REBEL ELITE LACROSSE (BUCKS COUNTY, PA) – DICK’S SPORTING GOODS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS TEAM PREVIEW
(December 11, 2008)
Location: Bucks County, Pa.
Head Coach: Harry Sankey
Established: 2005
Colors: Silver & purple
Qualified at: Fall Ball Lacrosse Tournament
by Josh Gross
“For a year, we have been reading and talking to different coaches…about how competitive it is,” said Rebel Elite head coach Harry Sankey.
That, according to Sankey, was a motivating factor in attempting to qualify for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions. Rebel Elite did just that, punching its ticket to Florida at the Fall Ball Lacrosse Tournament in November.
Three weeks from now, Rebel Elite will have its chance to play on a national stage.
“For me, I’m just excited for the experience,” says senior defenseman Paul Renneisen (Central Bucks South High School). “Going to this tournament will show how good we really are as a team.”
Renneisen is one member of a defensive unit that plays zone defense, somewhat of an anomaly for club teams.
“I think [playing zone] does benefit us because [teams] don’t really expect it in a fall or summer tournament,” says junior goalie Steve Oppenheimer (Germantown Academy).
Now the question is how the zone will hold up in a winter tournament. Even if the team’s secret is out of the bag, don’t expect Coach Sankey to change his strategy at this point, especially since the team believes a zone helps the guys stay fresh.
“It keeps them from getting tired,” says sophomore attackman Joey Sankey (Penn Charter), the son of the head coach.
In the fall, it also helped at the other end of the field.
“The defense has been getting the ball up the field and creating more opportunities to score,” continues Joey Sankey.
This core group of players, including Renneisen, Oppenheimer and Sankey, is the only team in the Rebel Elite club, a far cry from some other clubs with many more squads to fill.
“We’d rather have one strong team instead of a bunch of teams where the talent level isn’t as good,” explains Joey Sankey.
Come January, Rebel Elite will be put to the ultimate test, with high hopes from its players and its head coach.
“We have competed with tough teams and beat them,” says Oppenheimer, “so I don’t expect anything other than a win.”
“I truly believe that we have the talent and camaraderie to make a big showing,” says Coach Sankey.
|