We’re a week away from the unofficial opening day in the nation’s No. 1 hotbed for lacrosse, the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tristate region.

Next Tuesday, March 20, Syosset, seeded first in Nassau County Class A by coaches in the preseason, takes on two-time Class B state finalists Garden City, at Garden City.

With the season about to start, here are five things to keep an eye on:

* Class alignments: The big news last year was that Manhasset was moving up from Class C to Class B. The result was Manhasset, which had won two straight state Class C titles, losing to Garden City in the Nassau County Class B title game. Of note this season, Hendrick Hudson has moved down from Class B and to Class C. With a pair of major Division I recruits – junior midfielder Matt Ledwin (Johns Hopkins) and sophomore goaltender Eddie Gilman (North Carolina) – the Sailors could challenge defending Section 1 Class C champ Bronxville for the title.

* Big Saturday for scrimmages: March 24 is a big day for preseason action. The fourth annual Red/Gray Tournament at Somers features a strong eight-team field that includes St. Anthony’s. Also that day is the Darien Jamboree and a three-team event at Yorktown. Check the rundown here.

* March will go out like a lion: The weather is unusually mild, but March will go out like a lion in the region when it comes to lax. Here are some big games set prior to month’s end, in addition to the aforementioned Syosset-Garden City matchup: Ward Melville at Garden City (March 24), West Islip at Chaminade (March 31) and John Jay at Yorktown (March 31).

* New coaches: Smithtown West, which fell to West Islip in overtime in last year’s Suffolk Class A finals, has a new head coach in Tom Moltisanti Jr. … Former Syosset assistant Tom Rooney is the new head coach at Port Washington. … In Section 1, former Croton-Harmon coach Kevin Flynn is the new head coach at North Salem. … Jeff Fritz, a longtime coach in Armonk from the youth levels to the high school ranks and a former Team USA player, is the new head coach at Byram Hills.

* Regional powers rank high nationally: As usual, the region is well-represented in the first Under Armour/Inside Lacrosse national power rankings of the season, with Salisbury (Conn.), St. Anthony’s and Garden City all in the Top 10. You can check out the complete rankings here.

* Revising the rulebook: New rules are in effect starting this season designed to speed up offensive play and simplify counting requirements for officials; expand non-releasable fouls for checks in the head and neck areas; require butt ends for sticks; new faceoff rules; and more. Check our overview from earlier this year for all the details.

* Sophomore surge: One of the main stories we’ve followed in the offseason is the surge in sophomores making verbal commitments. The count from the region is now 15 – and counting. Cold Spring Harbor midfielder Jordan Walter (Notre Dame) became the latest. Check the complete rundown here.

* Schedules, schedules, schedules: Here are links to LaxPower’s high school schedule pages for the region:

BOYS

* CHSAA

* Section 1 (Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and parts of Dutchess counties)

* Section 2 (Albany area)

* Section 8 (Nassau County)

* Section 9 (Orange, Ulster, Sullivan and parts of Dutchess counties)

* Section 11 (Suffolk County)

* Connecticut (Public/Parochial)

* New Jersey (Public/Parochial)

GIRLS

* CHSAA

* Section 1 (Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and parts of Dutchess counties)

* Section 2 (Albany area)

* Section 8 (Nassau County)

* Section 9 (Orange, Ulster, Sullivan and parts of Dutchess counties)

* Section 11 (Suffolk County)

* Connecticut (Public/Parochial)

* New Jersey (Public)

* New Jersey (Parochial)

LAXLESSONS Links

Player’s perspective archive

* If you’re a player from the region and would like to share your perspectives on the 2012 season, send an email to info@laxlessons.com. You can  check out the more than 100 stories by clicking here.

Schedules galore

* For a look at how schedules for teams from throughout the region for the 2012 season are shaping up, be sure to check out  the “Schedules scanner” thread.

Recruiting coverage

* Updated recruiting review and commitment rundown (for classes of 2012, ’13 and ’14)

* 2011 NLI Fall Early Signing Period commitment rundown

* Class of 2011 commitment rundown

* Recruit profile archive

* For a list of committed players with their profiles up, click here.

* To get your profile up, click here.

Connect with us

* Follow LaxLessons on Twitter by clicking here.

* Become a Fan of LaxLessons on Facebook now by clicking here.

Get in the game

* You can subscribe to LaxLessons.com’s playbook, featuring animated drills and plays for your team, by clicking here.

 

Posted In: CHSAA lacrosse, Fairfield lacrosse, Long Island lacrosse, New Jersey lacrosse, Section 1, Section 11, Section 8, Section 9, SWC lacrosse

If you liked this article, please take this time to share it with your Facebook friends using the Facebook button (see Facebook post button to the left) or retweet it using Twitter (see retweet button to the left). You may also want to follow us or subscribe to the site to stay up-to-date with this article. If you'd rather follow us from your Facebook account, join our Facebook fan page.

One Response to “Some things to key an eye on a week away from opening day”

  1. LaxLessons.com says:

    We have a quick programming note. Joe will be be starting Top 10 lax rankings for LI tonite at 7 on the Long Island edition of MSG Varsity’s SportsDesk hosted by Keith Irizarry on iO Channel 14 continuing thru Friday.

Leave a Reply