Welcome to the John Paul Taravella Girls Lacrosse Blog! I'm going to have links to cool lax sites, info about our practice and game schedules, important contact info, practice reports and workout schedules, and of course pictures! Check back regularly to see what's new and feel free to leave comments or email me with pictures you want me to upload to our Team Blog!

Go Trojans!! --Coach Kimberly

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

LacrosseWear

Looking for a new stick or other lax gear? Here's a store not too far with some good inventory.

Happy Shopping!

LacrosseWear
4801 Johnson Road Suite 5
Coconut Creek, FL 33073
954-429-1091

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Post Season Awards

Congratulations to our girls who received post season awards from US Lacrosse!


All League Awards:

2nd Team Midfield - Frances Dean
2nd Team Goalkeeper - Jenni Letizia
Honorable Mention Midfield - Kelley Brady
Honorable Mention Midfield- Veronica Kwiatkowski

All District Awards:

1st Team Midfield - Frances Dean
1st Team Midfield - Kelley Brady
1st Team Midfield - Veronica Kwiatkowski
1st Team Goalkeeper - Jenni Letizia
Honorable Mention - Kristin Zoboroski
Homorable Mention - Leigh Ann Herzog


Academic All America Awards:


Kelley Brady
Frances Dean
Veronica Kwiatkowski
Jenni Letizia

Monday, May 19, 2008

Summer Lax Camps

Don't forget to sign up for at least one lax camp this summer!! I'm going to put some links on the side to some sites for upcoming camps here in Florida, but you need to sign up soon! Really, if you can go to anywhere in the Northeast to a lax camp you would be putting yourself at a big advantage. Anywhere in Maryland, or Massachusetts - check out Colgate, Loyola, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, Springfield...the list is so long! Keep running too!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

May off-season work-out

Hi girls! I hope you all had a fabulous time at the banquet! Who was taking all of those pictures? I need to get some of those to post here on the blog.

Well, I know that everyone is busy right now with only a few weeks of school left so I'm going to be nice to you until then. But once school is out (June 5th) I don't care if you are travelling or working or taking summer school - every single one of you needs to follow my work-out plan so that we can be a stronger, faster, better lacrosse team next year!

So for now, your assignment is to get in as much running as possible, but at least TWO (2) miles a week.

Any stick work or weight lifting would be awesome of course but in between studying for finals and getting your final school projects completed I am just asking that you run. I don't care if you run 2 miles in one day or a half a mile each day for four days in a row - just run a combined total of TWO miles each week. Starting this now (which means you need to run 2 miles by the end of day Sunday May 18th). This is NOT a lot of running!

IMPORTANT: I am going to be keeping track of your progress all summer. Every one must either comment on this blog or e-mail me at jptlax@gmail.com. Let me know if you completed that week's assignment and how it went (a.k.a. it was too easy, too demanding etc.) I need to hear from everyone by Sunday June 8th regarding this current 2 mile a week assignment.

Happy Trails!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Welcome Trojans!

Hey girls!
First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on a wonderful season! I think that we've had a successful year thus far and I am proud of all that we have accomplished.
To our seniors - thanks for getting this program going and taking us as far as you have. You all are wonderful girls and great lacrosse players. You will be sorely missed.
For the rest of you - your high school lacrosse experience is not over yet. We have much to do to prepare ourselves for next year; which means that we must start NOW! This summer and fall each of you have the responsibility of getting into the best shape possible. For most of you that means changing your lifestyle right now by eating healthy foods, drinking lots of water, getting plenty of sleep and of course EXERCISING!
Ask yourself this question - "Am I in the shape I need to be in to being playing Varsity Lacrosse?" Except for a very small number of you the answer is a resounding NO! Without a doubt we have to be stronger and faster next season. If you want to play on the JPT Lax team in 2009, you HAVE TO be able to RUN an entire mile. If you want Varsity playing time - your mile HAS TO be under 10 minutes, more along the lines of 7-8 minutes. This is not an unreasonable task; lacrosse is a running game and requires 50 minutes of endurance. If you follow my training guide and maintain this regimen throughout the Summer & Fall, you will have no problem running a 7 minute mile by January!
Along with cardio exercise, weight training is also important. Think about signing up for a gym membership or using a facility that you might already have access to. Or you could buy some small free weights for most of the exercises. Those textbooks may just come into handy over the summer after all!
Lastly, everyone needs to work on their STICK and FOOTWORK SKILLS! I hope all of you can attend one or two lax camps this summer. These are wonderful and should help improve your game immensely. But don't think that after three days at a camp that you are ready to play Varsity lacrosse. Take the new skills you learn at camp and develop them further by playing Wall Ball and getting into as many pick up games as possible.

Helpful hints:
· Train hard and train smart, and most importantly train on a regular basis.
· Get a training partner. It would be best if it's another lacrosse player, but that's not essential. Get somebody who is motivated and who will "push" you.
· Keep a log/journal. This way you'll be able to see your progress and have a "before and after picture" as well.
If you are regularly training for another sport - that's great! Keep it up! Soccer, flag football, softball or swimming; any organized sport will help you stay in shape. But if you are not playing another sport, the running and weight programs I have suggested should be "YOUR SPORT" until we all get together again.

Do Not Hope For Success. TRAIN For It!

Somewhere somebody is training, and when she meets you in head-to-head competition, she'll beat you; that is, if she's been training harder than you have.

Let's make 2009 the best season of Taravella Lacrosse Ever! And it starts right now in the summer of 2008.