How about a photo of Boca Raton’s own Lee Coppersmith (Johns Hopkins) of the Florida Launch in front of a crowd as our header picture? Not very long ago there was no FAU Division 1 football team.  Now look at what the wise ladies and men, led by the very public efforts of Howard Schnellenger, have brought to our world – a beautiful stadium and as a result, in part, Florida’s first Major League Lacrosse (MLL) franchise.  The Florida Launch calls FAU home because the facility is simply perfect and the sport is growing by leaps and bounds in the Sunshine State. Take a look at a few of the gents on the first Launch roster:  Nick O’Hara (Duke), Mario Venitquattro (Ohio State), Doug Shanahan (Hofstra), Chazz Woodson (Brown) and Casey Powell (Syracuse).  All are Florida residents and high school coaches here.  Oh, wait, how about former Navy and Denver Outlaws assistant coach Stan Ross and former Harvard assistant and Wittenburg head coach George Harris who are the Launch’s head coach and assistant coach respectively?  Both are Florida residents and high school coaches.  If you are local, you know all of this, but if you are not, maybe you just took notice. Think Florida lacrosse is on an uptrend? It was probably those synergies which led the league to move the Hamilton Nationals to Florida.  Any fan has watched leagues grow and teams move.  The logistics are always substantial – management, player personnel, marketing, public relations, office space, you name it.  FLN has been in awe of how much the Launch staff has accomplished in really a matter of a few months. What we saw last Saturday evening was a picture perfect stadium and field.  The parking was easy, the open deck area where kids could munch on hot dogs and parents could hang and chat was something rarely seen in stadiums and one would think other architects might like to stop by sometime to grab some ideas. The Launch made a furious comeback without a full line-up (some players are still contracted to the NLL until the season is over) against a team which went undefeated last year in the regular season, only to have the clock run out on them before they could win the game.  This is a special team,  one which will thrill and entertain you. Covering the Barron Collier St. Thomas Aquinas Elite 8 game, FLN saw a young child with a brand new Launch T-shirt and both he and his dad gushed with enthusiasm about how great the players are, quoting  the dad “You can’t appreciate how good these guys are until you see them in person.” This Saturday night at 7:00 the MLL defending champion Chesapeake Bayhawks come to town coached by legendary coach Dave Cottle (who has been known to visit Florida in the winter from time to time). For tickets, click this link.