Since its formation, the Long Island Express club program has literally won hundreds of tournament championships while helping to develop some of the top players in the sport. The club will look to add the next chapter of that legacy when it enters teams in all three age classifications (13U, 14U and 15U) for the boys’ portion of the 2021 US Lacrosse Youth Nationals next summer.
The LI Express is no stranger to the event, having participated multiple times in the past. Tyler Dunn, a U.S. U19 gold-medal winner in 2016 who went on to star at Penn and now plays in the Premier Lacrosse League, led the Express to the US Lacrosse U15 national title in 2012.
“We’re most successful when we play guys our own age and we rarely get to do that,” said Mike Chanenchuk, the Managing Director of all of the Express programs. “That’s the appeal to us, to play an aged-based tournament.”
Next summer’s event will be played at DE Turf in Frederica, Del., from July 13-15, featuring some of the top boys’ and girls’ clubs in the country playing at a world-class venue. The championship games for the boys’ and girls’ 14U and 15U age classifications will be carried live on Lax Sports Network. As a US Lacrosse sanctioned event, all participants will be age-verified and will play on teams grouped by ages.
“Both of my sons played soccer and [the tournaments] were all age-based,” Chanenchuk said. “Before the game the ref checked every single card and it didn’t take that long. We don’t have those checks and balances in lacrosse. We need more tournaments to come out this way. We’re better off for it. It’s safer, it’s more fair, it’s a level playing field.”
Despite often playing against older competition, the Long Island Express has developed into a premier club by following some simple philosophies.
“Teach them how to move the ball and teach them how to get ground balls,” Chanenchuk said. “One more pass, that’s our mantra. If you make a mistake, you slide too fast, we’re going to find that guy. You teach them how to think ‘If I get the ball, who is going to be open’ – not after they get the ball. That’s how we practice.”