids on the sidelines. Does this continue under the Breschi era?

Joe Breschi: Yes, with my four girls all under age seven, there is no doubt there will be kids on the sidelines for years to come! Carolina lacrosse is the blueprint for a family experience. We break our huddles each day with "family," which tells you a little bit about the character of these young men and their brotherhood.

Speaking of family, we all know of the tragedy your family went through and how you turned it into as much a positive as possible with the Michael Breschi scholarship at Ohio State. Will that continue? How will you stay involved?

Joe Breschi: We started a bull roast three years ago the Friday before the UNC-OSU game for parents and alumni of both programs to help raise money for my late son Michael's memorial scholarship at Ohio State. Mike's scholarship is currently the largest athletic memorial scholarship at OSU, something my wife and I are truly honored by. My family and I are fortunate that this event will continue with coach Myers being at OSU.

How is your family adapting to Chapel Hill?

Joe Breschi: We are adapting well to the move to Chapel Hill. I don't think you really get settled for a year or two, but since Chapel Hill is such a college town, Julie and I have found our way around pretty easy. We are also fortunate that so many alumni have stayed in the area, and they have helped us with the transition.

What’s your goal for the fall?

Joe Breschi: As a staff, the goal of the fall was to get a chance to meet the team and get to know the guys personally. They are terrific young men and they trust the direction we are taking them. Secondly, we wanted to implement our philosophy and system for the program. Although we have only scratched the surface of who we will be as a team this spring, we focused on playing hard, fast and smart in the fall. We know that confidence will come as the guys continue to understand schemes and systems as we move forward. Finally, we wanted to attack recruiting from all ends in trying to land the best people and student-athletes in the country.

Whenever I call down there, the team is in the weight room? Will this team be pumped up?

Joe Breschi: I hope so. These guys are working hard to get bigger, stronger and faster for the spring season. I'm extremely pleased with their effort and appreciate their passion for success.

If there's a Breschi mantra that you bring to a team, what is that and does it change at UNC?

Joe Breschi: "Family." Everyone who joins the Tar Heels lacrosse program will be a part of the UNC family for life. Carolina has always been a special place to go to school but our staff hopes to make everyone's (players, alumni, parents) experience a great one.

Can UNC be a contender in a couple years? What do you have to do to make that happen?

Joe Breschi: Any time you coach a team or compete at a very high level, you need to set goals for the program. Obviously, if we work hard as a staff and the players execute, we can do just that.

Is this the only job you would have left Ohio State for?

Joe Breschi: Yes, at this time in our family’s life, UNC is the only place I would have left Columbus for.

Is there a difference between the program-building that you did at Ohio State and bringing back a great program at UNC?

Joe Breschi: I believe in the family philosophy behind building a program and that was the same approach I took at Ohio State. It’s truly about the experience for the student--athlete.

The 11th-annual Price Modern Lacrosse for Leukemia Fall Invitational Tournament will be held this Saturday, Oct. 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s School in Brooklandville, Md. The tournament has long been a first-rate fall ball event for men’s college teams. This year women’s teams will join the fun, and all for a great cause. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education, and patient services. Unfortunately, more than 894,000 Americans currently have blood cancers, many of them children.

Each team participating will play in honor of a local youth ambassador who is a survivor of, or is currently undergoing treatment for a blood cancer. These youngsters will serve as “honorary captains” for each team and will spend the day with their respective squads on the team bench. The tournament has raised over $915,000 for research and patient services over 10 years on behalf of the Maryland Chapter of LLS. The money goes toward its mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Spectator admission is $5 per person or $20 per car (parking included).

The eight women’s teams participating in the event are Towson, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Loyola, George Mason, Penn State, Rutgers, and Louisville, while the men’s teams will be Towson, UMBC, Delaware, Washington College, Mount St. Mary’s, St. John’s, Air Force and Rutgers.

As you can see, this is an event with great teams for a great cause but I wanted to give you more motivation to come out in support on Saturday, so I conducted two interviews this week. Both are compelling in my opinion. I spoke to Jen Adams, the greatest women’s player in the world and the new women's head coach at Loyola College. And then I talked to John Valenti, the father of Matthew Valenti, a young child who has battled Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) since he was only 2 years old.

