Shorebreak Lacrosse brings in elite NCAA player for goalie camp
With a goal of transcending boundaries and cultivating a vibrant lacrosse community beyond the regions already part of a rich Cape tradition, Shorebreak Lacrosse hosted a goalie camp at DE Turf July 31.
Those who attended not only learned from Cape alum and former NCAA All-American Franc Cook, but also got lessons from current University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill player and Princeton grad Mike Gianforcaro.
“I was fortunate enough to connect with Mike a while back and wanted to catch him before he went back to college,” Cook said. “This area of southern Delaware needs growth of [lacrosse], and the way you can get there, one of the big factors, is the exposure to good goalie training. That was one of the bases of why I started Shorebreak Lacrosse.”
Cook, as Shorebreak Lacrosse director, started out with private, individual lessons and clinics before deciding to host his first group session in Frederica with the hope of helping to improve the position locally.
“One of the ways that you can do that is by utilizing all the resources that are at your fingertips,” Cook said.
Before Gianforcaro attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana, he began his high school career at Tower Hill, so he was excited to spread the game and teach the position in southern Delaware when Cook asked him. Campers learned firsthand the drills the 2023 Ivy League Tournament MVP uses to warm up.
“When I play, I don't do a ton of different drills; I probably choose eight to 10 drills, and I do three or four of them a day,” Gianforcaro said. “I was trying to show the kids that when you want to play at the next level, you want to play college lacrosse, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. You have to get a couple of looks that you can do over and over and over again, that you can see in a game, and then just master those. When you get in the game, you can see a lot of the same stuff.”
Cook said playing between the pipes is not a cookie-cutter position, and having access to a successful, high-level goalie provides kids with training they may not get during regular practice. Gianforcaro is also a big believer in a specialized approach.
“So many times you have coaches who didn't play goalie themselves, or they're telling you things that worked for them when they played a long time ago,” Gianforcaro said. “The game is a lot faster and a lot different, so innovative coaches can tell you, ‘Hey, I've been in your shoes. I know what it takes to make a save. I think you're better off doing it this way.’”
After the session, campers were drained but excited to take home the lessons they learned. Callen Justiniano has been playing for five years, the last four as a goalie. He will be a freshman at First State Military Academy in the fall.
“There were a lot of good coaches giving a lot of good training,” Justiniano said. “I gained more knowledge on how to play lacrosse, and the college coaches were really helpful with what I needed.”
Polytech’s Gavin Hopkins said he learned a lot and enjoyed his time in the cage.
“My favorite part was probably the close-up drills next to the creases and the feeds from the crease; those were good drills and I liked them,” Hopkins said.
Cook is hoping to host another session in the coming months, and in the meantime, he will continue to give one-on-one lessons. Anyone interested in the sessions can go to shorebreaklax.com or email info@shorebreaklax.com.
