Thank you for supporting our battle to defeat Alzheimer's disease!

The 5th annual Play for the A's lacrosse event will be held on Saturday April 1, 2017 at Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, PA. This event fully supports the battle against Alzheimer's disease by providing funds and support services to local families affected by this dreaded disease. As part of our outreach, the SHHS boys' lacrosse program has spent valuable time in community service with Taylor Hospice in Ridley Park, and our new partnership with the Taylor Foundation gives us the opportunity to share all donated funds locally to assist families whose loved ones are affected. Our expanded efforts toward awareness, education, and the fight for a cure can use your help!

This year's event schedule, to be held at George King Field (200 S. Providence Road, Wallingford), is:

8:00 am – Haven Youth Lacrosse

10:00 am – Methacton HS vs. Harriton HS (JV)

12:00 pm – Methacton HS vs. Harriton HS (Var)

2:00 pm – Abington HS vs. Marple Newtown (Var)

4:00 pm – Wissahickon HS vs. Radnor HS (Var)

6:00 pm – Malvern Prep vs. Strath Haven HS (Var)

To make a secure donation to help our effort, please go to http://www.tcfhelps.org/donate.html and use the "restricted gift" donation choice; designate your gift to "Play for the As" to support our fight to defeat Alzheimer's disease.

Event sponsorship opportunities are also available for this year's event; 100% of your contribution will be received by the Taylor Foundation as a restricted gift (to be used in our local area to fight the effects of Alzheimer's Disease).

For more information on this year's Play for the As event, please contact Strath Haven Head Coach Jef Hewlings at providenceroadlax@gmail.com. Currently, more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and countless others have changed their lives drastically in order to care for these individuals.  We truly appreciate your support in our quest to affect the path of this disease! With your help and financial commitment, we WILL win this battle.

Matching Gifts

Many companies offer matching gift programs to encourage employees to contribute to charitable organizations. If your company offers a matching gift program that will match your gift to Taylor Community Foundation you may mail or email your completed matching gift form to:

Taylor Community Foundation

Attn: Matching Gifts

P.O. Box 227

Ridley Park, PA 19078

info@TCFhelps.org

Your personal gift and matched contribution will be credited to the program that you designate. If your employer requires an Employer Identification Number (EIN) (i.e. Federal Tax Identification Number), please use 23-2354770.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact Taylor Community Foundation at info@TCFhelps.org.

"http://papreplive.com/blog/2016/05/20/conner-huestis-help-strath-haven-nip-marple-newtown/"

NETHER PROVIDENCE >> Strath Haven head coach Jef Hewlings knows his team is not as loaded as some of the juggernauts around the state, but it makes up for it in a variety of other ways.
Strath Haven's Will Huestis drives down the field under the watchful eye of Marple Newtown's Matt Deacon in the Panthers' 11-8 win Thursday in the District One tournament. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki
Strath Haven's Will Huestis drives down the field under the watchful eye of Marple Newtown's Matt Deacon in the Panthers' 11-8 win Thursday in the District One tournament. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki
The Panthers slow the game down and use the clock to their advantage by controlling the pace. Sometimes they prefer to run and have their attackers take off as soon as they cross the midfield. Other times, Hewlings just sits back and allows his two leading scorers to take over, which is exactly what they did against Central League rival Marple Newtown Thursday night.
Behind Jeffrey Conner's four goals and three assists, and Will Huestis' four goals and one assist, the Panthers clawed their way to an 11-8 victory over Marple Newtown in the second round of the District One playoffs. Huestis got things going with the first goal for Strath Haven after Marple's Tyler Kostack scored the opening goal of the game, and Conner went off for three in the second quarter alone.
Hewlings appreciated being able to just let his two midfielders control the game instead of calling set plays on certain possessions.
"We're not a deep team and we're trying to survive a few injuries right now so those guys know they have to stay on the field," Hewlings said. "They have to play offense, defense and between the restraining lanes. They know when to get off to get their rest, get back on and do what they need to with the ball to get us where we need to be."
Conner found Huestis late in the third quarter to push Strath Haven's lead to 8-4. Conner, a Saint Joseph's recruit, applauded his teammate after the game and felt their previous matchup with the Tigers helped fuel their respective performances.
Strath Haven Jeffrey Conner, left, battles Marple Newtown's Matt Deacon Thursday. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki)
Strath Haven Jeffrey Conner, left, battles Marple Newtown's Matt Deacon Thursday. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki)
"Playing them in the past gave us a game plan. We knew what they wanted to do coming in," Conner said. "We worked in some new plays. (Will) played great and it really worked out for us."
While Conner and Huestis dominated for fifth-seeded Strath Haven (16-4), Kostack was singlehandedly keeping the Tigers (11-8) in the game. He put six in the back of the net, including three in the final 3:57 and added two helpers to Jake Long and Marlon Weathers. Kostack said his team's inability to clear the ball out of their zone hurt them in the end.
"I think we slacked on clearing. We didn't really focus on that a lot in practice," Kostack said. "We focused more on getting our offense in tune and covering off-ball, where we were struggling all year."
The Panthers will take on Bishop Shanahan Saturday, and Hewlings has consistently stressed how his team needs to approach each postseason game.
"I think our kids need to know this a grind game," Hewlings said. "We're not deep and probably don't have the most talent in the state, but they just keep battling and grinding, and when they do that good things happen."

