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HEMPSTEAD, NY- When it comes to finding the best lacrosse talent in the world, look no further than Long Island. Long Island continually produces the most talent of anywhere and turns out the best men’s college players year in and year out. All you have to do is look at any stat sheet or a list of past All-Americans and you will see the list flooded with student-athletes from Long Island.
Of the 57 division one men’s lacrosse teams and the 2333 total players in 2007, 14 percent of those players were Long Island natives. Out of those 57 teams, only 76 players were named All-Americans with 16 of those players coming from Long Island for a stunning 21 percent. Not only were one out of every five players on the All-American list from Long Island, but “Strong Island’s” very own Matt Danowski out of Duke University and a local product from Farmingdale took home the Tewaaraton Trophy, given annually to the collegiate game’s best overall player.
Starting at age three, the future stars of the game learn the skills necessary to become successful lacrosse players in the local Nassau and Suffolk county PAL (Police Athletic League) leagues. According to U.S. Lacrosse, not only is lacrosse continuing to dominate the Long Island athletic scene, but lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in America.
The number of youth leagues and teams has grown over 500 percent since 1999 with over 200,000 high school players and over 250,000 youth players. As the sport continues to grow and more and more states begin to produce collegiate talent, there will still be one and only one place to find the best of the best, Long Island.