At the invitation of the coaches, Mat Levine recently attended two fall PSAL lacrosse meetings.  One for AP Randolph HS in Harlem and the other at Columbus HS in the Bronx.  The coaches conduct the meetings to start the process of organizing for the Spring season.  They are trying to recruit new players to join the lacrosse program, especially 9^th and 10^th graders, that do not know much about lacrosse, or its short but rich tradition at each of these schools.

AP Randolph will be entering its 5^th year of PSAL Varsity competition; Columbus will be playing its 4^th season.

The AP Randolph meeting was for both boys and girls teams.  Coach Jaclyn Bruce of the girls team conducted the meeting with support from Assistant Principal Gerry Menegatos.  AP Randoph was the first program started up by CityLax, and Mat says, ” it’s always to great feeling for me to return to the school”.

Boys Coach Ulises Pena will be seeking to replace strong a senior class that helped the team makes it first ever PSAL Playoff appearance.  Back on the ladies side, Coach Bruce has a very good group of returning players (now juniors and seniors) who were very helpful in getting people to attend the meeting.  Mat hopes both teams will be sending a solid group to participate in the Winter Clinics at Frederick Douglass Academy!

Mat also reports that

“at the Columbus meeting, Coach Victor Arroyo was quick to point out that, as defending PSAL Boys Champion, there will be a big target on the team’s back, as the other PSAL powerhouses like Midwood and New Dorp, look to dethrone Columbus.  The boys attending the meeting were very serious about the task at hand and said they were all looking forward to the CityLax Winter clinics to help them prepare for their title defense.   I was able to speak a few words and reminded the Columbus team to think about the great winning tradition they have build in such a short period of time and to keep in mind that much of their recent success was based on the guys that made up the very first team in 2007 and who have graduated.   This is a hardworking group and I think they will not rest on their laurels.  We also talked about getting the group together and attending the Big City Classic on April 3.  The first game of the Triple Header is between Rutgers and St. Johns.  Former Columbus start middie Billy Nguyen is a Freshman on the St. Johns team.  The Columbus team plans to attend the game dressed in their team warm-ups to cheer Billy and his team on.”

Sounds like things are moving in the right direction for these both of these programs!  We’ll be reporting back with more updates as they come in.  If you have something you would like to see posted, feel free to send it in!

Photo of Billy Nguyen courtesy NY Post