TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — The Israel Lacrosse Association is proud to announce the inaugural Israel Lacrosse Invitational Tournament which will be held from August 14-18, 2013, at the Oldfields School near Baltimore, Maryland. The tournament, which is open to Jewish American high school students (including graduating Seniors), will feature 10 teams of athletes who will represent their state in a competitive four-day tournament.
“We’re very excited to help link high school lacrosse players with their Jewish identity and the State of Israel,” said Israel men’s national team head coach Bill Beroza. “The tournament is a great opportunity for us to utilize lacrosse as a platform to connect young Jewish athletes with Israel, in a competitive setting. Through their shared passion for the sport of lacrosse, these teams will be directly contributing to the development of the sport at the grassroots level in the Middle East.”
Teams from 10 states have confirmed participation: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Each team will participate in an equipment drive for a partner Israeli city, with second-hand gear being collected for distribution to Israeli youth in those cities.
Team California, which will be playing for Tel Aviv, will be coached by Israel assistant coach Pete Ginnegar. Ginnegar recently finished his 9th season as head coach at Claremont College. Over his 30-year career, Ginnegar previously coached at D1 programs such as Cornell, Gannon, Mercyhurst and Ohio State, as well as stints with Babson, Lake Forest, Mary Washington, Mount Union and Springfield College. His lifetime coaching record is 251-157. Israel midfielder Seth Mahler, a graduate of Whittier College, will serve as Ginnegar’s assistant coach. The team will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis.
Team Colorado, which will be playing for Karmiel, will be coached by Israel assistant coach Jon Barocas. Barocas, who recently served as the Director of College Scouting for the Denver Outlaws, is a member of the Colorado Lacrosse Hall of Fame in recognition of his legendary leadership as head coach at East Manual/Denver East High School. Former Johns Hopkins midfielder Zach Tedeschi will serve as Barocas’ assistant coach. The team will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis.
Team Connecticut, which will be playing for Modi’in, will be coached by Matt Glaser. Glaser currently serves as President and Head Coach of the CT Lynx Elite Lacrosse Program. Tryouts for the team will take place in mid-June, (time and location TBD).
Team Florida, which will be playing for Netanya, will be coached by Neil McAdorey, who serves as a coach for Team 22 as well as at the St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton. McAdorey has also coached Team Ft. Lauderdale at the JCC Maccabi Games since 2012. The team will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis.
Team Illinois, which will be playing for Petah Tikva, will be coached by Mitch Cohen, who serves as Coaching Director at St. Charles High School. The team will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis.
Team Maryland, which will be playing for Ashkelon, will be coached by Cliff Perlow and Lewis Scharff, the Head Coach at Boys Latin. The team will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis.
Team Massachusetts, which will be playing for Haifa, will be coached by Mike Bogart, who has played and coached the sport for over 40 years, most recently for the New England Select Lacrosse League. The
team will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis.
Team New Jersey, which will be playing for Eilat, will be coached by Israel assistant coach and Kean University Head Coach Shelley Sheiner. The team will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis.
Team New York, which will be playing for Jerusalem, will be coached by Team USA midfielder Max Seibald. Seibald, who plays professionally for the New York Lizards (MLL) and the Philadelphia Wings (NLL), will
be joined by assistant coach Howard Borkan, GM of the Israel men’s national team. The team will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis.
Team Pennsylvania, which will be playing for Rehovot, will be coached by former Strath Haven coach and current Great Valley assistant David Waldman. Tryouts for the team will be held on May 19 from 5-7 PM at
Harriton High School.
Each team will play a minimum of 11 games over four days, and will be housed at the dormitories at Oldfields School. No games will be held on Shabbat; the players will instead participate in a local community
service project.
Players interested in participating can receive more information or register at http://www.israellacrosse.com/invitational.
