Swarthmore College Boys Lacrosse Camp
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081
Overview
GameBreaker Lacrosse Camps is proud to announce a summer lacrosse camp at Swarthmore College. The Swarthmore College boys lacrosse coaches will direct the boys day camp. We also offer a half-day camp from 9:00-12:00 for ages 6-9. Join us this summer for a great week of lacrosse improvement and fun.
About Our Coaches
Pat Gress: Is the head coach at Swarthmore College. The 2020 season marks his 25th year as the men's lacrosse coach at Swarthmore. Gress, a 1991 graduate of Towson University, has had four teams (2000, 2003, 2008, 2016) selected to compete in the ECAC Tournament.
In 2016, Gress led Swarthmore to its first-ever appearance in the Centennial Conference tournament and was named the league's Coach of the Year for his efforts. That season, the Garnet also claimed the ECAC title and finished 12-6 overall. In 2017, Swarthmore earned another berth to the conference tournament after winning its final three Centennial games, including two in overtime.
At Towson, Gress was a history and secondary education major, four-year varsity letterman, and winner of the James Saxon Memorial Award for Outstanding Leadership. Upon graduation, he assisted North Harford High School in Harford County, MD, from 1991 to 1993. From there, Gress assisted Franklin & Marshall College for two years, helping the team reach the NCAA Tournament in 1995.
Gress received a master's degree in administration from West Chester University in 2000. He also teaches physical education classes.
Gress currently serves on the USILA Regional All-American Committee and has chaired the Centennial Conference Men's Lacrosse Committee (2005-11), coached the 2003 North-South Senior All Star Game and served on the Regional Advisory Committee for NCAA Tournament Selection.
Connor Bishop: begins his third season with the Garnet in 2021 and will coordinate the extra-man offense and riding game as well as coach the midfielders. Connor returns to Swarthmore after a one-year hiatus where he ran the offense and extra man units at Adrian College in Michigan. In addition to helping coordinate the offense, Coach Bishop will play key roles in running the substitution box, recruiting and film analysis throughout the season.
Coach Bishop graduated from Shenandoah University in 2017 with a B.S. in Kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science. Connor was a two-way midfielder as well as a man-up specialist throughout his lacrosse career. In his senior season, he helped lead the Hornets to their first-ever ODAC tournament appearance.
Sam Wasson: serves as the Defensive Coordinator and Goalies Coach at Swarthmore College. His first season at the collegiate level, Wasson directed the Swarthmore defense to a 4-2 record before the season was suspended due to COVID-19.
He spent the 2019 season coaching the Palmyra High School defense when the team won both the Mid-Penn and District III Championships.
A graduate from the University of Mary Washington, Wasson was a CAC award-winning goalie for the men's lacrosse team and served as captain during his senior season.
Camp Details
Check in/out: All campers check in daily at 8:45 am. The full day campers will check out daily at 3:00 pm with our half day campers checking out at 12:00 pm.
Age & Ability: Our camp is open to boys ages 6-16, Our half-day camp option is open to ages 6-10 and our full day camp option is open to ages 9-16. All ability and levels are welcomed.
Meals: Campers are to bring their own lunch to camp.
Camp Schedule
8:45 - Campers arrive and check in; Stretching and warm-up
9:15 - First Session - Individualized skill work
10:15 - Position specific training
10:30 – Break, team building and leadership events
10:45 – Unsettled situational game play
12:00 – Supervised group lunch, Half-Day Campers depart
12:45 – Camp games and team building events
1:00 - Team Concepts – Settled game awareness and play
2:00 - Team games – Scrimmages
3:00 – Daily review and award ceremony - Full-Day Campers depart
Morning Training Session 1
Fundamental Stick Work - Specialized stick routines involving box and targeted fundamental drills
Position Specific Training
Defense - including a rotation of midfielders
Footwork – pivot, recovery and angles
Stick work – clearing, carrying and stick protection
Field Awareness – slide, recovery and on ball play
Attack
Situational Awareness – spacing, vision and offensive flow
Shooting– time and room, on the run, shot placement and selection
Dodging – from, X the ally and up top
Riding – drop back, pressure and 10-man rides
Midfield
Situational Awareness – spacing, vision and offensive flow
Shooting– time and room, on the run, shot placement and selection
Dodging – from, X the ally and up top
Defensive Play – body positioning, field awareness and sliding
Goalie
Communication - ball positioning, dictating the defensemen’s position and slides
Mechanics – placement in cage, off stick and stick side movement
Clearing – moving the ball quickly, communicating where to go with the ball and stick work
Face Off Specialist
Mechanics – footwork and body positioning
Outlets – pushing the ball to wings, communicating how and where they should go
Draw – speed work, counter moves and development of additional moves
Specialized Leadership Games and Events
Lacrosse capture the flag, lax baseball, lax water balloons, lax maze runner, ultimate lacrosse and other leadership activities
Morning Training Session 2
Unsettled Situational Game Play, focused on special awareness specific to each type of situation
2v1 Fast play from the ally, X and Y
Cross field 3v2 continuous play
3v4 off ground ball and clears
Full field transitional continuous play
Lunch
Chalk Talk - Reviewing techniques and game theories specific to the players position and the weeks on field technical activities
Afternoon Training Session 1
Grouped Position Specific Training- Attack vs. Defense, Midfield vs. Midfield and LSM’s
1v1’s, 2v2’s 3v3’s, 4v4’s– from all positions on the field focusing in
on specific game philosophy’s, techniques and spatial awareness
Specialized Team Building and Leadership Events
Lacrosse capture the flag, lax baseball, lax water balloons, lax maze runner, ultimate lacrosse and other leadership activities
Afternoon Training Session 2
Game Play - Clear ride scrimmage, full field scrimmages, camp championship tournament, 7 vs 7, box lacrosse tournament
Daily Award Ceremony