Congratulations to the 2016 SH Boys Lacrosse program, who finished with a 14-4 overall record (9-2 in CL) and claimed a piece of the program's first ever Central League Championship!

Our guys have worked extremely hard and overcome the chaos of game day on many occasions throughout this season, and with a District tournament that requires 5 solid game day efforts over 9 days, our schedule this year (#6 SOS according to LP) has prepared us well for the toughest District tournament in PA.

We are the #5 seed in the 29-team tournament; we will play WC Rustin on Tuesday night at King Field, start time 7:00 pm. You can find the full bracket on the PIAA District One website at http://www.piaad1.org/assets/Uploads/BLAX-2016a.pdf.

We will practice on King Monday from 5:00-7:00 to prepare for our first round game on Tuesday. Beyond success on Tuesday, we have reserved the 5-7 practice time at King for the rest of the week (a second round game would also be held at SH on Thursday). Should we be fortunate to win through the first 2 rounds, we would play a quarterfinal game at Harriton on Saturday 5/21, with both winners and losers of these games playing the following Tuesday to determine which 5 teams from District One will advance to the 16-team state tournament that begins after Memorial Day.

BUT... let's take things one play at a time and one game at a time; don't look beyond our efforts on Monday to prepare for a tough WC Rustin team that will give us their best effort on Tuesday on OUR field.

You have worked hard to earn the right to play at home this week - let's make the most of this opportunity by preparing well and playing with energy, intelligence, and mental toughness when we hit the field Tuesday night.

Seniors - you have made your mark on our program in a VERY BIG way - congratulations on 4 years worth of great memories... let's keep making them over these next few weeks.

Coach Hewlings

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality."

#workhardTOGETHER

Congratulations to the our entire SHHS Boys Lacrosse community on achieving the first of our team goals this year - a Central League Championship! Those who have been through the CL regular season experience know what this means - the CL season is a true grind, with no real room for game day error, and the fact that no team made it through without losing is a testament to the challenge such a league presents each year.

What we have done this year in meeting our regular season challenges (we currently have the #8 strongest schedule in SE PA, with 8 of the top 11 being CL teams) stands out as an accomplishment of which we should all be proud - but not satisfied.

The upcoming week brings the chance to win the title OUTRIGHT (on Tuesday at GV), as well as a special chance for our seniors to be recognized against another tough InterAc League opponent (EA) on Saturday's Senior Day on King Field.

Our weekly schedule is below, including bus times for our away game on Tuesday:

Mon 5/9/16 practice 5:30-7:00 King bus leaves
Tue 5/10/16 game vs. Garnet Valley 5:30/7:30 GV 4:15/5:45
Wed 5/11/16 practice 7:00-9:00 King
Thu 5/12/16 practice 4:00-6:00 Mesa
Fri 5/13/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Sat 5/14/16 game vs. Episcopal (Sr. Day) 12:00/1:30 King

Take some time this weekend to recover, re-energize, and begin getting ready for another history-making week as we prepare for the District One play-offs, which will begin on Tuesday 5/17. For our young guys that won't be dressing for our play-off run, we will be collecting ALL black and purple uniforms on Thursday at practice (we ask that you bring these washed and folded so we can store them until next season)

Enjoy and safe, restful, and sunny Mother's Day on Sunday and let's get back to work on Monday, focused on the challenges that lie ahead.

Coach Hewlings

#workhardTOGETHER

"The poor man is not he who is without a cent, but he who is without a dream."

**Follow us @SHBoysLacrosse on Twitter if you can't be with us on game day!

While we experienced a bit of a "hiccup" yesterday (against the 2nd ranked team in the Eastern Region (891 schools), according to LP), we have worked hard to position ourselves to win the program's FIRST EVER Central League championship as we head into a key week for our program.

In fact, official records of the SHHS Boys' Lacrosse program reveal that the team's best ever showing was back in 2003, when the program finished the season 3rd in the CL, with an overall record of 16-5 and a LP ranking of 6th in our area. We currently rank 6th in the area and 5th in District One; the LP D1 rankings will determine seeding for the upcoming District playoffs that begin in approximately 2 weeks (and the top 5 finishers in the District 1 tournament will advance to the PIAA state playoffs).

Our group of senior student athletes has risen during their careers from a District ranking of 28th back when they were freshmen, to 22nd, then 17th last year, and have now led our squad to an opportunity for a very high seed as we head into this week's competition.

