Yeah, I know . . . I’m Jewish. But Hanukkah is already over so I’ve got to make do.   It’s been a pretty long year personally for me and a heck of a year for lacrosse in the state. LHP three-peated . . . and did it in style  

  The Vero Girls continued their incredible run but this year the Final Four was absolutely terrific  

  STA was perfect, until the 3^rd quarter of the final.  

  SA rebounded while Jupiter wants those 7 minutes back  

  Ponte Vedra, Barron Collier and Benjamin fell short of expectations . . . as the old saying goes, wait til next year!  

  Lake Mary and Stoneman took the next step and Vero made up for 2014  

  Newsome laid down a heavy marker and Buchholz was right behind  

    So many great things to write about . . . players no longer under the radar (I really need to find a replacement for that term) and some interesting happenings all over.   We even got to see both Thompsons AND Casey Powell playing together on a team.  With Kieran McArdle. Doesn’t get any better than that!     An awful lot of coaching changes this year . . . paging District 29 . . . will the last coach left turn out the lights?  Lots of turnover in the coaching positions, including the resignation of longtime coach Geoff Swinerton a short time ago. I was fortunate enough to attend my first US Lacrosse National Convention and cover the MLL draft live for our readers.  If you are truly a lacrosse fan PLEASE attend one of these, it’s a GREAT experience! And as far as great experiences . . . making my broadcast debut alongside Wells and Jake Reed on our SA-Benjamin broadcast was something I will cherish forever.  A big thanks to Al Packer Ford for making that possible!  For those who haven’t watched the broadcast and are interested it still is available on our web site:   http://fln.mattplu.com/video-saint-andrews-at-benjamin-with-jake-reed-wells-dusenbury-and-lee-roggenburg/     I need to get Jack to sign this . . . maybe an 8 1/2 by 11?  Feet, not inches . . . make it my wallpaper?   ———-   My 12 Days Of Christmas   On the 1^st day of Christmas . . .   Another down to the wire state final.  We haven’t really had one since 2013 even though STA almost was able to provide it this year  

    On the 2nd day of Christmas . . .   Parents . . . please stop yelling so much about calls at the games . . . until you’ve done some referring yourselves you will not be able to appreciate the difference from looking at something at ground level and from up in the stands. And a lot of the time the call is specifically designed to be a judgement not a black and white call.   On the 3rd day of Christmas . . .   Please, can some of the out of season youth events be played without won/loss records?  Particularly for the younger ages?  Going 4-0 in a U-11 bracket is not worthy of being covered like a high school district final.  

  At the younger ages skill development and learning team work offensively and defensively is more important than winning that day.  The kids will have plenty of time to play for keeps in their futures. And if anyone out there thinks I’m a bleeding heart liberal . . . just check my Facebook page   On the 4th day of Christmas . . .   Our growth at FLN extends to our LNN platform.  There are exciting things coming down the pike as we continue to look to expand our coverage of this great sport in this state and beyond!   On the 5th day of Christmas . . .   The improvement I saw last season in limiting hits to the head and neck continues . . . until we never see one again. To repeat a previous desire . . . the head and the neck needs to be OFF LIMITS.   On the 6th day of Christmas . . .   More Florida kids get recruited to college programs and make their decision based on ACADEMIC reasons first, and lacrosse reasons second. Never forget the broken leg theory   On the 7th day of Christmas . . .   Even more upsets . . . nothing helps this sport’s fan interest grow quicker.  One of my favorite moments of the year was the film clip in Buchholz of their students storming the field after a big win.  That type of emotion in a good way goes a long way in making kids life-long fans of the sport.  And because of Stoneman’s great win over SA early in the season there were ONE THOUSAND attendees at the rematch in the playoffs! As Ryback would say . . . FEED ME MORE       On the 8th day of Christmas . . .   Coaches and referees see their pay increase . . . so many toil for so little to help grow the sport and they deserve all our thanks!   On the 9th day of Christmas . . .   Twenty more Boys and twenty more Girls high school teams go varsity in the next 12 months.  Force our way into the mainstream of HS administrations.   On the 10th day of Christmas . . .   I wish the lacrosse community would do more to help some of the schools that want to commit to the sport but are not in the same financial condition that a number of our communities are.  Some of this is going on quietly but it would be good to make it a more public endeavor so we can raise more funds. Those of us active in the community know who could use the help; let’s take it to the next level this year.  Something as simple as gathering used equipment at games is a step in the right direction.   On the 11th day of Christmas . . .   Hobart makes it to Memorial Day weekend at the Division 1 level . . . And Hobart Alum Ali Marpet makes the All-Rookie team . . . looks good so far . . . and one day All-Pro.  The highest D3 draftee in NFL history . . .  

  Had to sneak that in . . .   For Florida . . . will Hillsborough County please reconsider their travel policy?     On the 12th day of Christmas . . .   I’ll save this one for later this month . . . keep checking back . . . the lacrosse community is going to like it, I promise!   Bonus Day!!!!   The Launch raise the Steinfeld Cup next year!!  And attendance doubles . . . at least!