Game Breaker Lacrosse Camp held at Beacon Middle School

Lacrosse players ranging from elementary school through high school took a break from the beach and pool to sharpen up their skills at Beacon Middle School during recent Game Breaker Lacrosse Camps.

Mark Duncan, who played at Lehigh University, said he started the camp at Rehoboth Elementary about 10 years ago before making the move to Route 24 a few years back.

“It's one of the camps that me and my staff have the most fun doing,” Duncan said. “We get to come down to the beach; we stay in Dewey; come up each day; and we've got a nice group of kids.”

The camp is coed, with the boys and girls split up initially but then coming together to run drills. Skill levels range from beginner to advanced. 

“We are mainly just focusing on the basics because a lot of them are pretty new to lacrosse, and even if they aren’t, it’s still good to learn the basics,” said Sadie Duncan, a player at Ole Miss. “We practice a lot of stick skills, shooting, dodging and ground balls.”

Sadie said she remembers learning the game when she was about 4, and she tries to instill in campers the lessons she learned or wished she had acquired. She said the campers’ positive attitudes helped with the efficiency of the drills.

Grady Brown, who visits his grandma and grandpa in Lewes every summer, is relatively new to the sport.

“I have been to two camps. I haven’t really played lacrosse; I’m just trying it out, but I might play lacrosse this fall,” Grady said.

The rising third-grader said he is learning valuable skills.

“Cradling with gloves – that’s kind of hard for me – dodges and some shooting,” Grady said, adding Thunderdome was his favorite drill.

Love Creek student Webber Ciavarra said he enjoyed Thunderdome as well.

“It's just fun, because the coaches are just running around trying to get to you,” Webber said.

The incoming third-grader started playing the game about a year ago and said the camp has allowed him to improve his shooting and passing.

Making her annual visit to Dewey Beach from Miami with her family, Charlotte Sheedy took advantage of the camp to fine-tune the skills she accumulated over her first three years. She said the coaches helped her improve her dodging.

“I learned a crease roll, because in games I couldn’t get past the defenders when I was trying to come up from behind the goal, but now they taught me moves that can dodge the defenders,” Charlotte said.

Incoming Franklin & Marshall freshman Alex Pilling, an offensive specialist, said lessons were specialized based on the experience level of the campers. Starting the game at age 6 himself, he is a big believer in starting young.

“The earlier you get a stick in your hands, the more well-rounded you're going to be when you're older,” Pilling said. “You have to keep developing your skills over the years, and getting a start as soon as possible helps in a huge way.”

Pilling said he has enjoyed seeing the group get better, describing them as fun and full of different characters.