Wednesday January 27th, 2021 11:00am
Inside Lacrosse is thrilled to announce the addition of the Girls’ Division to the 2021 Elite Eight, which will be held on August 31, 2021 at 76ers Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Del.
In 2020, Inside Lacrosse launched the Elite Eight featuring the top eight boys’ club teams in the Class of 2022 to close out the summer club season, squaring off under the lights on the evening before the NCAA date of first contact, September 1.
This year, the top 16 club teams eight boys’, eight girls’ teams in the Class of 2023 will take the field with national bragging rights on the line.
The Girls’ Division teams have been invited based on their presence among the elite clubs in the Class of 2023, in addition to their 2019 and 2020 summer and fall performances. Seeding for the event will be based solely on their 2021 summer season performance and ranking in IL’s Club Ratings.
Typically, I avoid comparisons between sports and warfare. A lacrosse game is not “a war.” Players aren’t “soldiers.” It’s not life or death on Homewood Field it is in the mountains of Northern Afghanistan.
Serving in Northern Afghanistan only re-emphasized that and re-energized his love for lacrosse. There’s something about a team, everyone working to a common goal, everyone playing their part, sharing in glory and disappointments, having those shared experiences, that really is the joy of life.
“The real world’s tough, it’s scary. Actions matter. I think that the way I look at it, team sports are so important for everybody in developing character and leadership, learning about yourself,” he says. “I served with a lot of guys who were college athletes, All-Americans, team captains. … I’ve been fortunate to have some of the experiences I’ve had because it really puts life in perspective. This is a game. At the same time, this is life, this is what li
Photo courtesy of Bates Lacrosse)
A season and a year like no other dictates a Holiday Wish List like none before. With his annual review, the occasionally correct and sometimes jolly old Atsap removes his fogged-up spectacles and exhales a long held sigh for 2020, which gave us challenges we’ve never known.
He wants to start this annual tossing of lovingly wrapped parcels by acknowledging up front that he will miss someone, something that deserves mention here. Atsap does not intend Grinchness, but this space (and his brain) have limited capacity.
These first Holidays without will be painfully empty for those who lost loved ones in the last 365 days. Friends, family and the entire lacrosse community mourns with them and celebrates the lives of…