We are a little more than halfway through the 2018 lacrosse season, and there have been a few surprises, a couple disappointments, and tons of great games so far.
New Teams
FHSAA added some new teams to the Tampa area for 2018. Wiregrass, Mitchell, Sunlake, Wesley Chapel, and Calvary Christian all played their very first district lacrosse games in 2018, and a few of these teams hit the ground running – surprising a few people along the way.
The strongest competitor from that list has easily been Wiregrass. This former club team made Tampa Lax Report’s Pre-Season District 15 report, showing up as our pick for the 3rd seed in that district. They currently sit at 2nd with some district games still left to play. Wiregrass is also sitting at #8 in our Boys Top 10 list.
Not every new school is making waves in their initial season, however.
“I am a bit disappointed in Wesley Chapel, I always thought they would be a strong addition along with Wiregrass” said Sickles coach Joe Kuebrich. “But Wiregrass has lived up to the billing.”
With this being these teams initial foray into FHSSA district competition, it is doubtful anyone faults the teams that are struggling this early. It is understandable that new teams, players, and coaches would need time to adjust. Overall, the addition of teams is seen as a positive.
Newsome coach Eric Blackburn summed up his thoughts on the new teams by saying how great it has been to see new FHSAA teams. “This has provided us more opportunities to play against quality schools and players that we have never played against before” he said.
“This also affords many more high school students the opportunity to play a varsity sport and will ultimately be a huge part of growing the game in the Tampa area.”
Surprises
Tampa Lax Report was fairly accurate in our pre-season assessments of each district. This has kept the number of surprising teams somewhat low so far. Sickles, Cardinal Mooney, Jesuit, and Newsome were all pre-season favorites for their respective districts. And right now, each of them are sitting at No. 1 in their districts.
Of the surprises seen so far on the boys side, the influx of new teams is mentioned, the level of play and success of Wiregrass is mentioned, but also the drop off exhibited by 2017 Elite 8 school Berkeley Prep. “I haven’t been surprised by much. If I have to choose something, I am disappointed in Berkeley’s drop off” said coach Joe Kuebrich.
Tampa Lax Report agrees that Berkeley’s lack of success so far has been disappointing, especially given their success historically. However, coaching changes, injuries, and Berkeley’s very difficult out of district schedule easily explain much of their trouble in 2018. Another big reason we didn’t rank them higher pre-season was their youthfulness. Freshmen and Sophomores make up 20 players on their roster.
Playing After High School
In looking forward, Tampa Lax Report would love to help propel the better players in our area to a place where they not only believe they can play in college, but pursue slots on collegiate rosters for lacrosse. Getting kids from Tampa to understand the amount of commitment, work, and self-promotion required to achieve that goal is another matter entirely.
Coach Kuebrich explained it this way: “I think the sport is still too young for kids to understand the opportunities afforded to players. A few of my underclassmen are taking their development a bit more serious, whereas for my upperclassmen, the sport was treated more as a social club. So I believe as the sport matures so will the dynamic of the athlete.”
This is exactly what TLR has witnessed over the last 5+ years as well. Players have the talent, but many lack the drive. If they have both talent and drive, they don’t get out of the state and display themselves in front of college coaches. Or they lack any sort of promotion by way of highlight reels and/or coach contacts via email. These are all things that should be done as soon as talented athletes begin varsity play, and certainly well before they are juniors.
Impact of Tampa Lax Report
The arrival of the 2018 season so saw the arrival of Tampa Lax Report. While our goal here is to promote players and teams in the area, one of the biggest changes this season so far has been what we are doing ourselves as well.
Coach Eric Blackburn was complimentary to TLR.
“Tampa Lax Report has done a great job at promoting high school lacrosse in the Tampa Bay area. The website and social media platforms are a great way to keep up with scores, schedules, highlights and much more” Blackburn said.
“The game of the week videos are fantastic and the fact that you are covering both boys and girls lacrosse is awesome. What you are doing is really good for high school lacrosse in the Tampa area.”
Similarly, Sickles coach Joe Kuebrich has been happy with what Tampa Lax Report has done so far.
“I find TLR to be fair and balanced and providing an excellent platform to promote the game from many angles” he said.
Playoffs
We think regular season play will continue much in the same way it has so far. This will certainly lead to some very good district matchups. Steinbrenner’s rematch with Sickles will be one to circle as will Plant and Jesuit. And TLR would not be surprised to see Wiregrass make some noise in District 15 playoffs this year.
Newsome and Cardinal Mooney, we feel, are locks for their districts.
All being said, the Tampa area will be sending some high quality teams into the state playoffs in 2018. We wouldn’t be surprised by Cardinal Mooney or Jesuit making runs a few rounds deep.