Let's put our effort against Malvern behind us as we prepare to achieve the first of our 2016 goals - a Central league crown. Our schedule for the week is below; exceptional focus, mental toughness, resilience, and execution of the "little things" will keep us on track to achieve our goals this week.

Mon 5/2/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Tue 5/3/16 game vs. Haverford HS 6:00/7:30 Haverford 4:30/5:45
Wed 5/4/16 practice 6:00-8:00 King track meet
Thu 5/5/16 game vs. Harriton 5:30/7:00 King
Fri 5/6/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Sat 5/7/16 practice 8:00-10:00 TBD

Note: With a generous donation of funds raised through sales at the snack bar during our Play for the As event this year, we have reached our $10,000 fund raising goal - another first for our program - thank you all!

Coach Hewlings

#workhardTOGETHER

"Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal."

Hard to believe, but we are less than 3 weeks from the end of the 2016 regular season. Both squads continue to work hard to improve, and this past week was another "grind it out week" against tough competition on both Thursday and Saturday.

Things do not get any easier this week, so we need to keep working hard, play smart, execute at both ends of the field, and collect GBs every time we have the chance. We have Radnor and Penncrest in the Central League this week, along with a very talented Malvern Prep squad (on their Senior Day) on Saturday at Malvern.

Let's focus on the "little things" that have allowed us to achieve so far this season - continue to work together, lift each other up when mistakes are made, show up from the first to the last whistle on game days, challenge ourselves - and each other - on practice days, and work to play our best lacrosse down the stretch. With "everybody playing everybody" in the Central league over these next couple of weeks, our best approach is to take care of US and let everything else out of our control happen. First goal for us is a Central League title - let's go out and put ourselves in the best position to achieve this with solid lacrosse this week.

Mon 4/25/16 practice 7:00-9:00 King track meet
Tue 4/26/16 game vs. Radnor 5:30/7:00 Radnor 4:15/5:00 PM
Wed 4/27/16 practice 6:00-8:00 King track meet
Thu 4/28/16 game vs. Penncrest 5:30/7:00 King
Fri 4/29/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Sat 4/30/16 game vs Malvern 1:00/1:00 Malvern 11:15 (both)

Coach Hewlings

"We will either find a way, or make one."

#workhardTOGETHER

http://papreplive.com/boys-lacrosse/2016/04/22/delco-boys-lacrosse-super-7-april-22/

Thanks to three wins in four games, Christian Feliziani and Episcopal Academy sneak back into this week's Super 7. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gureck)The Central League has reached the halfway point in its campaign, and things are, well, muddled. Injuries have made their mark on the standings, and in a league that is usually easy to at least break into top and bottom halves, an unusual quantity of upsets occurred in the last week to disrupt that order. Saturday marks one of the biggest days on the lacrosse calendar, with the Katie Samson Lacrosse Festival and thousands of spectators descending on Radnor as some of the East Coast's best teams convene. Before that happens, let's see where everyone in Delco stands, as well as getting a glance at updated stat leaders. (Records through April 21.)

1. Haverford School (10-3) Last Week: No. 1
Next Friday's home date with Malvern Prep is likely to determine if there's a split or outright Inter-Ac champion. Both teams face difficult weeks, with Episcopal Academy preceding Haverford on Malvern's slate, while the Fords scheduled Manheim Township early in the week, one of the top non-SE-PA teams. Both Haverford (Brunswick School) and Malvern (Hun School) have difficult games at Katie Samson. The Inter-Ac is often a straightforward hierarchy with few upsets, but will that continue to be the case?

2. Strath Haven (9-1) Last Week: No. 4
The Panthers saw their unbeaten run end with Thursday's 10-8 loss to Conestoga. But even in defeat, the game offers an interesting barometer of both teams. Conestoga is solidifying its championship credentials, though the Pioneers still have the next three teams in these rankings left on the schedule. The Panthers have few weaknesses – from a good goalie in Will Brake, to a very good faceoff man in Hunter Mazur to Jeffrey Conner orchestrating a varied and potent attack.

3. Garnet Valley (6-3) Last Week: No. 2
The 10-5 loss to Springfield is most alarming for the spread between the teams. For all their attacking options, it seems the Jaguars are vulnerable when shutdown defenders can muzzle Matt Moore, as Springfield's Pat Smyth did Tuesday. Moore has a goal and two assists total in two of the Jags' three losses, to Springfield and Malvern Prep.

4. Haverford (9-1) Last Week: No. 6
I'll admit, I thought Haverford had a good team this season. I didn't think they'd have a team capable of beating Radnor at home and putting a hurt on Penncrest in the same week. But that's what the Fords did, and they rise in the rankings as a result. Also, Bobby McClure has 71 points this season for a team averaging 14.4 goals per game. Both quantities are fairly ridiculous.

