The St. Paul’s Wolves (13-11) will be in that number as one of 27 boys’ teams entered in the tournament, while 14 girls’ teams representing 13 regions and 17 states will compete July 19-22.
St. Paul’s will participate in Pool A along with eight other clubs including FCA (Md.), Nor Cal (Calif.), Jersey Ridgers (N. J.), Long Island Outlaws (N.Y.), Georgia (Ga.), Oregon Reign (Ore.), No-Excuse (Tenn.) and Dolphin Elite (Fla.). There are three boys’ pools.
  
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St. Paul’s head coach Louie Dubuc said he and his team is looking forward to playing different types of competition representing teams from all over the country.
“We want our team to be competitive, but we also want the team to have fun and that shouldn’t be a problem with the Disney World surroundings,” coach Dubuc said.
“The trip should help bring the team closer together as we prepare for next season. We are pleased to have been invited to represent our school and state,” coach Dubuc added.
“We’re not sure what style of play we’ll be going against. I think they will play more of a finesse game, while we tend to play more of a physical game than you typically see. I’m a little concerned about the speed and skill level the other teams are going to have,” Dubuc remarked.
Dubuc said his team usually plays really good defense and have solid goalkeepers.
“Our defense does a good job keeping the score down and we have some talented offensive players that can get the ball in the net,” the coach said.
Coach Dubuc will be filling three roles during the Florida tourney as head coach, parent and chaperone for his young squad.
Daniel Dubuc, the son of coach Dubuc, is an attacker and is one of the team’s top goal scorers. He is entering his sophomore year at St. Paul’s and talked about getting ready to play in the Florida Tournament.
“We are looking forward to having a good experience. We know we are going to be facing some tough competition going against teams from all over the country. It will be a whole different level of play for us. It should be fun,” Dubuc said.
Dubuc said his team would need to be focused. “We have to concentrate on the basics, but we will have to step up our level of play.”
Dubuc said it is pretty special playing for his dad, Louie.
“Having him on the sidelines is neat. He really pulls for all of us to do well,” the third year player said.
Dubuc said he has been to Disney World a couple of times and named the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster as his favorite ride. He is also a member of the St. Paul’s Ultimate Frisbee team.
Alex Autin is the Wolves’ starting goalkeeper and is entering his sophomore year.
“I can’t wait to get down there. I’m real excited. I’m not sure how we’ll do, but we are hoping for the best. I know in the second game we are playing last year’s champion from Maryland. That should be pretty tough,” Autin said.
“As the goalie, I have to be the general on the field telling everyone where to go. Communication is a big part of the game from a defensive standpoint. It’s my job to get the defenders in the right position. You have to have good reaction time in goal to be successful. When the attackers get close it ends up being a lot of luck if the ball somehow hits your body. You can be either really good or just really lucky,” Autin added.
Autin said he likes being in goal and his position is kind of a make it or break it position on how well the team does.
“I just love playing lacrosse. We are hoping to do well in the tournament, but we also hope to have tons of time to do the rides and stuff.”
Autin is also a member of the Wolves’ golf team.
“I like playing golf and being a member of the team. It’s fun,” said the Wolves’ goalie.
John McCoy, a defenseman, who is entering his freshman year, said the Wolves have to play as a team.
“It is going to be really hard because we are playing teams who have lots of experience including the defending champions (FCA from Maryland). We want to play well as a team and play our hardest,” McCoy said. “It means a lot to have an opportunity to represent my school being down in Florida. This is a really big opportunity for us and we want to have fun.”
Assistant coach Kevin Power talked about it being a great opportunity for the Wolves to go against some really good teams.
“Competing against teams from around the nation will provide our team an opportunity to experience playing against some quality players that have been involved with lacrosse since an early age. For instance, the latest schedule has St. Paul’s competing on the first day of the tournament against teams from Tennessee, Maryland (2009 defending champs), and California. I believe this tough competition will only make us better overall as a team,” Power said.
During the Florida tourney the teams will compete in pool and bracket play in hopes of garnering a title. One boys’ team and one girls’ team will be crowned the U.S. Lacrosse U15 champion. U.S. Lacrosse’s high standards of event management, safety, sportsmanship and camaraderie will be the surrounding theme of the tournament.
“U.S. Lacrosse is very excited to incorporate our U15 National Championship event as a part of the 2010 ESPN RISE Games,” said Joshua Christian, U.S. Lacrosse’s managing director of sport development.
“This national multi-sport platform provides us the opportunity to both showcase youth and high school lacrosse at a world-class facility and collaborate with preeminent partners like Disney and ESPN to deliver a truly unforgettable participant experience,” Christian added.
Trophies will be awarded to first, second and third place teams with the name of the winning team permanently displayed on the trophy in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in Baltimore. There will also be a Lacrosse Magazine U15 Championship All-Tournament Team, selected at the event by the Lacrosse Magazine staff.
U.S. Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, is the national governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse. U.S. Lacrosse has more than 300,000 members in 63 regional chapters around the country. Through responsive and effective leadership, U.S. Lacrosse strives to provide programs and services to inspire participation while protecting the integrity of the game. To learn more about U.S. Lacrosse, visit www.uslacrosse.org.
The ESPN RISE Games is a two-week-long elite and competitive level student-athlete focused event, anchored by four elite high school sports events: the Champion High School Showcase, a U.S. Lacrosse boys and girls event, the AAU 17-under Boys Basketball Super Showcase presented by Champion®, the Under Armour High School Softball All-America game and the elite 7-on-7 high school football event Champion® Gridiron Kings. The ESPN RISE Games expects to host more than 13,000 student athletes during the 2010 event.
ESPN RISE represents ESPN’s commitment to engage and elevate high school athletes by providing them with recognition, resources, information and inspiration that can motivate them to improve their skills and achieve their goals to be the best athletes they can.
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which hosts more than 300 events a year, is the leading multi-sport venue for amateur and professional sports in the United States, accommodating 60 different sports and athletes from more than 70 countries. �
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