What Makes A Great Lacrosse Tournament?

What Makes A Great Lacrosse Tournament?

With 10 years of experience running events and the club teams that attend them, we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Trilogy Lacrosse’s President Jimmy Vlahakis discusses the keys to running a GREAT tournament.

1. Site Selection & Preparation
Trilogy carefully selects sites that provide a great family experience both on and off the field. Our operations team creates an optimal on-site experience and there is no shortage of family activities and historic sites to see in each region. We scout each location thoroughly and take every step necessary to ensure that the site is ready to go once the first whistle blows.

2. Communication
Getting all participants timely and accurate information is one of the hallmarks to running a great event, be it a lacrosse tournament or a presidential inauguration. This communication needs to happen both before the event happens and during its execution. Trilogy sends a tournament-specific event manual to every program director and family prior to our events. Scores and standings are updated within 10 minutes of each game ending and day of weather adjustments are communicated directly to coaches and families through the tourney machine app. By keeping dialogue open and consistent, parents, players and coaches always know where to be, when to be there and what the next event of the day will be.

3. Operational Excellence
Our first priority is player safety. The average response time of a Certified Athletic Trainer to an injured player on the field was under a minute during the 2015 tournament season. ALL of our fields are staffed with a Field Marshall and 2 referees when a game is going on. Ensuring that each operational aspect of the tournament works with the others and the entire staff is on the same page is paramount. Our Management Team is on-site at every event providing leadership, hands-on support and years of experience.

4. Dedication to Bracketing
There is nothing worst than traveling for hours only to win a game by 15 goals or losing to a team 20-2 because all of their players are a full year older. Once registered for a Trilogy Tournament, every program director gets a placement phone call from the Tournament Director to learn more about the skill level and age makeup of each team. Brackets are custom built based on that information, which has led to a statistically significant reduction in goal-differential between Trilogy Tournaments and other events.

Get Involved: Fill Out a Tournament Interest Form HERE.

Meet Jimmy Vlahakis

Jimmy Vlahakis leads our Trilogy team year-round, but plays an especially important role in tournament preparation and execution. Prior to running the country’s top lacrosse tournaments, Jimmy played for the United States Military Academy and served in the Army for seven years. Where can you find Jimmy during events? Look for the guy who’s making extreme multitasking look easy under the Headquarters Tent (with a two-way radio in hand, of course). Click here to learn more about Trilogy Lacrosse’s President.

 

 

 

Get a Sneak Peek

While Trilogy has long been known as the Leader in Lacrosse Education, over the past few years we have developed our tournament schedule to include top events for every type of program. We combine our insider lacrosse knowledge with our event management expertise to deliver the most holistic tournament experience. This year we will host both open and recruiting tournaments throughout June, July, and November. With limited space remaining, click the button below NOW to join us.

 

Will NCAA Coaches Be There?

We will host several recruiting events this year. Our recruiting events are high-level, intimate tournaments. We use the term “intimate” because we use a limited number of fields in order to maximize exposure among college coaches from Division 1, 2 and 3 schools. We also invite college coaches to our open events. Players interested in individual recruiting opportunities should check out our Aces showcases below.