5. Penncrest (7-2) Last Week: No. 3
The loss to Haverford was stark, especially since the Fords started out with a 6-0 lead. That letdown in the first game since Garnet Valley's loss to Springfield reignited Penncrest's chances of a Central League title split is particularly disappointing. The Fords scored two long-pole goals via Jack Farrell and Mike Romanofsky in that game, which should concern Penncrest. Even more worrying for the Lions is that the offensive options haven't emerged. Max Daugherty and TJ Sims have contributed consistently, but if opponents shut down Alex Bonnett (as Haverford did) or Ryan Kinnard, the Lions struggle.

6. Springfield (5-5) Last Week: NR
When you base a team around the strong defensive principles that Tom Lemieux does, offensive hiccups are surmountable. Exclude the early loss to Spring-Ford when Springfield was shorthanded defensively, and they've surrendered just 4.9 goals per game. Between that and Kyle Long's surge (19 assists in four games), the defending District One champs are back on track.

7. Episcopal Academy (3-7) Last Week: NR
Now this is closer to the Churchmen team that you expect. They've won three of four, the only loss to Haverford School. Guys are getting healthy, with Jake Martellucci back and Connor Ringwalt asserting himself. They've got three games left against the big guns in the Inter-Ac (two against Malvern) to see if they can interlope on the Malvern/Haverford duopoly.

Honorable Mention: Radnor (5-5, injuries to Westy McLaughlin and Clayton Proctor, the latter of which appears to be long-term, casts serious doubt on the Raiders attack's ability to put the pieces together); Ridley (5-6, the Green Raiders have lost five straight games – though by a combined eight goals – as injuries seem to be taking their toll); Marple Newtown (6-5, it took until the sixth try for the Tigers to get their first Central League win, but with the conference's upheaval, hope that Marple can upend a top team isn't outlandish).

As we put the first half of the season behind us and make the turn into the backstretch, we have a challenging week ahead - let's continue to focus, practice and play with energy and purpose, and be mentally prepared as we hit the field on Monday.

It's one game at a time, and the next opponent up is Upper Darby - We are vulnerable when we are not focused, when we don't execute, and when we take our opponent for granted. First things first, let's prepare well and chip away at the beginning of this week - the end of the week will be with us in due time.

Mon 4/18/16 practice 6:00-8:00 King track meet
Tue 4/19/16 game vs. Upper Darby 5:30/7:00 King
Wed 4/20/16 practice 7:00-9:00 King track meet
Thu 4/21/16 game vs. Conestoga 5:30/7:00 Conestoga 4:00/5:00 busses
Fri 4/22/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Sat 4/23/16 game vs. Penn Charter 12:00 (var only) PC 9:45 bus

One final thought as we head into this week: Are you experiencing the journey? Don't look for the finish line just yet - let's recognize how special this journey is and enjoy each part of it!!

Coach Hewlings

"Every step of progress the world has made has been from scaffold to scaffold, and from stake to stake."

(keep carving the stone)

http://papreplive.com/boys-lacrosse/2016/04/12/boys-lacrosse-super-7-april-12/

http://papreplive.com/boys-lacrosse/2016/04/12/conners-offense-strath-havens-defense-turn-back-marple/

http://papreplive.com/boys-lacrosse/2016/04/09/strath-haven-rides-conner-fink-to-upset-win/

Jeffrey Conner and Tyler Fink each tallied hat tricks, and Jack Borbee turned provider with four assists as Strath Haven beat western PA power Mount Lebanon, 9-5, in a nonleague game.
Will Brake made 15 saves for the Panthers, who used a 5-2 edge in the second quarter to pull ahead for good.

It was a great week to be a Panther! Our squad continues to work hard to prepare for game day performance, and this week's battles showed the results of their efforts. Both our young guys and old guys are proving it on the field, and our entire coaching staff is proud of the efforts of the players to work hard TOGETHER to improve.

This week is ALZHEIMER'S WEEK! While we have a couple of important Central League games between now and the weekend, our 4th Annual Play for the As event is just one week away. We are at nearly $5,000 in fundraising (all funds go directly to the Alzheimer's Association), and if you are able and haven't yet done so, we are still accepting your financial support at http://act.alz.org/goto/PlayfortheAs2016

"4th annual" T-shirts are now available (see attached); I will have these with me all week $12 each, or 2 for $20), with all proceeds to be included in our fundraising total and sent directly to the Alzheimer's Association as well.

Our schedule for the week is:

Mon 4/11/16 practice 7:00-9:00 King
Tue 4/12/16 game vs. Marple Newtown 5:30/7:00 MN
Wed 4/13/16 practice 6:00-8:00 King
Thu 4/14/16 game vs. Lower Merion 5:30/7:00 King
Fri 4/15/16 practice 6:00-8:00 King
Sat 4/16/16 game vs. Hershey (PFAs) 4:00/6:00 King

Note that our 6:00 practices on Wednesday and Friday are changes from the original schedule, due to home track meets.

Use today to rest up from a very busy week, but keep in mind that the regular season is a full grind, with the team best prepared to handle the ups and down of each day finishing on top at the end. Let's not look past our next practice on Monday and our next opponent, Marple Newtown, on Tuesday. While it's been a while since the Panthers had a target on their back, that target is fast becoming a reality, and we'll need to handle our success by continuing to "carve away at the stone."

