East Coast Elite Box Lacrosse (ECE) is a new organization that will be providing numerous box lacrosse programs including advanced training, regional game play opportunities and elite national teams.

Attention NJ Riot Families,

Congratulations on being selected to play for NJ Riot for the 2022/2023 travel season! My name is Brendan Gorman, I am the National director of East Coast Elite Box Lacrosse. Many of you have played for me under O2 box lacrosse and we are growing the box game and wanted to offer you the opportunity to further develop as a player.

We have a Fall youth & H.S. league set to kick off September 17th, as well as regional and National travel team opportunities this Winter. I have included all information below. Box lacrosse is growing tremendously and is proven to sharpen players skills for the field game. If you have any questions please email me directly at bpg00092@gmail.com.

5 REASONS WHY EVERY PLAYER SHOULD PLAY

BOX LACROSSE

REASON 1 - BOX LACROSSE DEVELOPS STICK SKILLS + LACROSSE IQ

Box lacrosse is played in a hockey rink, 5v5 with goalies and no defensive long sticks.

Stick Skills – The goals are much smaller and the goalies have much larger pads, leaving players very little open net to shoot at and much tighter spaces to ball handle in! In such a tight space, players MUST learn to have great stick skills and be able to pick the spots they shoot at! If you watch the Canadians play (Mark Matthews & John Grant Jr. to name a couple), their stick skills are second to none and they score goals in bunches, because they honed their skills playing box on 4’x4′ nets! For defense, defenders can only use short sticks which forces them to really work on their stick skills! Especially ground balls and getting the ball UP THE FIELD.

Lacrosse IQ – Box lacrosse has a 30 second shot clock (like the NBA) which means the game is very fast. Players must constantly be aware of the time, score and shot clock. This forces them to take all of those factors and make a split-second decision every time they get the ball. Since the game is so back and forth – players get many more reps. The feedback is instantaneous where as in field it might be a few minutes before you get off to the sideline to hear your coach explain things to you. Box shifts are fast and short which allows you to talk to your coaches a lot more than you would otherwise. For offense, players must be able to know when and where to take a good shot because there is such limited space for the target!

REASON 2 - REPETITIONS REPETITIONS REPETITIONS

Because box lacrosse has a 30 second shot clock. The amount of shots per game is much higher than that of outdoor lacrosse. The game is back and forth which gives players many more chances and touches than they would have otherwise. For example, a penalty in box lacrosse is 2 minutes long compared to 30 seconds for outdoor! That means you are guaranteed 4 possessions on man up (30 second shot clock).

REASON 3 - BODY POSITIONING AND BODY CONTROL

Unlike field, where a player has much more space to attack/defend, box lacrosse is all close- quarters. For offensive players they learn how to handle the ball much better with a defenseman draped all over their hands and must learn how to use their body to shield their stick from being checked! For a defenseman, there is no better way to practice your defense than to use a short stick. Particularly, in box lacrosse, there is also a lot of pick play/2 man play - another fundamental concept defensemen hone in on playing box. They must always have their bodies between the ball carrier and the net because the field is so small!

REASON 4 - LOOK AT THE SUCCESS

In 2006, Team Canada beat Team USA in the field World Championships. In 2010, USA beat Canada by 2 and in 2014, Canada beat USA again 8-5. This USA team included the likes of Paul Rabil, Rob Pannel & Matt Danowksi, the best field players in the world. Yet USA still lost to Canada (who had a squad of their own superstars albeit) and those in the lacrosse world began to wonder how this could be happening. The answer they found was that the box lacrosse foundation of the Canadians was still superior to the athleticism of Team USA. While Team USA may have been better athletes, they were not better lacrosse players. Add to this, the 24-0 record that Team Canada has against all other countries at the indoor lacrosse championships, and you begin to wonder how they are doing it.

Also, take a look at the scoring prowess of Canadians in the college game. For example Denver’s championship team this past year – their captain Wes Berg is Canadian, and the rest of their roster was stacked with players who grew up playing indoors. It is no wonder that college coaches are looking north more and more to find players who can put the ball in the back of the net! 

REASON 5 - OFF-BALL MOVEMENT AND COMMUNICATION

What most people don't realize is that the movement off-ball in box lacrosse is just as important as on-ball movement. Because the game is so fast paced and in such a tight space, offense doesn't have time to just sit back and set up a big play - there is constant movement all the time on offense! Off-ball players must set picks, roll off picks, have their hands free, all while having defenseman on their hands. Defensively, communicating through the 2 man game is VITAL. Additionally, defensive players must communicate as a whole in order to be successful with the speed of this game!

Tryouts are open to 3rd - 12th grade players from any club or town. Regional Box Teams are open to all lacrosse players from any club organization.

REGIONAL TRAVEL PROGRAMING

All regions will field their own box teams this Winter (December - February).

Regions and practice locations: 

• Central - Inman Rink (Edison) & Inline Rink (Morristown)
• North - ISCA (North Arlington) & NY: (Rockand/Orange)
• NY - Hudson Sports Complex (Rockand/Orange)
• West - Peddie School

Programming: 

• 8 Team Sessions (each region has their own trainings)
• 3 Regional Game Days in New Jersey

Gear:

• Custom sublimated Box Uniform Kit
• Option to purchase Box Equipment (helmet, kidney pads & bicep pads) at a discount

EAST COAST ELITE NATIONAL BOX PROGRAM

The top players from each region will be invited to join the East Coast Elite National team. Programming consists of 3 mini camps, 2 scrimmages, and 2 winter tournaments. Additionally, further elite playing opportunities will be offered in the summer. All of our National team coaches have experience playing or coaching at the highest levels.

Youth Box League (3rd - 8th grade)

45 mins Training, 45 mins Game Play

Open to Players from all regions

Location: Sportsdome (Waldwick Outdoor Rink)

8:00 AM - 9:30 AM | 2032 (3rd) / 2031 (4th) Registration

9:30 AM - 11:00 AM | 2030 (5th) / 2029 (6th) Registration

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM | 2028 (7th) / 2027 (8th) Registration

N.J.B.L.L High School Box League (9th - 12th grade)

Location: ISCA Indoor Rink (North Arlington)

4:00 PM - 10:00 PM | High School (9th - 12th) Registration

• N.J.B.L.L (New Jersey Box Lacrosse League)
• September 17th, 24th, October 1, 8, 15, 22 from 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM
• Players will be assigned to a team before week one
• Stats and highlights will be recorded each week 
• 6 week league - teams will play 2 games each Saturday
• Get the true Canadian game play experience by playing three 15 min periods each game

East Coast Elite Box Lacrosse | bpg00092@gmail.com