Legends Return, Rising Stars Showcase Skills at U.S. Men's Box Training Camp

UTICA, N.Y. — As soon as Joel White and John Ranagan walked through the benches and stepped onto the blue floor of Utica’s Nexus Center, they couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces.

Between introductions and the first training session for the U.S. Men’s Box National Team tryout process, White and Ranagan spent plenty of time catching up with former teammates and friends, not to mention head coach Regy Thorpe, who helped ignite a passion for box lacrosse in both.

“Regy has a special place in my heart,” White said. “Every single one of us has something to learn from him. He played for a long time, and the word that symbolizes Regy is toughness.”

White and Ranagan, two of the most critical members of the 2019 U.S. box team that came a few plays away from advancing to the gold medal game, spent the weekend sharing their knowledge with the next generation of American box players.

Over the last year, both White and Ranagan announced their retirement from professional field lacrosse — careers that spanned many years with Major League Lacrosse’s Rochester Rattlers and the Premier Lacrosse League’s Chrome.

The decision to continue their box careers into 2024 remains on the table for now. More than anything, the teammates turned lifelong friends were simply happy to reunite.

“To play with Joel and have the opportunity to try out for this team is awesome,” said Ranagan, who will play for the Georgia Swarm in the National Lacrosse League this season. “We’re rooming together. You can’t ask for weekends like this again.”

“Rooming with [Ranagan] brings back some great memories,” White said. “I’m excited to be here for the next couple weeks and whatever capacity I can bring to the team is what I’m trying to do. We’ll see how it plays out from there.”

A handful of 2019 bronze medalists joined stalwarts from the NLL and stars of college lacrosse for the first of two weekends of evaluation for Thorpe and his staff. The training session consisted of installing offensive and defensive philosophies ahead of this weekend’s North American Invitational, during which two U.S. split-squad teams will battle some of the best box teams in the area.

The mission brought forward from Thorpe was simple — advance to the gold medal game at the 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championship. White and Ranagan fell just a few plays short of that goal in a battle with the Haudenosaunee Nationals in 2019, when the U.S. left disappointed but motivated to reach the next level.

Members of the most experienced tryout pool in U.S. box history converged on Utica, N.Y., looking to be part of history.

“If you’re not looking for gold, you shouldn’t be on this floor,” Thorpe said as he wrapped up the three-day camp.

Thorpe invited both White and Ranagan to the training camp both for their on-field skills and to instill that philosophy in a group of players making their first push to represent the United States on the world’s stage. White was the most vocal athlete during the weekend, leading drills and pausing to walk through concepts that the coaching staff had used in the last cycle.

“This group understands what we’re trying to do,” he said. “There’s been a trend of bronze medals in the box game. That’s something that needs a level up. That’s what I’m playing for.”
 
The tryout pool from which Thorpe will select the team is as diverse in age and experience as ever — from players like White, Ranagan and Greg Downing, 38, to Syracuse sophomore Joey Spallina and from established NLL veterans like Joe Resetarits and Blaze Riorden to those with little box experience but plenty of potential like Cole Kirst.
 
The landscape for American box lacrosse looks a lot different than when White and Ranagan first hit the floor in the early 2010s.
 
“I don’t know about doing the teaching,” Ranagan joked. “I was taking a few pointers from Joey Spallina.”
 
“These guys are already playing at a higher level than when we were coming out,” White said. “They’re playing in the NLL. They’re staying in Canada for the summers. They are doing things we didn’t do. They are committed to box lacrosse.”
 
White and Ranagan marveled at the talent they saw throughout the weekend but remained grateful for the chance to be together again. They had plenty of time to catch up in their Delta Marriott hotel room.
 
“I love some good conversation,” Ranagan said. “The TV goes on, put the volume low and we’re chatting. It’s a pleasure to catch up, man. It’s what we did for a long time together, and it’s awesome to be back.”

CUSE KID IN THE BOX

Joey Spallina is used to standing out when he plays lacrosse. It comes with the territory when you’re the top recruit in the country and you wear the historic No. 22 at Syracuse.

But when Spallina hit the floor in Utica, he was wearing No. 26. The only hint of his college lacrosse exploits was the chrome orange Gait stick he wielded as he flicked skip passes across the floor. In between taking pictures with a few fans, he was the one looking up at his U.S. teammates.

“Every kid in the United States wanted to put on this jersey and play with guys like Joel White and John Ranagan,” Spallina said. “I got to watch them play box, and now I’m playing with them. It’s so special to me.”

Spallina was added to the tryout pool last week, and for good reason. In addition to being one of the most promising American field players in college lacrosse, he’s spent years honing his box game for a chance to compete with the U.S.

This summer, Spallina joined the Orangeville Northmen of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League and finished fourth in the league with 148 points. The Long Island native had been playing box lacrosse since he was in the fourth grade, but the summer spent in Canada was groundbreaking for his lacrosse career.

“My stick was always in my hand this summer,” he said. “I keep telling everyone that this was the best summer of my life. I could have been going to the beach, but I was playing up north to get to where I want to be. The beach will always be there.”

As the youngest player in the tryout pool, Spallina spent most of the weekend soaking in as much information as he could get his gloves on. He remembered a moment when White, who graduated from Syracuse in 2011, encouraged him to step in and shoot when he had space.

Generations separated the two Orange stars, but the box was the great equalizer.

“He came on and was like, ‘Try to take a step in and take that shot,’” Spallina said. “That’s Joel White saying that. You’re not going to say no.”

KIRST FAMILY REUNION

They trickled in slowly, but the Kirst brothers made their presence felt.

First, it was reigning PLL Teammate of the Year Cole Kirst, suiting up and playing organized box lacrosse for the first time. Then Connor Kirst, the eldest brother and Las Vegas Desert Dogs star, made his appearance during Friday night’s opening practice. Finally, CJ Kirst made the trip from Cornell’s alumni weekend to make it a trio of Kirst brothers competing for a spot on the U.S. roster.

The lacrosse community has seen three Kirst brothers on the same field before, when Connor and Colin’s Rutgers team took down Cole’s Lehigh team in the NCAA tournament a few years back. But the Kirst brothers suited up together for the first time since they could remember.

“We ran a couple of shifts together,” Connor Kirst said. “I missed [CJ] on a pass.”

“It just brings it back to when we were playing in the backyard,” Cole Kirst said. “Just looking at them on the bench. All the smiles knowing how hard Connor has worked to become an NLL player and watching CJ this summer.”

For CJ Kirst, who headed back to Ithaca for his senior season at Cornell, training camp afforded him a chance to play with his two older brothers (both of whom are professional lacrosse players). He said he continues to learn from both Connor and Cole as he enters next spring as a Tewaaraton Award contender.

“I’ve looked up to these two more than anything,” CJ Kirst said. “Having the opportunity to play on the same offense and sit on the bench together gives you that extra boost.”

The Kirst story adds another chapter this weekend when Colin, the former Rutgers goalie, tries his hand in the cage at LAXNAI in Utica. There, all four brothers will hit the floor together.