Great job this weekend in Pittsburgh, both on and off the field; let's keep up the energy and pound the rock this week.

Coach

"Your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing."

#workhardTOGETHER

Nice job by our guys preparing for today's games - After a bit of a slow start, great job by our young guys taking control and outplaying Carroll over the last 3 quarters, and good job by our old guys preparing today, in the face of uncertainty over whether or not we were going to play.

I reached out to William Penn Charter School this afternoon, and it looks like we will be able to pick up a game with PC on Saturday 4/23; time and place TBD.

A few game time changes highlight this week's schedule - On Tuesday, game times are now 3:30 JV and 5:00 Var, and these games will be played at Haldeman Field (on Springfield Rd) - On Saturday, our new game times are 12:30 JV and 2:00 Var at Mt Lebanon (Pittsburgh) - the week's schedule is:

Mon 4/4/16 practice 4:00-6:00 Mesa pasta dinner
Tue 4/5/16 game vs. Springfield 3:30/5:00 Springfield
Wed 4/6/16 practice 7:00-9:00 King
Thu 4/7/16 game vs Ridley 5:30/7:00 King
Fri 4/8/16 travel to Mt Lebo 3:00 bus departs
Sat 4/9/16 game vs Mt Lebo 12:30-2:00 ML

Please note the team pasta diner on Monday night at the Ross house - We are on grass Monday as long as the weather allows, thanks for your flexibility.

On Friday at 3:00, we depart via charter bus for Pittsburgh, but we have much to do before we make this trip. Our Central League schedule is finally upon us, let's be stone carvers again this week, chip away at the rock, make a difference each time we get the chance.

Thanks for working hard and playing together - IT ALL MATTERS.

Coach Hewlings

http://papreplive.com/boys-lacrosse/2016/03/29/conners-five-goals-lead-strath-haven-past-downingtown-east/

UWCHLAN >> Jeff Conner couldn't help but thank all of his teammates for his hot start to the season.
Conner has been the bulk of Strath Haven's offense this year, but the burden hasn't been too big for him to handle. Instead, he just keeps on shooting.
"Everyone is doing their job in this offense right now," Conner said. "They're setting up the plays and allowing me to work toward my best attributes. At that point, I was just feeling it and the shots were dropping."
Conner put on a clinic with five goals on the afternoon as Strath Haven rallied from an deficit in the fourth quarter to put Downingtown East away late in a 9-6 nonleague victory at Downingtown East's upper turf field Tuesday.
The Cougars (1-1) rallied from an early deficit behind Brooks Poli's three goals, but were unable to maintain control of the lead once they got ahead early in the fourth quarter. East trailed 3-0 late in the first quarter before slowly working its way back into the game.
"We just didn't show up in the beginning," said East head coach Todd Cliggett. "Out of 48 minutes, we played 45 of them. You just can't do that against a team like that."
Poli was able to get the Cougars back into the game with two goals to cut the deficit to 3-2 before Colin Armburst hit the first equalizer with 8:52 left in the second quarter to tie the game 3-3.
Poli scored his third and final goal with 1:41 left in the second, bringing the score to 4-4 at halftime.
"Obviously, we like to spread the wealth on offense," Cliggett said. "Brooks put the team on his shoulders and got us back into the game, which is great to see. He's a very good player."

Jack Mulcahy finished with two assists on the afternoon for East as the Cougars entered the fourth quarter in a 5-5 deadlock. East earned its first lead on a one-timer by Drew Rafferty with 11:23 left to put the Cougars up 6-5.
From that point, the game belonged to Strath Haven as East's lead was short-lived.
Conner netted the equalizer to tie the game 6-6 just 20 seconds later, then hit the go-ahead goal with 7:03 left as the Panthers (2-0) took a 7-6 lead. He has nine goals on the season after just two games.
Jack Borbee ended East's chances at a comeback with two goals in a span of 13 seconds to put Strath Haven up 9-6 with 3:51 to play. Borbee took advantage of Strath Haven winning its last five faceoffs in the game.
"In a close game, we needed those goals," Borbee said. "As a captain, I wanted to put a little spark up and get the team going. I'm pretty excited about being able to do that."
After two games, East has some portions of its game to clean up, but has plenty of positives to look toward. Against two tough Central League teams in Springfield-Delco and Strath Haven, the Cougars are 1-1 and could easily be 2-0.
"We have a lot of work to do, but we just have to keep playing hard," Cliggett said. "I like my team. We got a good group of hard working kids here."
NOTES >> Downingtown East played the first game in school history on its new turf field. The Cougars previously played home games at DiSerafino Stadium on the campus of Downingtown West. They are scheduled to play five games at East this season and all night games at DiSerafino.
Strath Haven 9, Downingtown East 6
Strath Haven 3 1 1 4- 9
Downingtown East 1 3 1 1- 6
Strath Haven goals: Connor 5, Borbee 2, Huestis, Ross.
Downingtown East goals: Poli 3, Armbrust, Kuhn, Rafferty.
Goalie saves: Brake (SH) 5, Wilson (DE) 14.