JEN ADAMS

Jen Adams is my favorite lacrosse player since Gary Gait’s retirement. It is visceral. I like watching men’s lacrosse far more than I do women’s but I will watch Adams play before I watch any men’s team, because she’s always making history when she steps on the field. She’s that good and she makes everyone around her instantly better. She is unselfish but can take you to the cage with ease. It is always a thrill when she has the ball.

I recall seeing her play in an NCAA tournament game for the Terps (I won’t mention the opponent) when her team was up by a couple goals near the end of the contest. She had possession of the ball on the left side of the cage against a very good college defender on a very worthy team. Jen worked the defender out of position and bolted for the goal, but at the last minute pulled up and returned to the side where she had started, the defender following her all the way in and then all the way back, panting in exhaustion. Jen then took the defender to the cage again, hard. She beat her again and could have easily scored but again pulled up and returned to the spot. A minute was gone from the clock. To everyone’s amazement, Jen did it again, a third time and a fourth. I am sure it was not Jen’s intention but the defender was in tears by the fourth time back to the sideline spot. The game was over and everyone in attendance knew who the best player they ever saw was.

In 2005, the Australian phenomenon led her nation to the world championship in Annapolis. The 28-year-old from Brighton, South Australia, graduated from Maryland in 2001 with four NCAA championship rings. She returned to College Park as an assistant in 2007 with head coach Cathy Reese after assisting Reese for two years at the University of Denver. In 2008, Reese and Adams’ Terps reached a No. 2 ranking and finished with an 18-3 record.

John Weaver: Jen, Coaching at Loyola, a program where cancer took one of its great heroes, Diane Geppi-Aikens, is it special to play in a tournament that serves children with cancer?

Jen Adams: I think that anytime you are given an opportunity to experience something bigger than the sport, bigger than your team, bigger than everyday life, it is special to be a part of. One of the greatest lessons that Diane instilled in her players was to always live every day and every second to its fullest. We are extremely honored to be able to be involved in such a great cause and I can already tell that the Loyola girls have been touched by the stories and amazing strength of these young survivors. One of the characteristics I hope our Loyola players will always represent is that of being selfless and compassionate. ... This tournament offers us the opportunity to play some great lacrosse, but more importantly to come together to show our support for a truly important and worthy cause.

JW: This is the first year women's teams have participated in the tournament. And it's a good field of teams. Is this the top women's fall event already?

JA: This tournament boasts not only a top field of talent, but also is supportive of a great cause. That in itself makes it one of the, if not the premier women's fall event. I believe that this tournament has the potential to grow over the coming years into something much bigger, and it will continue to attract interest at every level. We'd all like to thank Missy Doherty and her staff at Towson and Vince Fiduccia at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for organizing the event. I know Loyola looks forward to contributing to a successful and profitable tournament this year and many more to come.

JW: What are you looking to achieve when you take a team into a multiple-game format like the Lacrosse for Leukemia tournament?

JA: Our aim for this tournament is to enjoy the day. With multiple games and being in the fall, it's a great chance to get everyone participating and sharing in the moment. My hope is that our girls will play hard with a ton of passion and spirit to showcase some awesome lacrosse. At this point in the year I'm just looking for things to start to "click" and for us and to play well as a unit.

JW: How important are wins and losses in the fall?

JA: Wins are not important in the fall at all. Focusing on pulling everything together and getting your players to start to read each other comes from experience. Quite often in the fall we set other goals that we are looking to achieve that do not revolve around winning or losing. It's all about getting out there and playing.

JW: How do you like being The Boss? Will your first games be this weekend or have you scrimmaged already? Are you nervous?

JA: I don't like the term "boss" at all. I see what [assistant coaches] Kylee [White], Dana [Dobbie] and myself do as a collaborative effort. I certainly couldn't do it without them! They are amazing!

We played in a tournament at Maryland against UMD and Oregon last weekend, and had our alumni game prior to that. I would say any fall jitters have passed and I am not in the slight bit nervous. Our girls look great and I am excited about where we are and what we are doing so far!

JW: Thanks Jen!

