SUMMER CAMP INFORMATION

Information on the following camps have have been submitted to the coaching staff or provided by Vikings player/families.  Some sessions and camps are already filled and putting players on waiting lists so don't delay.

JIM FRITZ LACROSSE OFFERING FOUR CAMPS THIS SUMMER

Jim Fritz, head coach of the NCAA Division II Queens University Men's Lacrosse Team will be offering four lacrosse camp opportunities this summer at the Marion Diehl - Nike Turf facility in Charlotte.  The Jim Fritz camps have provided excellent training for many Viking players and alumni over the years.  For more information on dates and schedules for all four camp opportunities, click here to go to http://www.Jim FritzLacrosse.com for more information.

XCELERATE LACROSSE CAMP SCHEDULED FOR JULY 8-12

Information on the 4th annual Xcelerate UNC-Charlotte LAX camp is available at http://xceleratelacrosse.com/overnightcamp-charlotte-northcarolina.html .  Online registration is available at http://www.xceleratelacrosse.com/signup.html

PRECISION FITNESS PRESENTS: PLAY BETTER LACROSSE

US NAVAL ACADEMY SUMMER LAX CAMPS

Position camps to be held the weeks of July 18-22, 24-28, and July 31 - August 4 at the Academy grounds in Annapolis MD.  Camps are large (750/session) but incredibly well organized and staffed.  Players stay with summer plebes in Bancroft Hall.  Sessions fill quickly as this is a very popular camp in an awesome setting.  For more information go to http://navylacrossecamps.com.

Blue Chip 225 Camps for rising Juniors and Seniors

Both camps are held  at Fairfield University in Fairfield CT.  Senior Camp is June 30 - July 3 and Junior Camp is July 28 - 31.  Some positions are already filled and on wait list status.  Very well attended by Div I and Div III coaches.  Viking player who attended last year was recruited by Washington and Lee and Moravian College.  For more information go to http://bluechiplax.com.

SPRING BREAK DOLDRUMS, SPEED CARRY CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC TO WINS OVER JV AND VARSITY SQUADS

A talented opponent and the traditional post-spring break sleepwalk teamed to hit the Vikings with a pair of lopsided losses at Charlotte Catholic. Against the top ranked team in the state, the Vikings played even in the first period before the speed and stickwork of the 14-0 Cougars began to dominate.  In a game full of hard hits and trash talking, the Vikings played hard for four quarters, but could not muster any offense in the second half, resulting in a final score of 18 - 3.   The Vikings goals were scored by Ryan Cawley, Jordan Smith and Nick Venuti.  Billy Blakely added a pair of assists. 

In the opening game, the jv played tough throughout most of the first quarter before allowing a pair of late unsettled goals off face-offs to trail 4 - 1 after one quarter.  The second quarter was much the same, with late CC goals leading to a 8 - 2 halftime score.  The Vikings played tough in the second half, allowing only three goals as the final score was 11 - 3.  Vikings goals were scored by Charlie Chesson from Chris Ahern, Dylan Knight from Sean Henderson and Mark D'Ambra unassisted.

The Vikings must put this one behind them and prepare for an early Saturday (10 am) contest against a 12-7 Charlotte Country Day team.  This is the last game before seeding for the City Championship.  Teams are decided by a vote, not win/loss records, much like Div I college football.  Turn out and support the Vikings as they make a push towards the playoffs.

There will be no bus transportation Saturday and players are expected to be at CCD at 9am SHARP!!  Early night this Friday Vikings!!!!!

VARSITY BOUNCES BACK WITH 11-1 VICTORY OVER MARVIN RIDGE

The Vikings took advantage of playing a new team to get playing time to as many players as possible in a home win against Marvin Ridge.  Though yet to win this season, MR held the Vikings at bay until Ryan Cawley scored on an assist from Billy Blakely with 2:29 left in the first  period. The Vikings quickly extended the lead on a goal by Blakely from Austin Grabowski and never looked back.  Goalkeeper Eric Fuschino was able to hold MR to a single second quarter goal and the defense limited the visiting team to six shots on goal.

In the final analysis, Cawley and Blakely each ended the night with three goals and two assists.   Austin Grabowski added a pair of goals and one assist while solo scores were recorded by Dylan Knight, Kyle Weber, and David Russell. Alex Sorenson and John Dalrymple registered assists to close out the Vikings offensive efforts.

WEATHER, THIRD QUARTER FOILS VIKINGS EFFORTS AGAINST MYERS PARK

Weather conspired against the jv, forcing a cancellation of their game and a third quarter lapse erased a great first half effort as the varsity lost 10 - 8 to the Mustangs.

