Featured above are Anthony Cicio, Coach Shane Rye and Jerry O’Connor from state runner-up Benjamin. It goes without saying that everyone shown above and below is an overachiever and earned his or her smile as a result of exemplary dedication.  One of the very best things the South Florida Chapter of US Lacrosse does is put on a first rate end of the year awards banquet during which it honors its best.  Rival coaches and players put down the sticks and socialize.  Referees who threw flags at those same coaches and players share stories.  The event goes a long way to bringing civility to a sport which has its share of tense moments.  At the end of the day, all of these folks stepped up, practiced, competed and are still enjoying the ride.

We’ve all been to a ton of games and have formed opinions of all of the “players,”  coaches, referees, competitors and parents.  What I learned at this dinner is how little I knew about some of our best. So many have accomplished so much for many years to bring us to where we are today.  And our future is bright (well I already knew that part).  Players, the next time you finish a game, go up to a ref and thank him or her.  Most likely he or she had a lot more to do with your playing that day than you know. There were heartwarming stories of community volunteerism.  Bobby Rauch started Giving Lax and the Academic All-American has left it in good hands to continue while he is hitting the books (and the lax field) at MIT.  Bob Scott Award recipient Jason D’Aoust quietly started a middle school team.  Person of the Year Bianca Diaz did very much the same thing in Haiti. FLN’s own Lee Roggenburg was voted Man of the Year for his contribution to the sport with his thoughtful writing, relationship building and very popular weekly podcasts with ESPN’s Wells Dusenbury.  Lee gave a beautiful speech and has been on a well deserved vacation (since, like everyone at FLN he juggles a paying job with the time he puts in here).  The good news is he came back refreshed with a small stack of new ideas and story lines.  Given that PJ O’Rourke is his idol, expect plenty of humor and of course the occasional reference to his beloved Statesmen.  Lee will put up his own column on the dinner (and the whole day for that matter!) later today or tomorrow, and will post his full speech too.

While I don’t know who did what where, etc., I do know thanks certainly go to Judy Selva.  Judy (whose son Chris had a pretty good year playing goalie for Hofstra…) sold ads, proofed the program and dutifully stood at the side of the podium all evening making sure each award was delivered to the proper honoree. We were lucky to have Assistant Coach of the Year Chazz Woodson join us rather than playing for the Launch.  His words, as always, were inspirational. One last thought – the young men and women honored on this night have inspired many of their coaches.  Watching the tears of the presenters was proof enough.  Pretty neat stuff. Thank you to all who made this evening possible.  We look forward to more great deeds in the year ahead!