All,
As we get closer to the spring season, I wanted to pass along some really exciting news. As the only team with local, state, and national level teams, we have continued to build our network to best support the aspirations of all of our players.
Through my travels, I have been fortunate to meet and befriend some of the best players in the history of the game. A constant in each conversation with these elite players was the concept of the icon. Because our boys are not growing up in a hot bed of lacrosse, their access to iconic players has been relatively limited. I remember growing up and standing on the sideline as a Duke ball boy dreaming of one day playing like all-time great Doug Knight and Michael Watson (both UVA players playing in Durham). My high school coach, Joe Seivold, was a 4 time All-American, recent national hall of fame inductee, and coached in the professional indoor league. That connectivity allowed me to meet and model my game after guys like the Gait and Wade brothers and gave my local youth team access to players we flocked to for autographs and clinics. We watched lacrosse, we knew who the best players were, and we got to interact with them with some level of frequency. Seeing those role models allowed us a window into what made them great, and we pushed ourselves to be more like them.
With that in mind, Project Missouri has been hard at work to develop The Project Pro Series. In the coming weeks we will roll out via social media some partnerships that we hope will propel and inspire our boys through direct contact and coaching with some of the world’s best athletes. These athletes have committed to increasing their presence in Saint Louis to work with our boys, and the consistency of their trips here will allow for them to see what it takes and to have that mentorship that we, quite frankly, don’t see in any other western/midwestern clubs. These coaches all play in the PLL and have agreed to work with our players throughout the year.
To that end, we are excited to welcome 8x PLL all-star, Will Manny, 3x PLL MVP, 9x PLL all-star, 4x PLL Midfielder of the Year, and Team USA Senior Captain, Tom Schreiber, and PLL FO Specialist and Team Canada team member, Justin Inacio, to our pipeline. Each of these incredible men will start working with our players in the coming months.
First up, will be Will Manny on Saturday, February 3rd. Coach Manny will work with all of our offensive groups as part of our youth evaluations and will also work with our high school boys that same day. Information to come for the high school session. Youth need to simply be registered for the free evaluation.
The Project Pro Series is open to all of our players, and we expect that these relationships will continue to enhance the overall quality of experience and play for the boys.
Coach Andy Kay