The Guardian National Championship is the largest lacrosse goalie specific showcase that brings together elite high school goalies from across the country and gives them the stage to showcase their talents in front of numerous Division I, II and III college coaches. The field of goalies for this year’s event is almost full. If you wish to register and compete go to http://www.guardiansports.net/?page_id=491.
Goalies competing at the Guardian National Championships are put through a rigorous evaluation which includes 16 goalie-specific tests in four key component areas; REACTIONARY, OFFENSIVE, ATHLETIC and VIRTUAL.
REACTIONARY
· Ability to save a shot through a screen or an obstacle
· Ability to save a second or rebound shot
· Ability to save a bounce shot
· Ability to track “cutters” from mid to low distances
· Ability to follow plays that start below GLE
OFFENSIVE
· Ability to hit standing targets 10 to 50 yards in distance
· Ability to hit targets while running, within 10 to 45 yards in distance
· Speed to clear the ball from a save
· Speed in ball-handling and dodging over a 50 yard distance
ATHLETIC
· Slideboard Test: Completions over a 60 second period
· Med Ball Test: Measures goalie upper and lower body strength
· 5-10-5 Test
· Broad Jump
VIRTUAL
· Play Recognition: Ability to process game-like situations and communicate to defenders
· Pro Batak Machine: Measures goalie reaction time/peripheral vision over 60 seconds
· Memory Test: Computerized test to measure goalie short term memory
The 2014 National Championship winners included:
2015 Men's --Alex Cramer – American Revolution, Rocky Hill HS (Whittier)
2015 Women's --Kady Glynn – Steps Elite, Summit HS (Loyola)
2016 Men's -- Cillian Donahue – Fairfield Bucks, St. Josephs HS
2016 Women's -- Megan Gianforte – T3 Shore Elite, Manasquan (Univ. Richmond)
2017 Men's -- Daniel MacDonald – NESLL, Warrior Elite, North Attleboro HS
2017 Women's -- Mia Tornetta – Mongoose Lacrosse, Great Valley
2018 Men's -- Christopher Porzelt – FLG, Cold Spring Harbor
2018 Women's -- Taylor Suplee – Maryland United, Bullis School
2019 Men's -- Matthew Knote – Team ESM, East Port South Manor
"Goaltenders are not just another position on the field," said Ginny Capicchioni, Guardian Sports, Founder/CEO. "Their skills and responsibilities are, in fact, a specialization. Their education and evaluation should be comprehensive and done by experts in the field. That is the goal of our event."
Click on the following link for a list of colleges attending and colleges/universities that have already recruited Guardian Goalies.
About Guardian Sports
Guardian Sports was created to institute a national lacrosse goaltending program. Guardian’s mission is simple - WE. CREATE. GUARDIANS. Guardian Sports provides the necessary resources and training for Goaltending development, training and recruitment at every level. This includes skill training, improving physical and mental competency, game day consistency and leadership education.
Visit www.GuardianSports.net for additional information.
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Follow Guardian Sports on Twitter - @goalguardian