By Stephen Spiewak
MaxPreps.com
Twelve years ago, when Kevin Giblin, lacrosse coach at Georgetown Prep (Md.) sat down with his brother Don, then coach of Gonzaga College High School (D.C.), to try and prepare schedules for the upcoming season, little did he know that the four-team competition they brainstormed would turn into arguably the top lacrosse even in the nation.
“We wanted to try to get early season games, and once we knew we could put a Jesuit twist on it, we were both excited,” Giblin said.
So was born the Jesuit Lacrosse Classic, which initially featured both Georgetown Prep and Gonzaga College High School, and visiting teams Fordham Prep (N.Y.) and St. Joseph Prep (Pa.), two other fellow Jesuit high schools.
(To view MaxPreps' photo galleries of the 2008 event, please go here.)
The Jesuits are an order of Roman Catholic priests who operate over 50 high schools in the United States. According to Giblin, 48 of those schools play lacrosse, and often represent some of the top programs in the country.
This should come as no surprise, said Giblin, since Jesuit missionary Jean de Brebeuf was the first person to document the sport, during his travels in North American before heading back to France.
“The French Jesuits coined the name, no doubt about it,” Giblin said. “So it’s fitting that Jesuit schools are playing at a high level.”
The first year of the Jesuit Lacrosse Classic saw Georgetown Prep and Gonzaga College High School play host to games. Additionally, families of the two local high schools housed the athletes from the two visiting schools. Such bonding opportunities have engendered a spirit of camaraderie, a camaraderie that has remained as the tournament outgrew having host families.
“They’ve been able to keep the camaraderie aspect because of the convocation Saturday night,” said Bob Flanagan, who has come on board in recent years to help organize the event.
The convocation includes a Mass and a dinner for all athletes and coaches, and affords the players some time for off-the-field interaction.
“I wouldn’t say there’s not a couple of hard hits and trash talking in the middle of the game,” Flanagan said. “But when it ends, it ends. The coaches are pretty good at making sure of that.”
Giblin sees the socialization aspect of the event as crucial.
“The overall concept is that lacrosse is a vehicle to get these guys together from all over the country and realize they are a part of something a little big bigger,” Giblin said. “They see guys from all across the country and realize they’re a lot like them.”
While the event has been very successful in its off-the-field endeavor, it has been the action on the field that has led one lacrosse publication to call the Jesuit Lacrosse Classic “arguably the country’s premier high school lacrosse tournament.”
One prominent rivalry that has taken shape over the years has been host Georgetown Prep taking on nearby Loyola Blakefield (Md.). The two are routinely ranked at the top of national polls, and locked horns in 2006 for an unforgettable game.
On the first day of the weekend-long event, with other visiting schools looking on, Loyola Blakefield jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in a game where both teams were rated top five nationally in preseason polls.
Georgetown Prep rallied, stringing together three straight goals to cut the deficit to 6-5. Loyola got an insurance goal to push the lead to 7-5. Then Georgetown Prep rallied off another three unanswered goals to pull out the win, 8-7, in a thriller.
While Loyola Blakefield has been unable to attend the Jesuit Lacrosse Classic in the last two years, they are expected to return at next year’s event. The participating teams change each year, depending on league rules and spring break dates. Giblin speculates that close to 20 different Jesuit high schools have been involved.
Because Lacrosse is only starting to take root in certain parts of the country, the Jesuit Lacrosse Classic showcases teams of very different ability levels. Established programs, like visiting Regis Jesuit (Colo.), Loyola Academy (Ill.), and Rockhurst (Kan.), bring lots of experience and track records of success. Others programs are just getting started.
“You have some new programs playing to get their feet wet,” Giblin said.
This year’s event, to be held on the lacrosse fields at Georgetown Prep and Gonzaga College High School March 14-16, is expected to draw big crowds from the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Washington Jesuit Academy, a tuition free school for underprivileged students in grades 6-8, and Winners Lacrosse, an organization dedicated to bringing lacrosse to underserved communities.