The varsity dominated Myers Park in the first half, scoring the opening two goals and playing the Mustangs to a 4 - 4 tie at the half.  The second half was a different story as the Mustangs took advantage of prolonged man-up opportunities and poor clearing by the Vikings to wear down the defense and score six unanswered goals, taking a 10 - 4 lead into the fourth quarter.  The heart of this years Vikings squad was again showcased as the Vikings continued to play hard and responded with four unanswered goals, dominating the end of the game before running out of time.

Ryan Cawley led all Vikings scorers with four goals.  Jamie Morton added a pair of goals and solo tally's by Blakely, Brashear and Grabowski rounded out the scoring.  The Vikings will face Marvin Ridge Wednesday at HAP and go into the CMS spring break with the annual men's/women's game on Thursday evening.

VARSITY, JV DOMINATE WITH VICTORIES AGAINST FT MILL

The Vikings maintained their momentum with a pair of wins at Huntersville Athletic Park Tuesday.  The JV team outscored the visiting Ft Mill squad 7 - 3.  Details will be reported as soon as they are available.

The Varsity likewise dominated every aspect of the game, registering a 13 - 4 victory. Leading the Vikings scoring was Ryan Cawley with 4 goals, followed by Kyle Brashear with 3, Billy Blakeley with 2 and solo scores by Sorenson, Grabowski, Hedrick, and Lockhart.  The Vikings (3-2), the #2 ranked club team in the state, next faces perennial rival Myers Park (4-5) on Friday at HAP in a game that may well decide the final slot for the City Championship next month.  JV will attempt to set the tone at 6pm with varsity to follow....

More details to follow as they become available.

VARSITY BOUNCES BACK WITH WIN AT CANNON

The Vikings attack provided the firepower while Eric Fuschino and the defense played stout as the Vikings left Concord with a 6 - 3 victory and this years Cabarrus County bragging rights.  On a soggy field, Cannon struck first and held a 2 -1 lead at halftime.  The only first half goal was scored by Ryan Cawley with an assist to Billy Blakely.  The third period was dominated by the Vikings who scored three unanswered goals with Kyle Weber scoring on another assist from Blakely, Cawley again on an assist from Alex Sorenson and Jamie Morton with the assist to Kyle Brashear.  Cannon scored early in the fourth quarter to pull within one, but a pair of unassisted goals by Billy Blakely using a nice isolation play put the outcome out of reach for the Cougars.  The defense stepped up and Fuschino stoned the Cougar offense with several point-blank saves.

The Vikings again have time off to prepare for their next game, a home double against Fort Mill on Wednesday, March 25th, starting with the jv at 6:00pm.

VIKINGS JV CONTINUES  WINNING STREAK WHILE VARSITY STRUGGLES IN WEEKEND GAMES

The JV team remained undefeated with a 2 - 1 victory against Weddington HS on Friday night.  Another outstanding defensive effort showed as the Vikings withstood intense pressure from the Warrior JV in the fourth quarter, preserving the victory.

Unfortunately, the varsity was unable to capitalize on several scoring opportunities and the defense was finally wore down by constant Warrior pressure in a 9 - 3 loss.  After spotting Weddington an early lead, the Vikings rallied to close the gap to 4 - 3 in the second quarter but could not muster much offense after that. 

A quick 12 hour turn-around did not put the varsity in a better position against the top ranked team in the state as the Vikings fell 14 - 5 to Charlotte Latin.

The Vikings maintain their 13th place ranking after dropping a pair of games to top ten teams and will try to turn things around on Tuesday with a 4:30 pm contest against Cannon School of Concord (#35 rank, 0-3).  As the Vikings traditionally have had several players from Cabarrus County (four this season) on the roster, this has always been a highly contested game for "local" bragging rights.  Please come out and support the Varsity team this Tuesday!!!

We will post scoring info and more detailed information on all games when we available.  We still lack volunteers for helping with stats and reporting game summaries.  New photos from all Vikings games now available.  Click on Game Photos for highlights and link to game photo albums.

MESSAGE FROM RONDA FREESE REGARDING THE CORNELIUS -

ROBBINS PARK MASTER PLAN

Dear Lacrosse Players and Parents,

I need your help!

