Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/18/22
From Press Release
NXTsports, a leading lacrosse operator for 3STEP Sports, is proud to announce the launch of The Circuit: Where National Teams Compete. The Circuit is designed to provide structured competition for the growing number of club lacrosse operators who are taking top players from different regions and forming national teams to compete against other elite programs.
The Circuit will launch in 2022-23 with two events for boys’ national teams at the 5th-8th grade age levels. The first event will take place at the Proving Grounds in Conshohocken, PA in October 2022, and the second in Florida in late-December. Rather than a tournament format, Circuit Events will feature each participating team playing a total of four games over the course of the weekend. These games will be played under college rules, including shot clocks. Ample time will be built into the schedule for full warmups to maximize coaching and the overall game experience.
At each grade level, the top four teams at the two Circuit Events will advance to the Circuit Championship Event, which take place during Memorial Day weekend in conjunction with the NCAA Men’s Final Four. All circuit competition dates have been carefully selected, so that National Team play will not compete with or take away from the standard club lacrosse competition schedule.
Currently, nine national programs have signed on as founding members of The Circuit. They are (in alphabetical order):
• 3d National (CO)
• ADVNC NDP (CA)
• BBL National (NJ)
• Nationals (NC)
• Nations Best (MA)
• Rebels National (NY)
• Thunder National (GA)
• United National (Canada)
• UNRL National (MN)
NXTsports will provide event management and organization services for The Circuit. NXT does not sponsor any national team, though some of NXT’s elite club players will have the opportunity to try out for the Nation’s Best national program, which takes the best players from 3STEP clubs.
“The Circuit is designed to bring structure to the growing National Team movement within the lacrosse club world and to provide fair competition,” said Peter Lawrence, President of NXTsports. “We are very happy with the positive response so far and believe The Circuit will be a mainstay on the youth lacrosse scene for years to come, without having any impact on the traditional club lacrosse or lacrosse recruiting calendars.”
The Circuit plans to increase opportunities for expansion in the future. Anyone interested in learning more about The Circuit may contact Peter Lawrence at Peter@nxtsports.com.
