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Apr, 2014

Skills of box lacrosse emerging as vital for success in world of NCAA field lacrosse

“American field players would really help themselves if they were exposed to a steady stream of box experience.” – University of Virginia Head Coach, Dom Starsia

Even though field lacrosse purists continue to try, there’s no denying the impact of box lacrosse on the landscape of the sport as a whole. Box lacrosse players are consistently being recruited to play at the highest levels of collegiate field lacrosse, and with good reason. Box players bring a different skill set to the field game with superior stick skills, scoring ability and toughness.

It goes all the way back to the Gait brothers, who grew up in the boxes of Victoria, B.C., and went on to field dominance at Syracuse, more recently with players like Garrett Billings (two-time All-American at Virginia) and Kevin Crowley (All-American at Stony Brook), and continues today with Mark Matthews (All-American at Denver) and Kiel Matisz (All-American at Robert Morris).

The bottom line: the brightest coaching minds in collegiate lacrosse value what a box lacrosse player brings to the table, and they are actively searching for more players with box experience. Three such coaches — Virginia’s Dom Starsia, Ohio State’s Nick Myers and Hartford’s Peter Lawrence — gave their thoughts on the influx of box lacrosse talent in the NCAA.

“Box lacrosse is an extremely valuable background for a young player,” said Starsia. “We need to incorporate more of the indoor skills in to the field game. It is almost a requirement to have a top player with indoor experience on your roster right now.”

Box lacrosse is played in a much smaller space than it’s field counterpart. That space restriction creates a much faster tempo and requires quicker decision-making. Players in the box game grow more accustomed to handling the ball and scoring in traffic.

“The box game is played at a higher tempo than the field game and in a much tighter space,” said Myers. “This sharpens a player’s ability to react and you find that players with box experience, in many cases, have superior stick skills than those who have never played the box game before.”

When returning to the field, players with box lacrosse experience typically have an advantage with more time and space. Coaches at the highest levels of NCAA Men’s Lacrosse have taken notice, and encourage participation in box lacrosse to their players and recruits.

“The more a player is developed before they arrive at college the better,” added Myers. “We certainly value any player that has box experience and encourage our men to explore opportunities to play the game they love inside and outside.”

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