NEW YORK – April 30, 2012 – Maverik Lacrosse today released "Community," the second installment in its groundbreaking "Roots" video series, produced and directed by Maverik Films and Jalbert Productions International director, Jay Jalbert. In “Community” Maverik Athlete and Manhasset lacrosse legend Billy Bitter takes lacrosse fans back to the fields of Long Island where he firstfell in love with lacrosse and shares the people and places that influenced his growth as a player. To view "Community" go to the Maverik Lacrosse official fan page or Maverik Films on youtube.
A native of Manhasset, N.Y., Billy garnered wide spread recognition in high school playing for one of the premier lacrosse programs in the country, Manhasset High School. Billy grew up, excelling through the ranks of the Manhasset PAL Youth League, where he was coached by his father. Billy’s drive and determination to be the best earned him All-America honors as a high school senior. In college, Billy continued to excel starting every game during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons at the University of North Carolina; compiling 99 goals, 76 assists and 172 ground balls in 63 career games. Billy also earned first-team All-America honors his sophomore and junior season and was a second-team All-America selection his senior year at Chapel Hill.
“I was very fortunate to have grown up in a town like Manhasset, even my father grew up here,” said Bitter. "As soon as I could walk, I was given a lacrosse stick. The Manhasset PAL Youth Program has produced some thebest athletes in the game, and I’m proud to continue to be a part of that organization.”
“Jay’s films are inspirational and at the same time they shed a new light on the people who are at the roots of its growth,” said John Gagliardi, founder and President of Maverik Lacrosse. "As a Manhasset native and former PAL and high school player, I was excited to have a role model like Billy join the Maverik team.”