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JOHN VALENTI

John Valenti was thrown into the LLS cause when his son, Matthew, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) at age 2. It could happen to anyone, but most people might not fight the disease on every level like John and his family does. Not only is he involved in the Lacrosse for Leukemia event, but he volunteers for many of the LLS events, gathering sponsors and anything else he can do. He, along with his family and two others have also formed a public charity to help with patients’ financial issues called The Matthews Foundation.

One could get depressed reading about this terrible disease that affects so many kids like Matthew Valenti, but remember that Saturday is all about the positive, the successes made by these kids and scientists in the field. Most importantly, it's about you and how, on Saturday, you can help by just having fun.

John Weaver: John, We’ve spoken at length in the past about Matthew and ALL. Just to catch our readers up, tell them what you guys are going through. Tell them about Matthew’s illness.

John Valenti: My son Matthew was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) in December of 2006 when he was 2 years old. He is in long-term maintenance now and has about a year and a half of treatments remaining. He is through the worst of the cancer/treatments and is really doing well right now.

JW: How long have you been involved in LLS?

JV: I have been volunteering with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for about a year. I have volunteered for the Leukemia Cup Regatta; I am participating in the Light the Night Walk at Ripken Stadium this year and volunteering for this event, Lacrosse for Leukemia.

JW: How do the kids get involved at the Lacrosse for Leukemia event?

JV: Matthew is an honorary captain for one of the lacrosse teams for the event. He will sit with the team on the bench during the game. I along with my other sons, Zackary and Jack, will be volunteering at the event, helping out with whatever is needed.

JW: Does your son have a team that he roots for there?

JV: Matthew doesn’t have a favorite team right now; he just likes to watch the game. He is going to be an honored teammate with the University of Maryland women’s team, so he will be rooting for them to win on Saturday.

JW: Just so our readers understand, what's a kid with Leukemia going through? And how about a parent of that child?

JV: Matthew is taking four different chemos and is on what I call the “calendar” cycle -- he has chemo every day, once a week, once a month, and once a quarter. This is "maintenance." There were more intensive treatment phases earlier on in his treatment protocol, but this is pretty standard practice for a child with ALL. I think that is why this is one of the most difficult cancer’s for a child and a family to endure, because the treatment path is just so darn long. It feels like we have lived at Johns Hopkins for about two years now.

JW: How does the tournament help? Has there been progress scientifically?

JV: The tournament helps to raise awareness and funds. Funding for research is so important because while there has been so much progress -- the survival rate for a child with ALL has gone from less than 20 percent to over 75 percent within five years -- it is just not enough. We still need a cure. Three and a half to four years of treatments are just so tough on a patient and their family. The chemos and the other medicines that Matthew has to take can have their own consequences and long-term side effects -- both physically and developmentally. I strongly believe that if we cure Leukemia and Lymphoma, which are blood cancers that are very difficult to eliminate, that we will cure all cancer.

JW: Can a person who can't make the tournament still help or get involved?

JV: Anyone can get involved by either volunteering or participating in events. I feel strongly about this for obvious reasons, but LLS is such a great organization because such a large percentage of every dollar donated goes to research for a cure. If you want to volunteer for the Lax for Leukemia event, you can go to the main tent and they will find something for you to do.

If you can’t make this event, there are plenty of things that you can get involved with. If you are into running, biking, or triathlons, LLS also has Team in Training, which raises money and goes out in force to compete in these events. I am going to try to do a 100-mile ride in Lake Tahoe next year with the team. If you aren’t into competing, there are plenty of events that you can participate in or volunteer for. The Lax for Leukemia event is such a great idea and I am into it because I played lacrosse in college for Salisbury University and then for various club teams for the last 15 years. Two of my older kids play and Matthew has had a stick in his hands since he was old enough to walk. Of course, anyone can donate anytime to a great cause through the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Web site.

JW: Thanks John.

