Pro Lacrosse Team Camps Out In Groton

A 6-year-old lacrosse player was frustrated and pouting after being knocked down during a cradling drill and retreated to the Poquonnock Plains Park field sideline.

The coach trotted over to the boy and asked him, "You are fast. Do you want to race me in a 15-yard dash? After a minute of encouraging words, the boy got up and raced him to a tie.

"Now pick up your lacrosse stick, put the ball in the net and race me for 15 yards again," the coach said. They raced, and by this time the boy wore a wide smile.

"You've shown me you're fast, now play at full speed out on the field," the coach said. And the boy put on his helmet and continued to play.

It was a positive, constructive moment that the boy will never forget. Especially since the coach was Bill Daye, head coach of the Boston Cannons of the Major League Lacrosse pro circuit.

The Cannons' coaching staff and five players are holding the last in their series of five community lacrosse camps at Poquonnock Plains in Groton. Previous summer camps were staged in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Groton-Mystic Lacrosse Association sponsored the Cannons, who spent Monday through Thursday here before traveling back to Boston for the MLL playoff opener Saturday at Harvard Stadium.

For Daye, a former goalkeeper at the University of North Carolina and the Cannons, it's a win-win situation.

"Being in New England, we want to get into the community and give back to the game," Daye said. "Hopefully we can get some new fans to come to our games."

"It's a very difficult game," Daye said. "You can't just pick up a stick and expect to be a good player. Lacrosse is hand-eye coordination with the stick. Once you learn how to cradle with the stick, then run and beat your guy, it takes time to be successful. We try to emphasize that.

"I tell kids at the beginning of camp, you'll get better, but you have to work on this at home: cradling, throwing, catching. What we are working on at camp is getting them to move their feet and learn the basics of offense and defense. If you keep your feet moving, you will be a better player."

Heavy rain this week turned the four-day camp into a two-day extended session Wednesday and Thursday. Campers ranged from six to 17 years old. While there are a number of lacrosse camps locally, especially the Camel Jam at Connecticut College, few can offer a staff of current professional coaches and players.

Kevin Kaminski (Delaware), Matt Casey (Ithaca), Kevin Gould (Bethany) and Greg Downing (Fairfield) joined Daye and his coaching staff at camp.

All Cannon players and coaches hold full-time jobs in other professions. They practice after work and play one game a week on weekends. The fledgling MLL features six franchises in Boston, Denver, Hamilton (Ont.), Long Island, Rochester and Chesapeake (Md.).

"We're weekend warriors and as a franchise we're very grassroots marketing oriented," said Megan Mulcahy, Cannons' camp and communications director. "On one hand this is a marketing outreach for us. On the other is the Cannons' desire to give back and grow the sport in communities. Youth lacrosse is growing faster than any other sport for the last few years now. New England is becoming one of the hotbeds. Our attendance is going up. We average over 8,000 a game at Harvard."

Jim Brady of Groton, whose wife is a Groton-Mystic youth league board member and whose sons Patrick and Emmett participated in the camp, said the Cannons are an extremely fan-friendly organization.

"It's very family oriented," Brady said. "Tickets are $15 and parking is $5. We had a Groton-Mystic team scrimmage another team during halftime of the MLL all-star game in Harvard."

When the Cannons canvassed youth leagues about hosting their camp, it was a natural fit for Poquonnock Plains.

"To bring pro players to this phenomenal facility, it's a great opportunity for 55 campers, some from as far away as New Hampshire," Brady said. "It's nice to see pro players and pro-level coaches come here to teach kids the game. As enthusiastic as they can get the kids to feel about lacrosse, the more the game is going to grow."