Lacrosse Shooting Clinic Gives Area Boys Helping Hand

The 55 boys' high school lacrosse players who attended the Upper 90 league's shooting clinic with Johns Hopkins all-American Paul Rabil on Saturday in Germantown were not the only ones who came away having learned something.

Phil Gash, a co-founder of Upper 90 and the varsity coach at Maret School in the District, said he benefited as well.

"I was asking a lot of questions," Gash said. "I started playing lacrosse 15 years ago, but there still is so much I don't know. It was cool to see how well-coached Paul has been and to listen to his advice. Anytime you can talk to a guy like that, it's a great experience."

The clinic was quite a coup for Upper 90, an 18-month-old organization that runs lacrosse events year-round. Rabil graduated from DeMatha in 2004 but attended Watkins Mill as a freshman. He is a two-time first-team all-American midfielder at Johns Hopkins.

He told the clinic attendees -- almost all of whom attend Montgomery County public schools -- to focus more on their progress than their pedigree.

"He said it really doesn't make a difference who you are or where you go to school if you're willing to work hard," said Kevin Piroozmand, the other founder of the league.

To that end, Rabil gave out tips on shooting -- he uses his entire body on his shots and emphasizes power over accuracy. He also detailed his daily workout from high school: 100 right-handed passes against a wall, 100 left-handed, 50 with only his right hand, 50 with only his left hand and 100 shots on goal.

Rabil presented a new shaft of a lacrosse stick to midfielder Willie Fix after Fix clocked a 92-mph shot.

After the clinic, Fix put the shooting tips to good use in the Upper 90 all-star game. Fix, a senior at Maret, scored four goals, leading his team to a 13-6 victory. Tanner Knott of Seneca Valley and Drew Pollekoff of Churchill each scored three goals for the losing team.

The Upper 90 summer league has grown from 100 to 150 players and hosts a girls' division. The boys' league features eight teams; seven are from Montgomery schools. Whitman has the top spot in the playoffs. The championship game is Aug. 6.

Gash and Piroozmand played at Seneca Valley. They founded Upper 90 because they wanted to provide Montgomery County players with an accessible way to play lacrosse year-round. Upper 90 hosts a fall outdoor league and a winter indoor league. The league began after Gash secured a $15,000 loan from a bank.

"After we left [high school] we saw that the guys were playing during the season but not any other time," Gash said. "We wanted to change that."