TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 11/10/15
From Press Release

The Swarm Youth Box League of Minnesota has announced a partnership with Team Minnesota to continue the tradition of running the nation’s largest youth box lacrosse league alongside a leader in player development. Moving forward, Team Minnesota will manage and operate the league, which will be re-named the MN YBL as it enters its eighth season of operation in the spring of 2016.

Starting in late February, the MN YBL will offer the same league-play as in past years for ages U9, U11, U13 and U15 at locations throughout the Twin Cities. Players will have the option to choose between two styles of league-play: the Indoor Lacrosse League, which is governed by US Lacrosse and the Real Box League, which is governed by the Box Lacrosse Association of America (BLA).

“It’s clear that the box game is very important to player development and the growth of the game in Minnesota,” said Frank Clark, Director of Player Development for Team Minnesota. “The YBL has built an amazing league and learning opportunity. We are committed to help continue and grow that tradition each and every year.”

“It was important for us to find a partner to continue the YBL in the Twin Cities,” said Andy Arlotta, President of the Swarm’s Youth Box League. “Team Minnesota is a top-notch organization that understands the value of player development and the benefits of box lacrosse. We look forward to this partnership and continuing the great tradition of the YBL.”

Early bird team and individual registration with updated pricing, $40 per player savings from the 2015 season, is open at mnboxlacrosse.com. Pricing is as follows:

? 12-16 players ($210 PER PLAYER for YBL Indoor Lacrosse, $260 PER PLAYER for YBL Real Box Lacrosse)
? 17-20 players ($205 PER PLAYER for YBL Indoor Lacrosse, $255 PER PLAYER for YBL Real Box Lacrosse)
Along with the operations of the MN YBL, Corbyn Tao and Tom Howe will take over the educational and coaching component of MN YBL and Box Teams.

Tao has been heavily involved in the YBL in past years as a member of the NLL’s Minnesota Swarm. In the past four seasons with the Swarm, the Robert Morris University graduate has totaled 85 points (35G, 50A) and 184 loose balls. In addition to coaching and playing box lacrosse, Tao is a varsity coach for East Ridge High School and coaches for Team Minnesota teams and development academy.

“With Team MN’s ability for player development and involvement with the lacrosse community, it only seems fitting for the organization to incorporate the YBL and what box lacrosse has to offer players,” said Corbyn Tao, Director for Team Minnesota Box Lacrosse. “This will ultimately give the players another dynamic to add to their skill set.”

Howe played his Junior A lacrosse for the St. Catharine’s Athletics, and eight years of Senior lacrosse for the Fergus Thistles winning five Presidents Cups as National Champions. Since 2010, Howe has served as the Offensive Coordinator for Team Ireland’s National Indoor Lacrosse Team. He has also spent multiple years coaching youth and high school level lacrosse in both Illinois and Massachusetts, and was been recently named the Head Coach for the Stillwater High School Boys Team. In addition, he was a scout/assistant coach with the Boston Blazers organization in 2009 during their first year back in the NLL.

“I am very excited to join Team Minnesota in its effort to develop and grow the game of box lacrosse,” Howe said. “I am equally excited to work with Corbyn Tao in doing so. Being from St. Catharines, Ontario and being around the game of lacrosse all of my life, it is very rewarding to teach kids the great game of lacrosse and watch them develop their skills. The indoor game skill set is a great complement to the outdoor game and will help all of the kids become better all-around lacrosse players.”

Box lacrosse continues to grow across the United States and its influence on the college game is evident with the influx of Canadian players at the DI level, who grew up playing the sport at a young age.

Patrick McEwen of Inside Lacrosse recently wrote on the benefits of box lacrosse after watching the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships: “The smaller goals and larger goalie pads in box lacrosse mean that players have to get inside or to the middle of the field and often use some kind of fake or deception to fool the goalie in order to score. Therefore, it’s not surprising that players who grew up playing box tend to be much better inside and deceptive finishers.

“…For a variety of reasons (but most importantly the shot clock and lower value of possession), box lacrosse affords players a far greater opportunity to make mistakes because the cost of a mistake is much lower.”

Link to McEwen’s full article:

About Team Minnesota
TEAM MINNESOTA – is committed to providing an unmatched learning experience for student athletes and families, as well as the continued regional expansion of the game of lacrosse. Team Minnesota is focused on improving players decision-making and fundamentals via positive coaching and playing top competition. As that player continues to improve, Team Minnesota provides a vehicle for that player to explore their college options and provides advice, as requested, on how and where to pursue their college ambitions.

— SWARM

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