A great start to the season all the way around; young guys battling all game long and just a play away from grabbing an OT win, and our varsity squad jumping on WCH early, taking charge for 4 full quarters, and getting an impressive opening day win. Nice work controlling the game on offense and taking advantage of opportunities as we created them, and a great all-around job defensively of holding a dangerous offensive team to just 1 goal. We now need to focus our efforts on the next test at hand, Downingtown East (winner over Springfield today) on Tuesday. Bus times Tuesday are 2:15 (JV) and 3:00 (Var), with game times at 3:45 and 5:15 respectively - please note that Downingtown East now has turf, so we will be playing at East (not West).

Let's work to clean up a few areas - less penalties, more GBs between the restraining lines, and minimizing our unforced TOs - if we do this, we'll be a better squad taking the field a couple of days from now.

Thanks to those that traveled with us today and to all our guys for continuing to work hard to be the best they can be - this week's schedule (below) includes some time on the grass so we can be ready to travel to Springfield next week - our grass practice time is subject to weather conditions, so thanks in advance for being flexible with early (4:00 on grass) or late (6:00 on turf) practices on both Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Also note that our original schedule had us going to Spring-Ford next Saturday - we now travel to Archbishop Carroll for 12:00 (JV) followed by 1:30 (Varsity) game times.

Please enjoy a happy Easter tomorrow, hydrate and take care of your bumps and bruises - let's keep working hard TOGETHER to get better.

Coach

Mon 3/28/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Tue 3/29/16 game vs Downingtown East 3:45/5:15 DE
Wed 3/30/16 practice 4-6 or 6-8 Mesa/King
Thu 3/31/16 practice 4-6 or 5-7 Mesa/King
Fri 4/1/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Sat 4/2/16 game vs Archbishop Carroll 12:00/1:30 AC

Guys:

Great job persevering yesterday against tough competition and a lot of lacrosse - the coaching staff is proud of your efforts to battle together to the final whistle, correct some early mistakes, and play with intelligence and energy throughout the day. Replicating yesterday's efforts in a 48-minute game will make us a tough team to beat as we move into the season this week.

This week's schedule is below - please note with we will go at 8:00 am on Friday morning on King, all other days as per the original practice schedule.

Mon 3/21/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Tue 3/22/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Wed 3/23/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Thu 3/24/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Fri 3/25/16 practice 8:00-10:00 King
Sat 3/26/16 game vs WC Henderson 11:00/11:00 WCH 9:15 AM

Please use the next 24 hours to hydrate, rest, and take care of yesterday's bumps and bruises (ICE is better than heat!). Monday's practice will be light to give you some more time to get healthy, but let's stay committed to working together to prepare ourselves for WC Henderson on Saturday. Don't look beyond WCH; stay focused on what is immediately ahead of us, the rest of the schedule will come soon enough.

Also - your efforts to use some spring break time this week to secure donations toward our Alzheimer's fund raising effort are very much appreciated. Websites for Alzheimer's and our PledgeIT account (7 pledges to date) can be found at www.havenlax.com, and don't forget to tap into the material Mrs. Healy distributed at this week's practice.

We're proud of your efforts yesterday - keep working hard TOGETHER; there is no substitute for a committed effort to work collectively to achieve.

Coach Hewlings

*Special thanks to the booster parents for your efforts to coordinate and manage yesterday's concession effort, as well as help with field preparation and clean-up - thank you!

Our Saturday scrimmage schedule is below - we will suit up the same roster as we did at Avon Grove last week. 

All players should be at the field no later than 9:00 am, ready to warm up for our first scrimmage session at 9:55.

Uniform as we talked about - bring energy and focus, let's get better this week as we continue to prepare for our season opener at WCH.

Coach

Scrimmage Sat 3/19/16 - SHHS Turf

• 9:00 Parkland vs. Peters Twp
• 9:55 Strath Haven vs. Peters Twp
• 10:50 Parkland vs Strath Haven
• 11:45 Peters Twp vs. OJR
• 12:40 Parkland vs. BS
• 1:35 BS vs. OJR
• 2:30 Strath Haven vs.  OJR
• 3:25 BS vs. Strath Haven 

Our practice schedule for the week beginning Monday 3/14 is below - please note the CHANGE OF TIME for Tuesday 3/15 (we now go at 5:00, NOT 7:00, on King Field)

Mon 3/14/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Tue 3/15/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Wed 3/16/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Thu 3/17/16 practice 7:00-9:00 King
Fri 3/18/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Sat 3/19/16 5-team scrimmage (Var) 9:00 King

Notified players must meet with our athletic trainer at 4:00 on Wednesday to complete the concussion ImPact testing - please make sure you meet with Jason as a group to take care of this responsibility on Wednesday.  See email from Sunday, March 13 to see if you're on the list. 

