BLACK JACKS LACROSSE - DICK'S SPORTING GOODS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS TEAM PREVIEW
(December 19, 2008)
Location: Eastern Massachusetts
Head Coach: Rick Bagby
Established: 2004
Colors: Red & black
Qualified at: Gait Cup
Reigning from the south shore of Massachusetts, the Black Jacks of 21 Lacrosse are all about team; they look for dedicated players to be a part of their program.
“We pick [players] for their disposition and commitment more than their skill level,” says Rick Bagby, head coach of the Black Jacks.
Bagby founded 21 Lacrosse in memory of P.J. Trendowicz, a former player Bagby coached at Boston College High School who drowned in a freaked accident in August, 2002.
“He really was the greatest kid in the world,” says Bagby. “He was the most respectful player. His motto was we play as a team, we are a unit.”
“It’s a great thing to honor P.J. by playing on this team,” says senior attackman Pat Lawlor (Hanover High School).
The Black Jacks also honor the late Ryan Flannery and Tim Mahoney every time they step on the field.
“Lacrosse is emotional for us,” says senior long-stick midfielder Marty Noenickx (Scituate H.S.). “Everyone has the numbers of all the kids that have passed away on their helmets. We never forget them.”
Six years after Trendowicz’s death, he is still an inspiration to Black Jacks Lacrosse.
“We do not keep stats on our team; we play as a unit,” says Bagby. “Watching these kids is like poetry. They will pass the ball three to four times and put it in the net.”
“There is not one person we give the ball to every time,” says Lawlor. “Everyone does their part to make us better.”
It worked over the summer, en route to qualifying for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions. Will the Black Jacks success continue at the national championship?
“If we go down there ready to play, we will do fine,” says Noenickx. “We will not be outmatched.”
Black Jacks Lacrosse will face Burnaby Mountain Selects Junior Elite (British Columbia) and Greene Turtle Fells Point (Fells Point, Md.) in the Sequoia pool in Toyota Pool Play on the opening day of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions. Click here for the complete tournament schedule.
|