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OK, so dry your eyes and collect yourself. There’s a good reason to feel the way you do right now. Your life is pretty darn good and you can make a difference in the lives of kids like Matthew starting this weekend. Come on out to the tournament and bring a car full of people. Print this interview and make someone in the car read it aloud on the way to the tournament. Challenge the people in the car to donate more than the car fee of 20 dollars. Make it a competition. Bet on your favorite teams in tournament with the loser donating more that day. Buy a couple of T-shirts for friends that couldn't come to the event. And then when you get home, or if you just can’t make it out on Saturday, donate to the cause. These sites will help you do that:

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Matthews Foundation

Here’s the schedule for Saturday, Oct. at St. Paul’s:

8:30 a.m.-9:50 a.m.
UMBC vs. Air Force (men)
Mount St. Mary’s vs. Washington College (men)
Maryland vs. Louisville (women)
Johns Hopkins vs. George Mason (women)

10 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
UMBC vs. Mount St. Mary’s (men)
Air Force vs. Washington College (men)
Maryland vs. Johns Hopkins (women)
Louisville vs. George Mason (women)

11:45 a.m.
Ceremony on field 1 for all teams, coaches, sponsors & fans

1 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
Towson vs. Rutgers (men)
Delaware vs. St. John’s (men)
Penn State vs. Towson (women)
Rutgers vs. Loyola (women)

2:30 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
Towson vs. St. John’s (men)
Delaware vs. Rutgers (men)
Towson vs. Rutgers (women)
Penn State vs. Loyola (women)

I’ve known Renee Ensor Pope for a long time. I’ve been covering lacrosse for about as long as she’s run the Laxtoberfest tournament. It was one of the first fall lacrosse events I ever covered and I love going back every year that I can. This past weekend was a blast as usual with 60 teams playing 132 games on six fields in a two-day stretch -- that’s a lot of lacrosse!

Renee has been the Laxtoberfest tournament coordinator since those days when necessity demanded its founding. She runs the Hero’s women’s team, easily the most traveled team in post-collegiate women’s lacrosse. They needed a fall event to play in and there were no women’s fall events, so they invented one. There were only four teams the first year, but it quickly outgrew the old downtown Annapolis location and has been played at Anne Arundel Community College since. Along the way they've added men’s teams and then Masters (over 35) and Grand Masters (over 45) play. About four years ago they added high school teams and the thing exploded. There’s just a great lax vibe at the tournament that is contagious. I love being there.

And the tournament supports the Hero’s summer leagues, which host some 4,000 kids and adults every summer as well as providing four scholarships for lacrosse players at Anne Arundel Community College. The original Hero’s women’s team that just needed a place to play in the fall way back when, ironically, does not play in the tournament now. They work and staff the extravaganza to raise money to offset the costs of their trips abroad to help spread the women’s game and represent the U.S. around the world. They have been to London, Holland, the Czech Republic and many more exotic locales over the years, and head off to sunny Hawaii Oct. 23 to participate in this year’s Hawaii Invitational.

This year's Laxtoberfest winners were:

Women’s elite: Top Shelf/Capital beat Annaplax in the final
Women’s college: University of Delaware beat Penn State in the final
Women’s high school: CC Lax Brass beat CC Lax Bronze in the final
Men’s grand masters: Piv’s Pub beat Geezers/Toyota in the final
Men’s masters: Toyota beat Kooper’s Tavern in the final
Men’s elite: Black Banana beat Six Shooters in the final
Men’s high school: Jags lax beat Team Langley in the final

Congratulations to all! Check out video from the tourney:

There are many Matt Kerwick fans in lacrosse. He was a superhero at Hobart and played for the great Dave Urick back in "the day." Many of those fans, even at Hobart, were not happy with the way Hobart handled his departure as head coach last season. Some of the top coaches in the game will vouch for his abilities and they must have, as he was named the head coach at Division I newbie Jacksonville University in, that's right, Jacksonville, Fla., in August. It has been reported that he beat out John Haus (fired at UNC after the season) as the last two candidates for the position, but I think many great coaches applied for the job. Lacrosse is a small place where D1 head coaching jobs don't become available unless someone you know has been canned, so a new program with a new job opening is very exciting and this one may turn out to be a huge opportunity. That is now up to Kerwick.

As a coach, Kerwick never delivered Hobart to national D1 prominence, but that's a lot harder than Hobart thought it would be when they ascended from D3 domination (11 straight titles) into D1 obscurity. It's still a monumental task. The powers that be in Geneva, N.Y., will learn how hard first hand, and at the same time, learn whether they made the right decision on Kerwick. The new staff will have to recruit against all those warm-weather institutions that always topped Kerwick's efforts and, of course, now against Kerwick himself, in sunny Florida. You may think it will be hard to build a lacrosse program in Jacksonville by 2010, but Kerwick inherits a club team and my guess is that if kids compare the weather in Geneva and Jacksonville, you might see some who typically head north for their college lacrosse experience going south.

