The Story Behind The Syracuse Club Lacrosse Uniform and Equipment

Last week we uploaded the ‘Cuse club team Pro7 helmet. A lot of people had interesting things to say about it and wanted more info. Today Syracuse club lacrosse captain, David Youngentob, sheds light on the influences behind his teams decision process when it comes to apparel, uniforms and gloves.


Last year I joined the team, and had a great experience. The one thing that I was not a fan of was our White/Orange Nike uniforms and Orange Pro7s with replica Varsity decals. I never openly shared it with the team, but since the Syracuse varsity program is the pinnacle team in college lacrosse year after year, I thought we were going a little too overboard with the Varsity look-alike image. We had an up and down season, and some tough losses that hit me hard as a hometown kid. Growing up watching the Powells and great players since then, the Syracuse uniform means a lot to me, and it always felt a little funny.


This past summer, I came to further dislike the varsity look alike gear. I played in 3 summer leagues in Syracuse, and let me just say that wearing a Syracuse Helmet and gloves puts a big fat target on your back. I always loved the conversation with strangers “Hey you play for ‘Cuse?” (excited and impressed facial expression) .. “Well, I’m on the club team” …. “Oh…” (totally lost all interest and dismissed me). I also was a victim of taunts and jeers and being mocked as “just a club player” any time I made a mistake during a game.


This past fall, I was voted in as one of the three captains. I knew right away that after doing everything with my co-captains to ensure our team was successful on the field, my side project would be to get our team a unique identity and image that didn’t hide the Syracuse affiliation, but definitely differentiated us from the Varsity program in a clear way. A teammate suggested all-Black uniforms during tryouts, so the first creation was our Black shooting shirt (made by Holy-Shirt!, Inc.), which we wore during fall scrimmages.

 


Later in the fall I started planning the rest of the uniform. First I came up with the shorts pattern, an idea I borrowed from Nomis, a snowboarding apparel company. We went with Zebra Apparel, I talked to Kaz at Lacrosse Unlimited, and we got the decals to match, and 24 new Orange Pro7s. Our Brine/Warrior sales reps Danny Holdridge and Kevin Leveille sent us some mockups of King III’s and MacDaddy 3’s, and they really worked with me to get a design that I was super stoked on.


Finally, in February we decided to go with a simple Orange shirt with Silver font to match the shorts and helmet decals as our 2nd jersey. I think the gear came out great, and I’ve been getting swarmed with trade requests from opponents and summer league buddies.

 


At the end of the day, at ‘Cuse Club lax, we train hard and play to win. I think the uniforms we put together this year are pretty sick, and have set us apart from the Varsity team in a unique way. Looking good and looking like a team has definitely helped us in our games this year. Go ‘Cuse !!


If you want to share your team’s apparel, equipment or blog please send it to [email protected].

 

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In 2009, Adam O’Neill, Harry Alford and Thomas Alford launched Lacrosse Playground as the preeminent site for lacrosse gearheads. For years Lacrosse Playground provided lacrosse fans with tutorials and tips on how to string a lacrosse head, up-close looks at the gear the top players used and sneak peeks at equipment and uniforms before they were released. More than 10 years and millions of visits later, Lacrosse Playground has relaunched with a focus on storytelling. Our mission is to provide comprehensive coverage of the latest lacrosse news, share insights into the sports betting and fantasy lacrosse world and showcase the lifestyles and personalities of the sport of lacrosse through articles, videos and podcasts.

18 Comments

  1. […] Cancer Society, so get those checkbooks out! Some of you may remember my post last spring about our uniforms at Syracuse Club Lacrosse, but I’m back with a blog series detailing my relocation from Syracuse […]

  2. Jsc4248 on June 13, 2011 at 12:19 am

    Hey man, just cruising stories and wanted to say that this was one of the best stories I’ve read. Good luck to you and your crew.

  3. ITALIALAX on April 4, 2011 at 8:47 pm

    As a former player for the SU club team those are a big step up from what we had when I played there. I love the look

  4. Tob on April 4, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    haha thanks guys. Follow me on twitter for updates about my team @jovah_6

  5. Rlr02e on April 4, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    Those all black patent leather King III’s are SICK! This was a great read, I hope those haters choke on your swagg this summer bro!

  6. Rlr02e on April 4, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    Those all black patent leather King III’s are SICK! This was a great read, I hope those haters choke on your swagg this summer bro!

  7. Shaw on April 4, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    I respect the hell out of that. Looks much better as a full kit.

  8. Shaw on April 4, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    I respect the hell out of that. Looks much better as a full kit.

  9. Shaw on April 4, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    I respect the hell out of that. Looks much better as a full kit.

  10. Fredddie333 on April 4, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    The helmets by themselves are a little overwhelming, but with shorts and the shirts it looks straight up sick.

  11. Fredddie333 on April 4, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    The helmets by themselves are a little overwhelming, but with shorts and the shirts it looks straight up sick.

  12. Fredddie333 on April 4, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    The helmets by themselves are a little overwhelming, but with shorts and the shirts it looks straight up sick.

  13. Fredddie333 on April 4, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    The helmets by themselves are a little overwhelming, but with shorts and the shirts it looks straight up sick.

  14. Fredddie333 on April 4, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    The helmets by themselves are a little overwhelming, but with shorts and the shirts it looks straight up sick.

  15. Fredddie333 on April 4, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    The helmets by themselves are a little overwhelming, but with shorts and the shirts it looks straight up sick.

  16. Fredddie333 on April 4, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    The helmets by themselves are a little overwhelming, but with shorts and the shirts it looks straight up sick.

  17. Fredddie333 on April 4, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    The helmets by themselves are a little overwhelming, but with shorts and the shirts it looks straight up sick.

  18. Anonymous on April 4, 2011 at 4:45 pm

    Great story. I could agree more with you about trying to differentiate yourselves from the Varsity team. Well done on the gear.

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