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Roots Box Lacrosse the newest member of the USBOXLA family

By Craig Rybczynski, 06/12/19, 12:00PM PDT

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The US Box Lacrosse Association (USBOXLA) announced its newest member club, Roots Box Lacrosse. The Rochester, NY-based organization, founded by professional lacrosse player Brad Gillies, joins the country’s largest and most recognized box-specific governing body operating today.

“Brad Gillies has been an anchor and an excellent partner in the upstate region, managing a USBOXLA-sanctioned youth league and multiple teams and tournaments,” said USBOXLA President Shaydon Santos. “We are excited to continue to grow box in this area with the help of Brad and look forward to his continued involvement with USBOXLA.”

Gillies, who hails from Oakville, Ontario, has been a staple in Rochester since graduating from RIT, where he was a standout for the Division III Tigers from 2012-15. The defensive midfielder graduated to the pros when the Rochester Knighthawks selected him ninth overall in the 2015 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft. In his four seasons in the NLL, Gillies has become a mainstay on the Rochester defense, while also earning the team’s community service award the past three seasons (2017-19). 

Many of his off-the-field programs have been geared toward educating field players on the benefits of box lacrosse. His recent venture, Roots Box Lacrosse, is built upon authentic box drills that are performed by professional NLL players. That made partnering with the Rochester Knighthawks a perfect match.

“I am extremely excited to partner with the Knighthawks this summer,” said Roots Box Lacrosse Founder and Program Director Brad Gillies. “I am passionate about growing box lacrosse in the Rochester and western New York areas. Joining forces with the Knighthawks will only help strengthen that mission. It will be a great summer program as the Jr. NLL Tournament is as good as it gets for box in North America. I can't wait to get started.”

This summer, three Jr. Knighthawks teams will compete in two August box lacrosse tournaments. Kids at the Pee Wee, Bantam and Midget levels will have the opportunity to represent their favorite NLL team against some of the best competition in the United States and Canada.

“The Knighthawks organization understands the importance of youth lacrosse development and will be working with youth programs throughout the Rochester area to lend our knowledge and expertise of the game of lacrosse,” said Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey. “This will be the first opportunity for us and our players to give back to the lacrosse community.”

The first Jr. Knighthawks’ tryout session will be held on July 15 at Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex (2700 Brighton Henrietta Town Line Rd.). The final session will take place on July 17. The tryout fee is $25 per player. Tryout schedules are as follows:

Pee Wee (born in 2007/2008) – 6:00 to 7:15 p.m.

Bantam (born in 2005/2006) – 7:15 to 8:30 p.m.

Midget (born in 2003/2004) – 8:30 to 9:45 p.m.

To register, go to https://www.rootsboxlacrosse.com/junior-knighthawks-summer-elite-tea

Each selected player will be required to pay a team fee of $550 to cover the cost of two tournaments and four practices, plus a $45 USBOXLA membership fee. Players will receive four tickets to the Knighthawks 2019-20 home opener and a Warrior lacrosse package, which includes a game jersey, game shorts, shooting shirt, gym shorts, parent shirts and a duffel bag.

The Jr. Knighthawks will open the season by participating in the inaugural Jr. Bandits Box Lacrosse Classic. The USBOXLA-sanctioned event will take place from August 17-18 at Buffalo RiverWorks at 359 Ganson St. The event is a tune-up for the 7th Annual Jr. NLL Tournament, which will take place from August 23-25 in Oakville, Ontario. Teams will be coached by former Knighthawk and current Halifax Thunderbird player Brad Gillies, Knighthawks alum Ron Cogan and box expert Cory Holbrough, with more coaches to be announced at a later date.

For more information on Roots Box Lacrosse, please email Brad Gillies at rootsboxlacrosse@gmail.com

About Roots Box Lacrosse
The mission of Roots Box Lacrosse is to bring Rochester youth lacrosse players the best indoor (“BOX”) lacrosse training the area has to offer. Roots is built upon teaching the grass root  fundamentals of box by the people who know box best in Rochester.

Box lacrosse can greatly impact skill development from
beginners to experienced players. In order to truly gain the benefits that can be had with playing box, it has to be done right.

Roots Box Lacrosse is built upon authentic box drills that are performed by NLL pros. Current NCAA coaches love recruiting players with a box background, evident by the influx of Canadians in the NCAA, because of the skills you gain. We are dedicated to providing you with the best and safest box programs the area has to offer.