 Ward Trains The Metro Alec Schimke | mnswarm.com After the conclusion of the 2009 NLL season, Ryan Ward discusses his summer camps and the state of lacrosse in Minnesota. Schimke: When did you start Twin Cities Lacrosse and why? Ward: I started Twin Cities Lacrosse 4 years ago. It’s basically an LLC I created to host camps I put on throughout the Metro. It’s something I’m passionate about and wanted to give back to the community. I wanted to open it up to the entire area and it’s been going pretty well for the last few years. It’s been growing and expanding and has really taken off.  Schimke: Is this something that runs all year long, or just in the summer? Ward: In the summer time I do full week camps but during the winter (off-season) I rent out various domes, including Stillwater and Woodbury. It’s good training and I have some of the Swarm guys help me out when they're in town or I just hire some of the local players to help instruct. Schimke: What ages do you work with primarily? Ward: Mostly middle school and high school for the winter camps. My camps in the summer include three for kid’s ages 7-14. I have one large camp, the “Twin Cities Top 200”, which includes the Ohio State University Head Coach for kids in 7th-12th grade. Schimke: Tell me a little bit more about the “Twin Cities Top 200” camp. Ward: It's the camp that I focus on most. Obviously, bringing a Division I coach like Nick Myers to Minnesota is nice. In addition there will be several other Buckeye alumni; Kevin Buchanan and Joe Cinosky of the Swarm and NLLer Anthony Kelly. I want to get the best talent and instructors possible and try to bring that East Coast feel to the Midwest. Schimke: What kind of instruction do you offer? Ward: We do it all. Lots of individualized instruction with a very good instructor to camper ratio. We start out the day with a lot of stick work, then progress to positional work. We do a lot of team concepts with scrimmage-type activities in the afternoon. We cover all of our bases in the 6-hour day. Schimke: What kind of growth have you noticed around the area in terms of participation in lacrosse? Ward: When I first got here 5 years ago, it was mainly the western suburbs who were involved. In the last few years it has grown in popularity all over the Metro. In addition it’s starting to get a lot more youth involved, which is nice to see. They are starting to play younger and there is just more awareness of the sport. With that comes better players. We are getting a lot more players that are able to go to universities and take lacrosse the next level. Schimke: How big do you think lacrosse will get in Minnesota in the next 5-10 years? Ward: It’s tough to put a number on it but I still think it’s going to keep getting bigger. There are so many people who haven’t caught on to it yet even with the growth. So, it’s tough to put a finger on it... hopefully one day it will get to where it is the off-season hockey sport ike it is in Canada. Schimke: How long do you see yourself running camps in the area? Ward: Well that’s the nice thing about running these camps and coaching, building a reputation and helping kids out... I can do it as long as it's fun. I’m enjoying it, it's something I can do with being a teacher. I see it being something I can do even after my playing career is over. Schimke: Are you involved in any other area programs? Ward: I’m the Head Lacrosse Coach at Eden Prairie High School, so after the Swarm season that takes up most of my time. Traditionally we are one of the best teams in the state with strong youth and high school programs. Schimke: I graduated from Eastview High School and was reading that one of their players (Rex Sanders) is going to play for John Hopkins. Ward: That is great for Minnesota lacrosse. I know he is a young athletic player and was fortunate. Minnesota is not a traditional hot spot for lacrosse. A lot of these kids are spending several thousand dollars to play on elite teams to travel to a couple tournaments. With my connections, I want to bring the Division I coaches to Minnesota for a fraction of the price.  Schimke: Do you see a school like the University of Minnesota or St. Thomas becoming serious lacrosse school in the future? Ward: I think they are still quite a ways away from that. I think of anybody it would be the U, but who knows what direction they are headed. Hopefully it gets to the point where they can’t deny the sport's popularity and want to take on. They can do it with girl’s lacrosse too. Women’s lacrosse is huge and with Title lX they could just add both teams and away you go. Schimke: Would you say that the interest between girls and guys is similar? Ward: I think the boy’s take is a bit more serious. There are a lot of girls that play the sport. They pick it up later in high school. They may not be on the basketball or soccer team, but decide that this is a sport that looks fun and something they want to pursue and letter in. As far as participation goes, I think they are pretty similar. Schimke: Other than spending time with lacrosse this off-season, what else are you planning? Ward: I took a couple of weeks off after the season to clear my head and spend time with my wife. Just focusing on coaching and getting the camps running takes quite a bit of time. I started firing up my training again, trying to get back fit like I was during the season because I’m heading back to my hometown Victoria to play summer lacrosse. Schimke: When is the start up date for Victoria? Ward: I think the first game is tonight (5/21). We have a couple of players from the Swarm, Nick Inch, Nick Paterson, Noah Talbot and former member Dean Hill. I’ll be suiting up next weekend for two games so it should be fun getting back playing in the green. Schimke: How does the summer league compare to the NLL? Ward: You get a lot of the same players, elite players but sometimes the lower end teams and players aren’t quite as good. It’s a bit rougher in the summer time than it is in the NLL, which might be hard to imagine. The big thing is that you're not playing in front of as many people. Schimke: Do you see any other members of the team around the Cities during the offseason? Ward: I’m good friends with Sean Pollock; he is one of the local guys here in town. He and our wives hang out quite a bit. Colin Achenbach - we train together down at Velocity. Joe Cinosky - I’ll see him at my camps. Other than that, I don’t see a much of the guys other than the ones I play with in Victoria. I read up on the Web to see what people are up to and follow them a little bit but we don’t spend a lot of time chatting. Schimke: Do you spend a lot of time at Velocity during both the season and the off-season? Ward: I’m pretty consistent in going in at least two days a week and training down there in addition to what I do on my own. I’ve been doing that for almost two years now. The main trainer, Tim Pelot, is exceptional and everyone who has worked out with him so far has really taken to him. He’s really passionate about making us better. Schimke: Do you have any goals for yourself this off-season and for the team for the next season? Ward: I like to have goals personally and as a team. I know that moving into this off-season, part of my motivation for playing with the Shamrocks is to have fun again, getting a lot of reps in, playing a lot of games and practicing quite a bit and keeping a stick in my hand. I think that will help get my swagger back and get a nose to the goal. Every time I come out of the summer, I’m on top of my game, so that’s what I’m looking to get out of this summer. My family is there too, so it’s a nice combination. Coming into the Swarm season, I’d just like to see us maximize our potential. We have a lot of solid players and we have to find a way to get everyone playing up to their potential and having fun and all pulling in the same direction. Hopefully things work out there and we get a few draft picks and improve our team and I think we have all the tools to be successful. |
Web Site Design and Development by Americaneagle.com