Let's continue to work hard to improve, both individually and as a team, as we work through our pre-season schedule and get ready for opening day in 2 weeks.

Coach Hewlings

COMPETE. TOGETHER.

These players should wear BLACK to start practice this week:

Campbell, Avery
Palermo, Nicky
Carney, Liam
Booth, Jake
Camp, Anders
Frantz, Noah
Healy, Joseph
Morris, Ryan
Scott, Michael
Rau, Nolan
Clements, Hunter
Mazur, Zane
Brake, Will
Palermo, Vincey
Nerz, Kyle
Pio, Amir
Schneider, Ben
Thomas, Jack
Belville, Ethan
Camp, Christian
Fitzgerald, Dylan
Lembo, Ian
Lyons, Sam

These players should wear WHITE to start practice this week:

Fink, Tyler
Borbee, Jack
Mutz, Sam
Ross, Jake
Santisi, AJ
Bailey, Gage
Ferry, Jack
Irons, Zack
Jacobsen, Jesse
Krouse, Ryan
Lesher, Zack
Lowe, Ryan
Stellabotte, Johnny
Bufalo, Mike
Dyitt, John
Reeves, Daniel
Nangle, Jake
Tilman, Hunter
Bozentka, Wil
Conner, Jeffrey
Huestis, Will
Mazur, Hunter
Rosini, Chris

Thanks - ready to go at 6:45 Monday.

Coach

Thanks to all that supported last night's brief pre-season meeting with your attendance.

Here are a few follow-up items:

1. This week's practice schedule is listed below and is also available at www.havenlax.com - All players should be in B/W SHHS lacrosse reversible (not PRL) and should wear either black or grey sweats OR black practice shorts (if you don't wear sweats) - remember, NO shorts over sweats - be READY TO GO 15 minutes prior to when we are scheduled to step on the field.

Mon 3/7/16 practice 7:00-9:00 King
Tue 3/8/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Wed 3/9/16 practice 7:00-9:00 King
Thu 3/10/16 practice 5:00-7:00 King
Fri 3/11/16 practice 7:00-9:00 King
Sat 3/12/16 scrim. at Avon Grove (Var) 11:00 AG

2. BEFORE Monday, please view the 2016 NFHS rules video and take note of both the areas of emphasis (for officials, coaches, and players) as well as all relevant rules changes (and interpretations of current rules) for 2016. You can find the video (approx. 17:00) on You Tube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mJsw-CrvEA - it is also available on the US lacrosse website

3. As a follow-up and to support our Play for the As event on 4/16, I will send you another email outlining some quick and easy ways you can jumpstart our Alzheimer's fundraising through pledges to our GB effort. Please look for this 2nd email in the next day or 2.

4. A few players still owe physical and/or emergency medical info forms - I will send you a separate email if you are on this list.

Please keep the expectations we discussed last night (see below) top of mind as you enter this season - Our success as a team will be directly proportional to our physical and mental preparation each day, our willingness to support each other, and our ability to manage the chaos that will no doubt try to control us at times throughout the season - Work hard to make an impact when you are given the opportunity, and we'll be a better team because of your effort.

Looking forward to a great spring - let's control what we can to make it happen.

Coach Hewlings

1. Commit to your teammates
2. Don't sell yourself short
3. Communicate if you are not able to fulfill an obligation
4. Set yourself up for the next level through a maximum academic effort

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird; it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg."

As we are days away for the start of our 2016 spring season, please be aware of the following:

1. Pre-season paperwork - Aall paperwork must be completed and turned in by Friday 3/4 (we will meet as a team on Friday night 3/4, time and place still to be finalized).  All reqiured paperwork can be found under "Forms" on this website.

Please do not scan and email them to Coach Hewlings; instead, please print and bring your completed paperwork to Ampro (we are there the next 2 Thursday nights, 5-7 pm) or to our Friday 3/4 meeting

A. Preseason physical form - If you have already played a SHHS sport in the fall or winter, you need only complete section 7 of this form - for those that are playing a sport for the 1st time this school year, all sections require completion - please make sure areas that require signatures (physician, player, parent) are complete, along with all other applicable areas of this from - you CANNOT practice on March 7 (or beyond) unless this form is successfully filed with the athletic office.

B. Emergency medical form - please fully complete and sign

C. Student athlete code of conduct form - please fully complete and sign

2. Our Play for the As fundraiser to support the fight against Alzheimer's Disease is on Saturday 4/16 - donations are currently being received through our website at http://act.alz.org/goto/PlayfortheAs2016 - thanks for supporting this great cause, and for forwarding this link to others that might help us reach our $10,000 fund raising goal this year. All proceeds are directly received by the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

3. I am again asking for your 2nd MP grades - this info helps the coaching staff assess how you are doing as a student athlete, and also gives us a chance to assist in the event you might be struggling in any of your classes - beyond that, we like to brag about how well our entire program does in the classroom, so please forward this info to me ASAP (to date, I have only received 13 grade reports for the 2nd MP).