I contacted Jacksonville sports information director Joel Lamp via e-mail, and he said they had been overwhelmed with well wishes and congratulations on the new program and the hiring of Kerwick. The school is very excited to start in 2010 and is proud to be the new southern-most point of college lacrosse! Our congratulations to Matt and JU!

Heres the unedited release announcing Kerwick's hiring:

Matt Kerwick named JU's first men's lacrosse coach

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. With a vast amount of knowledge and experience in and around lacrosse, JU named Matt Kerwick as the school's first men's lacrosse coach on Wednesday.
After going through nearly 200 resumes to find the first head coach of the only Division I men's program in Florida, Kerwick's passion and vision to build the JU men's lacrosse program from scratch was infectious. Kerwick will have a year and a half to build the program in anticipation of the varsity team's first game in 2010.

"We are excited to name Matt Kerwick as our men's lacrosse coach," said JU director of athletics Alan Verlander. "We had a lot of interest in the position, but we were very fortunate to be able to hire someone with Matt's experience and connection in the world of lacrosse.
"Matt knows what it takes to build a successful program and we believe that with his experience, he will be able to mold the program into a nationally respected program."
Known as one of the rising stars in lacrosse coaching circles, Kerwick comes to JU with 13 years of head coaching experience at Randolph- Macon, Alfred and his alma mater, Hobart College, where he spent the last seven years.

"I would like to thank President Romesburg and Alan Verlander for giving me the opportunity to run the first men's Division I program in the state of Florida," Kerwick said. "With the growth of the game across the country, Jacksonville University will offer a tremendous option for the great group of young men who will put on the first Dolphin uniform in the spring of 2010. I am looking forward to building a top flight schedule and bringing championship lacrosse to the South."

During his time at Hobart, Kerwick led the Statesmen to the Patriot League championship in 2002 and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2002, 2004). After leading Hobart to the championship in 2002, he earned Patriot League "Coach of the Year" honors. This past spring, Kerwick was selected East Coast Athletic Conference "Co-Coach of the Year" after guiding Hobart to an 8-6 record including a win over No. 15 Loyola.

Entering last season, Kerwick ranked in the top 25 among active lacrosse coaches in both career wins and career winning percentage, sporting a 98-84 career record. JU will be his second stint as a head coach at the Division I level.

While known as an outstanding coach, Kerwick also had a stellar playing career. He was a first team All-America selection in 1990 and a second team All-America honoree in 1989. He earned NCAA Tournament MVP honors in 1989 while leading the Statesmen to the Division III national championship four straight years.

An all-around athlete, Kerwick was also a four-year letterwinner on the hockey team, serving as captain of both teams during his senior season. He finished his career by being named the William C. Stiles Award winner, giving to the Hobart senior student-athlete for leadership, determination and character.

Following his collegiate career, Kerwick played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1991 through 1996, earning the Baltimore Thunder's "Unsung Hero" award twice and was an All- Star selection in 1992.

With pursuing his playing career, Kerwick began his coaching career as the head coach at Randolph-Macon for three seasons before being named an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania. He revived the program at Randolph- Macon, leading the lead Yellow Jackets to a 27-14 record, at the time the three most successful seasons in the program's history.

After one season at Penn, Kerwick took the head coach position at Alfred University and in his three seasons he led the Saxons to the postseason each year, earning a spot in the 1997 NCAA Tournament field as well as berths in the 1996 and 1998 ECAC Upstate Tournament. Alfred was 25-17 (.595) in his three seasons. Following his 1996 Super Six Lacrosse League "Coach of the Year" Award, Kerwick was named the 1997 "Babe" Kraus Division III Coach of the Year.

Kerwick moved on from Alfred to Georgetown as an assistant coach. During his three seasons with the Hoyas, Kerwick helped lead the program to a 36-9 record and the Final Four in 1999 before returning to his alma mater as head coach.

Kerwick and his wife Mary have two sons, Thomas and Sean.