The meeting last Thursday for input from the community regarding the development of the new Robbins Park was good but not the overwhelming support for lacrosse that is needed.  There were about 12 lacrosse supporters at the meeting (about 5 of those were from the Hopewell and North Meck teams).  A few parents spoke about the need for artificial turf fields (the Hopewell girl's team recently had to reschedule a game over at Mallard Creek HS because their home field was too wet to play on.  FYI-  I believe that Mallard Creek is the only turf field in northern Mecklenburg County.)  Another parent expressed concern over the need for 6 baseball/softball fields, proposed on the site plan for the new park, when there are already fields at Smithville, Bailey Rd, Legion, and Torrence Chapel Parks.  In particular she questioned the logic of two of the fields which were in a large open area next to what was designated a multi purpose field.  Given the shortage of lacrosse, football and soccer fields in the town it would make more sense to take these two baseball fields out of the plan and instead put in 4 lacrosse/ multipurpose fields.  (this would also leave a very large open area that could be used for other purposes such as special events since it would not include fences around the fields).

Having been on the Cornelius P&R board 8 years ago when this park was only hushed whispers as the county negotiated it's purchase, I too spoke about the long wish list that I have been accumulating over the past several years while awaiting the development of this park.  I informed the group about Lacrosse being the fastest growing team sport nationally, gave a brief history of lacrosse in the Cornelius area and the growth of the CHYLL League.  I addressed the critical shortage of field space for lacrosse in Cornelius (the soccer fields at Bailey Rd are really the only fields in Cornelius that lacrosse games can safely be played on but they are closed this spring for renovation because there is simply no grass left on them due to over use by soccer.  Lacrosse has never played there.)  I addressed our critical need for field space because our league is currently at capacity for the field space that we have.  I informed the group that a solid practice wall is the best method for lax players to improve their skills yet there aren't any places that kids can do this in the area.  Also re-emphasized was the critical need for at least one artificial turf field in this area. 

In conclusion my recommendation was to take out the two softball fields from the plan and instead make the open area 4 full size lacrosse fields, (other sports would still be able to use them too, particularly football since lacrosse only plays on Sundays in the fall so there isn't a conflict)  make one of the 4 fields an artificial turf surface, and all of the fields lighted to maximum playing time and add a permanent lacrosse practice wall at the site.

As I left the meeting one of the North Meck Park Advisory Council members walked out with me.  She said that this was the first time that she had EVER heard about needs for lacrosse.  (I know that many of us live and breath the sport so it is difficult to believe that everyone doesn't already know our needs but truth be told most residents and town officials (including P&R and park designers) really know nothing about lacrosse or what our needs are!  Every one of us needs to be an ambassador of the sport and educate the public!)  She wished us luck and gave me the advise of;  if we want to see our needs met then we as a large group need to be LOUD and VOCAL.

What can you do?  Please fill out the park survey at the following link.  It only takes about 2 minutes.  Additional comments are the most important part so please specifically list the features that you want to see at the park (i.e. 4 Lacrosse specific fields, Lacrosse practice wall, lighted fields, artificial turf field).  http://corneliuspr.org/home.html

The most important information that the town gets is personal letters stating what amenities you wish to see at the park and why.  I can't even begin to tell you how much weight these are given over simple surveys!  Anyone wishing to send a note may send it directly to the Cornelius Parks Director, Paul Herbert at   pherbert@cornelius.org  (I asked him specifically where these should be sent and he wants them to come to him).

It is quite possible that there will not be another opportunity like this for multiple new fields in Cornelius ever, certainly not in the near future!
Please encourage all of the local lacrosse fans that you know to fill out a survey!  It is not limited to only Cornelius residents.

Sincerely,
Ronda Freese
CHYLL Parent and Coordinator
704-987-8725
Ronda@CHYLL.org
www.northmeckyouthlacrosse.com

NOTE:  Some interesting demographics you can use in your comments to the Cornelius Parks Director:

-         150% increase in high school programs since 1999

-         Over 350,000 youth/high school players

-         85% of parents in lacrosse families have a 4 year college degree

-         Less than 10% of lacrosse families have a household income less than $50,000

-         Almost 75% of lacrosse families value their primary residence at $200,000 or more

-         Over half of all lacrosse families reside outside the traditional northeast lacrosse base

-     North Carolina currently has 73 high school boys lacrosse programs

School sponsored high school teams have spread beyond private schools in North Carolina to include 58 public high schools.   In the Charlotte area, schools such as Butler, Mallard Creek, Providence, Weddington, Myers Park and South Mecklenburg provide varsity lacrosse programs

VIKINGS CONTINUE WINNING WAYS AS JV DEFEATS DENVER 2 - 0

In a game dominated by both defenses, the JV squad shut out visiting Denver behind stellar goaltending by Ian Stimson.  The Vikings got on the board late in the first quarter with Charlie Chesson setting up Sean Henderson to give the Vikings a lead they took to halftime.  The Vikings gained some breathing room as Kevin Hart assisted on a third period goal by Miles Jahns.  The Vikings pelted the Denver goal with 17 shots, while Ian Stimson recorded the shutout, making four saves.

