Dick’s Tournament of Champions in Wesley Chapel has a reputation for bringing the best club teams in the country down to the Tampa area right after Christmas for one of the best national championship tournaments in the country. The 2017 TOC featured a few Tampa teams as well as a few Tampa players sprinkled onto numerous teams.
One of the strongest teams over the first two days of the tournament was Brian Lemon’s Tampa Reunited squad. Reunited featured players from Newsome, Plant, Jesuit, Out-of-Door, Cardinal Mooney, and Durant. They competed in the High School Elite category, the oldest and toughest division at the event. Reunited finished pool play undefeated and earned the top seed going into playoffs. Along the way, they earned huge wins against Category 5 our of Maryland, Emerald Coast Lightning from here in Florida, FCA Colorado Elite, and Brady’s Bunch from Massachusetts. That winning streak came to an end at the hands of eventual High School Elite runners-up Nations United in the second round of the playoffs. Also in the Elite Division were the older group of players from the Bay Area Sand Sharks. Unfortunately, they did not have luck on their side as their pool games had them matched up against very strong teams from Canada, Massachusetts, the aforementioned Nations United team, as well as eventual 3rd place finisher FCA National.
The Rising Stars category featured two Tampa area squads – Pasco Lions and Bay Area Sand Sharks, with the Sharks bringing two separate teams to this division. The Lions finished pool play with an even 2-2 record with wins over Twins 2020 from North Carolina and Bay Area Sand Sharks coached by Matt Newman. Newman’s Sand Sharks were 3-1 after pool play with impressive wins against Copperhead Lacrosse from Georgia, Twins 2020, and Carolina Miners from North Carolina. Their roadblock – and first loss in over a year as a team – came at the hands of an extremely impressive Nations United team on an early foggy morning. The Kuebrich-coached Sharks squad had a rougher go at the tournament, finishing pool play without a win.
In the 2021 division, Brady’s Bunch stole the show with help from 9 Florida players including 2 from Tampa. Cardinal Mooney’s Christian Laureano (Middie / 2021) and Berkeley Prep’s Anthony Broome (Goalie / 2021) helped their out-of-state squad remain undefeated the entire tournament, taking home a national championship trophy. Most games were lopsided wins for the Bunch as they rolled over teams from Georgia, North Carolina, and Maryland. With the team meeting each other the evening prior to the start of the tournament, this was a very impressive result for the squad.
At the younger end of the spectrum, the South Tampa Sticks competed in the 2024 division and rounded out pool play undefeated and earning the top seed. They took down the Carolina Miners in the first round of the playoffs, but then lost 6-5 to a tough Palm Beach Revolution squad.
Congratulations to all of the Tampa teams and players that participated in the 2017 Dick’s Tournament of Champions.
Photographs courtesy of James Broome Photography.