4. If you need helmet decals, please let me know (I also need your helmet model in order to assure we have the right decals to fit your helmet). Also note that NFHS rules dictate that all players from the same team must have the same color helmet - our helmets are WHITE.

5. Information regarding our overnight trip to Pittsburgh on 4/8-9 was sent in a previous email - if you need info on our overnight lodging or the trip itinerary, please email me.

If you are receiving this email but you are not planning to play lacrosse in the spring, please let me know - we currently have 49 rostered players and want to be able to prepare adequately for our first week of practice.

I've again attached our practice/game schedule - keep in mind that while this schedule represents our planned times on King and/or Mesa fields, it could change - all players should have received an invitation to join us on TeamSnap, and with your permission, our group text will be the best way to get changes to you in a timely way during the season. You can also follow us on Twitter @SHBoysLacrosse and @ProvRdLax

PLAYERS: Thanks for doing your part to be prepared for the spring lacrosse season. Games in the spring are won in the off-season; lets continue to prepare for March 7.

Coach Hewlings

Join the Strath Haven Boy's Varsity Lacrosse team in our mission to defeat Alzheimer's by pledging for every ground ball we record through April 16th. Our goal is to register 450 ground balls (e.g. a pledge of $0.10/ground ball may equal a $45 total donation).

https://pledgeit.org/strathhavenlax

Proceeds directly benefit the Alzheimer's Association Delaware Valley Chapter.

The 4th annual Play for the A's lacrosse event will be held on Saturday April 16, 2016 at Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, PA. This event fully supports the battle against Alzheimer's disease by providing both needed funds and community services to those in our area affected by this dreaded disease.

Over our first 3 years, teams have raised over $15,000 for this special cause! As we have done for the past 2 years, the SH squad continues to support our fund raising efforts by also spending valuable time with seniors at the Plush Mills Senior Living Community. As we continue to expand our efforts toward awareness, education, and the fight for a cure, we need your help!

This year's event offers a day long festival of lacrosse at Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, PA. We will again feature a high school boys' varsity doubleheader, as Springfield HS returns to face Interboro HS at 2:00 and our own Strath Haven Panthers will meet Hershey HS at 6:00 pm (JV at 4:00).Our Haven Youth Lacrosse program will also play several age level games throughout the morning, beginning at 10:00 am.

Event sponsorship opportunities are now being offered for this year's event, which promises to be a special day of lacrosse that serves a great cause. 100% of all sponsorships will be received by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and will aid in the ongoing battle to continue research, as well as provide caregiver support to families affected by Alzheimer's.

All full page ad sponsors will be listed on our commemorative T-shirts (available before and during the event), and we will create program ads for display in the event program offered on game day. To support our efforts, all financial gifts paid by check should be made payable to "PRL" and sent to 115 Keller Road, Fleetwood PA 19522; charitable gifts via credit card are also being received on our event website at:

http://act.alz.org/goto/PlayfortheAs2016

Program ad sizes:

Full page (5.5 x 8.5) .............. $200

Half page (5.5 x 4.25) .............. $125

Quarter page (2.75 x 4.25) ...... $75

Program listing ............................ $25

We are excited to again host our Play for the A's event and appreciate your consideration of a sponsorship toward this important cause. For more information about this year's event, please contact Strath Haven Boys' Lacrosse Head Coach Jef Hewlings at providenceroadlax@gmail.com, or via phone at 610.737.3268. With your help, we will win this battle.

Jeffrey Hewlings Head Boys' Lacrosse Coach, Strath Haven HS

The trip itinerary for our game at Mount Lebanon HS on Sat 4/9 is as follows:

Fri 4/8 - depart SHHS via charter bus at 3:00 pm for Pittsburgh area, check-in at Hampton Inn Pittsburgh/Greentree, 555 Trumbull Drive, Pittsburgh PA (412-922-0100) - pizza dinner upon arrival at the hotel

Sat 4/9 - depart hotel for Mt. Lebanon HS approximately 10:30 am, JV game at 12:00 and Varsity game at 1:30 pm; depart for SHHS following completion of the Varsity contest

There will be a per player charge (TBD) to help us cover rooming charges (our booster group is covering our travel cost).

Also, for those parents that plan to accompany the team, rooms at the Hampton Inn are available by calling 1-800-HAMPTON (refer to our group code SHP) or booking online via this link until March 8:

http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/groups/personalized/P/PITGNHX-SHP-20160408/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG

Our NEW team web store can be found at:

http://www.casportswear.com/shavenlacrosse

Once on the home page, click Strath Haven Lax to shop.

The store offers SHHS Panther lacrosse gear (including the 5-piece player practice pack) for players and fans and will prepare you all for the upcoming season! All gear will be shipped DIRECTLY to you within 2-3 weeks of your order.