Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 7/24/12
From Press Release
The Philadelphia Wings wrapped up their first boys’ youth lacrosse camp with a banner week, conquering the heat of some of the hottest days this summer thus far.
Wings All-Stars Dan Dawson and Kevin Crowley, along with Dana Wilber (Drexel defenseman and Hamilton Nationals’ rookie), ran four days of instruction, games, contests and water fun at the Shipley School’s new turf fields facility from July 16-19.
“We were pleased to offer the only camp in the greater Philly area featuring four days of direct instruction from current NLL and MLL pros,” said Heidi Johnson, Operations Director and Camp Administrator for the Wings. “Youth lax players came from the Lehigh Valley to New Jersey, as well as our local area; the boys really came together and had a blast!
“Our sponsors helped make it all possible and we thank Bryn Mawr Trust, Reebok, eMoney Advisor, Evolve IP, MJ Corp, PA Computer Guy, LLC, and Member Solutions for their support.”
Dawson, a Wings forward and a veteran NLL player, delivered an action-packed, skill-intensive week and challenged everyone to meet the camp goals of leadership and sportsmanship. Crowley, an all-rookie Wings forward and Nationals midfielder, imparted his knowledge and experience from playing at Stony Brook through playing in the NLL as the 1st overall draft pick in 2011.
Wilber, a fifth-year student at Drexel and All-American just turned pro, shared his strategy from a defensive point of view. The small group instruction was perfect for youth players to absorb all the information over four days of camp.
““We really got to know the coaches and they were great working with us,” stated Rod Castro of Bryn Mawr, PA.
Daily prizes for “camper of the day”, “leadership” and other competitions were awarded.
The camp began on Day 1 with “the basics” which, Dawson said, are never too “elementary” for anyone. Day 2 brought more advanced work on stick skills, field position and lacrosse “IQ”. The players worked on 2v1, 3v2 and 4v3 with some trashcan lacrosse mixed in on Day 3, which ended with a slip n slide splash of fun to cool things off.
Day 4 began with some Reebok® “CrossFit” challenges that focused on agility, competitiveness and mental toughness. Campers then spent their day on more skill building, lax IQ and a contest for “best trick shot” before camp ended with a raffle featuring lax gear prizes courtesy of Reebok.
“I know my teammates and I, as professional players, like to give back to the young players coming up and help them learn what we’ve learned during the course of our careers,” said Crowley, who played box lacrosse growing up in Canada and excelled at the field game during his time at Stony Brook and now the MLL.
“Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in North America and the blending of American and Canadian players is bringing us closer together.”
Said Mark Witoslawski of Harleysville, PA: “My son had a great experience at the Wings’ camp. The players were phenomenal instructors and he couldn’t wait to go to camp each day; we’ll be back next year for sure,”