VIKINGS OPEN REGULAR SEASON WITH PAIR OF WINS OVER LAKE NORMAN

The 2008 regular season got underway with a pair of games against a vastly improved Lake Norman squad.  In the opening game, the jv struggled for the first quarter before finding their rhythm and registering a 7 - 2 victory.  Sean Henderson led the Vikings with three goals while Miles Jahns added a pair. Charlie Chesson, and Kendall Moore each added solo goals to round out the Vikings scoring. Ian Stimson was stout in goal with 6 saves on 8 shots on goal.

The varsity squad likewise experienced trouble finding their way, allowing Lake Norman to tally two unanswered goals early in the second period to take a 2 - 0 lead.  Just before halftime, Jordan Smith found Austin Grabowski open in front of the goal to close the margin to 2 - 1 at halftime.

The coaches did their job during intermission as the Vikings played aggressive lacrosse throughout the second half. Four third period goals by Nick Venuti, Austin Grabowski, Jamie Morton and Kyle Brashear pushed the Vikings to a 5 - 2 lead that was never challenged.  A pair of goals by Billy Blakely and a goal by Jordan Smith opened the Vikings lead to 8 - 2. Two late goals by Lake Norman completed the scoring as the varsity closed out Lake Norman with an 8 - 4 victory.  The only question remaining is "do the sweats come off?!?!".

The win propelled the Vikings to the LAXPOWER #1 ranking for NC club teams and an overall state ranking of 13.

Due to inclement weather and concerns by Ft Mill over field conditions, Saturdays double header has been cancelled.  The next games will be a jv only game  against the Denver NC club.  JV to start at 5:30pm sharp.

                WITH GREAT SORROW, WE REPORT THE LOSS OF A MEMBER OF THE                               EXTENDED VIKINGS FAMILY

It is with our deepest sorrow we announce the passing of Greg Lail, father of North Mecklenburg freshman Megan Lail.  Megan is a member of the Lady Vikings Lacrosse team. Greg collapsed yesterday at the HAP while running the track around the game field.  Coach Diamond and Jamie Morton provided CPR to sustain Mr. Lail until EMS arrived.  Unfortunately, we were informed this morning of Mr. Lail's passing.

We urge all players and families to pray for Megan and her family. The memorial service for Greg will unfortunately be held Thursday evening at 6:30pm.  Scheduled games against Lake Norman will not allow participation by the team.   A memorial in the name of the Vikings Team has been sent to University City Methodist Church per the wishes of the family.

One point that came out of this was that since he was running, Mr. Lail had no identification on his person.  While this did not play a role in his treatment, it did cause confusion and Megan, practicing on the lower field, was unaware of her dad's condition.  In coach Clutter's e-mail to the Lady Vikings team, she mentions carrying a personal identification device such as the Road ID system (www.roadid.com) at all times. In a similar manner, we remind all that having an ICE (in case of emergency) phone number programmed in your cell phone can be critical in assuring prompt medical attention in times of emergency.

PLEASE WELCOME TWO NEW SPONSORS TO THE VIKINGS FAMILY

We are proud to announce the addition of two new sponsors. Edifice Construction has joined as a Hat Trick level sponsor and Hoke Lumber as a Contributing Sponsor.  Edifice Construction of Charlotte is a leading commercial  contractor in the southeast.  This year Edifice celebrates their 30th year in Charlotte.  Hole Lumber of Davidson is a family owned company established in 1943. Hoke provides quality building products to local builders and contractors.  Thanks to both Edifice Construction and Hoke Lumber for their support of Vikings Lacrosse. Please visit both companies by clicking on their logos on our sponsor page.

VIKINGS SHOW IMPROVEMENT AND FINISH LAX PLAY DAY AT 1 - 3

The defense played steady most of the day and the offense finally showed life in games 3 and 4 as the 2008 season opened at the Charlotte Country Day LAX Play Day. After starting the day with 4 - 0 and 3 - 0 losses to Charlotte Country Day and Myers Park, the Vikings played tough against Providence Day, taking a 1 - 0 lead before falling 2 - 1.  In the final game, The Viking offense finally gelled, scoring five goals in a 5 - 2 victory against Charlotte Catholic.