By Tom Rimback
Reprinted with permission of the Burlington County (N.J.) Times

PLUMSTED, N.J. - As problems go, the organizers of Lax for the Cure can live with the one that cropped up at this weekend's second annual girls lacrosse tournament.

When last year's inaugural event raised the startling amount of $50,000 for breast cancer research, the tournament set its sights on raising 20 percent more and missed the mark, badly. When it came time to write the ceremonial check to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, there wasn't 60 grand to give - there was triple that amount. That's right. Lax for the Cure raised $180,000. Nice problem.

"We're thrilled, absolutely thrilled," tournament co-founder Jessica Shoulberg said. "As the numbers started coming in from all the teams, I was addicted to watching the numbers climb. It really shows the power of this sport. We saw what the adults did with races and what the players all did with their fund raising. It's really awesome."

Shoulberg and husband Charlie are the directors of STEPS Lacrosse, North Jersey's top club lacrosse program. Last summer, they came together with Deanna and K.C. Knobloch, directors of South Jersey Select, to combine the forces of the state's two best summer club programs to create what has become an instant success.

Over three days, 162 teams in six age groups from programs all over the Eastern Seaboard descended on New Egypt High School in a blizzard of pink.

"The girls love this tournament," director of South Jersey Vikings Lacrosse Lauren Ferrara said. "They have so much fun, and they realize this is for a higher cause than just the sport itself. We had one team last year and this year we brought three teams. They're all having so much fun."

STEPS also runs a tournament in June called Lax by the Sea, which provided the model for Lax for the Cure. The entry fees, the championship format, the limited number of teams and even the location are the same. The biggest difference is that a percentage of each team's fee is skimmed off the top to form the donation base. Each individual team is asked to set a goal raising $500 on its own. The average was more than twice that amount.

"We like where we're at," Jess Shoulberg said. "We can do more with a tournament of this size. It's a nice three-day tournament. It's manageable. This isn't a super-tournament or mega-tournament with hundreds of teams and dozens of fields at multiple sites. We're comfortable at this size."

To the credit of the phalanx of umpires, support staff, vendors, trainers and sno-ball makers, the tournament has quickly gained a reputation for being run seemingly by itself with Disney-like precision. With the further blessing of almost perfect weather, it's no wonder that the tournament has attracted everything from the Long Island and Maryland super programs similar to STEPS and SJS all the way down to smaller two- and three-team programs like the Medford Lakes Lacrosse Club Sitaras.

"This tournament is run very well, everything goes like clockwork and the people here are great," Sitaras high school team coach Patricia Flanagan said.

"The girls are loving it. We'd never go anywhere else. This will always be a part of the Sitaras summers. Everyone wears their pink. Everyone's excited. Everyone wants to help out with the cause."

The competition is just as intense as it is during the summer club circuit, but it has its differences, too. At Lax for the Cure, you're more likely to find players from different clubs goofing off together. Evidently happier players bring bigger donations.

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2009-07-14