A very good man! Glad for his service!! Dom Starsia is out as UVA's Head Lacrosse Coach

Dom Starsia is out as UVA's Head Lacrosse Coach

Posted: Monday, May 23, 2016 6:27 pm

BY WHITELAW REID

• 
• Posted on May 23, 2016
  by Whitelaw Reid

Virginia has confirmed the departure of longtime men’s lacrosse coach Dom Starsia via a press release.

“Dom Starsia is a Hall of Fame coach and I want to thank him for all he has done for Virginia men’s lacrosse, UVA athletics, the University of Virginia, and the Charlottesville community,” said Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage in a press release. “In addition to winning 73 percent of his games at UVa with multiple ACC and NCAA championships, Dom was committed to the development of student-athletes as his teams were cited for their sportsmanship and academic achievements. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have worked with and learned from Dom.

“These decisions are not easy and Dom and I have had a number of substantive conversations over the last several weeks regarding the future of the program.”

Said Starsia: “When our season ended, Craig informed me of his decision to make a coaching change. I wanted to take this moment to thank everyone who has been so gracious to me and my family during our time in Charlottesville. While blessed to have been part of some great teams, this experience has always been about the people and the relationships. I want to thank the players and their families who have been such an important part of my life. I would also like to thank all the coaches and staff who have propped me up over a lot of years, and especially to Marc Van Arsdale, who was here when I arrived 24 years ago. What a joy it has been to coach with my son Joe these past three years! I am very proud of all that we have accomplished here at the University of Virginia.”

Starsia’s contract was set to expire in January 2017, with Virginia still owing him approximately $400,000.

“In our search for the next head coach, we will be looking for a dynamic leader who clearly articulates a plan to build upon the tradition Dom and his staff created over the last two and a half decades and who can position our men’s lacrosse program to compete annually for ACC and NCAA championships while also achieving success academically,” Littlepage said.

Read it all HERE

You control what you can control...~Dom Starsia #qftpp

You control what you can control, and what you can control is your effort every day. ~Dom Starsia

http://vasp.tv/menslacrosse/12R2

For UVA Lacrosse's Milikin and Howard the end of their U.Va lacrosse careers may be in sight

For Howard, Milikin, end of their U.Va. lacrosse careers may be in sight

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By MIKE BARBER Richmond Times-Dispatch | Posted Yesterday

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Carlson Milikin didn’t know if he wanted to play football or lacrosse in college. An injury helped make that decision for him.

Michael Howard didn’t know if he was a Virginia-caliber prospect in lacrosse. Dom Starsia decided he was.

Now, both Richmonders will likely play their final match at U.Va. on Sunday against No. 13 Duke. That decision similarly may not entirely be their own.

Milikin, born in Texas but raised in Richmond, excelled at football and lacrosse at Woodberry Forest School, to the point he went into his senior year unsure if he’d play football at Stanford or lacrosse at U.Va.

Milikin had drawn interest from a number of major football programs, most of whom told him he’d need a strong senior season to earn a scholarship offer. Instead, he suffered a hamstring injury and didn’t play football his last year in high school.

What would Milikin have chosen, if both options were on the table?

“It would have been a really tough choice,” Milikin said. “I didn’t have to make that decision. … And I had an awesome backup plan.”

Starsia, Virginia’s coach, made a number of recruiting trips an hour north to see Milikin, including some in football season, but said he rarely saw Milikin play because of the injuries.

But he saw plenty when he watched him play lacrosse.

“I saw somebody that I thought had as good of defensive instincts as anyone I had seen in a long time,” Starsia said.

Milikin had fashioned himself more of an offensive player, but when practice began his first year at U.Va., and he had a short stick in his hand, he knew the coaches had other plans.

Milikin was just excited to play. And then came the hamstring injuries, again — one over Christmas break and one in practice the week leading up to the first game. He missed one game, then another. Eventually, Starsia decided the prudent move was to redshirt him.

Also redshirting that season in 2013 was another freshman from Richmond — Howard. And like Milikin, Howard went into his senior year of high school uncertain if he’d be playing at U.Va., but for a different reason.

Howard, whose father and sister attended U.Va., grew up wanting to play for Starsia.

“During the recruiting process, I never really thought that I’d be good enough or that my academics would allow me to come here,” Howard said. “It was kind of a dream come true.”

Starsia saw the athletic ability and potential in the 6-foot-5 Howard, who played his high school lacrosse at Collegiate School, where he also starred in soccer and basketball.

“I remember seeing a big kid that could really move his feet,” Starsia said. “Very raw, lacrosse-wise. Probably a much better soccer player in high school than he was a lacrosse player.”

Howard said he actually took a step back before making strides forward with his lacrosse game in college. He suffered a torn labrum his senior season in high school and had surgery that May. He arrived at U.Va. with “terrible” stick skills, and said a running joke among teammates debated whether he was the worst player on the team.

After his sophomore season at U.Va., Howard went back to Richmond to work a summer job. He spent his downtime playing wall ball, firing passes and shots against a brick wall near a basketball court on the lower campus at Collegiate. A couple hundred a day.

It paid off.

“I wasn’t certain we were going to get there,” Starsia said. “But Michael’s really worked at it, and he’s turned into one of the best long sticks in the country.”

Both players will be recognized Sunday as part of senior day festivities before the Duke match. But both, having redshirted, are eligible to play one more season for U.Va. (6-6, 0-3 ACC). Both would like to, but think it’s not likely.

Milikin, an economics major, said Virginia doesn’t offer a graduate program that will help further his career goals. He’s been accepted to a graduate program for management at Notre Dame. He could go there and, if the program is interested, play his final year for the Irish. He also has a job offer from the Jacksonville Jaguars, whom he interned with last summer.

Starsia noted that, unlike football and basketball players who are on full scholarship, coming back for a fifth year for a lacrosse player means paying some if not all of their tuition bill. To do that if the school doesn’t offer the graduate program an athlete is seeking can be a tough financial sell to families.

“We don’t have as many graduate programs available as some other schools do,” Starsia said. “In football and basketball, when they come back for a fifth year, they’re on a full scholarship. For their family it’s like, ‘Hey, go ahead and go back. Play football and get a master’s in something.’ But for our guys, they’re really paying for it.”

Those kind of family financial considerations could drive Howard away from his fifth year, as well. He was drafted by the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the seventh round of Major League Lacrosse’s college draft. Howard can graduate, take a job and play for the Bayhawks next year, or come back to U.Va. for one more season.

Those decisions will be made down the line. Sunday, with their team fighting for a spot in the NCAA tournament and aiming to end a seven-match losing streak against Duke, Milikin and Howard will take the field with a little extra emotion and a lot more family members in the stands.

“I don’t know if it’ll actually hit me in that moment that it’s my last game,” Milikin said. “You can’t really know.”

mbarber@timesdispatch.com
@RTD_MikeBarber

Great Jeff White article on Zed Williams of UVA Lacrosse

Williams Finds Second Home at UVA
By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu) - VirginiaSports.com

Zed Williams

April 15, 2016

UVA Game Notes | VSTV Men's Lacrosse Page | Twitter: @JeffWhiteUVa | Subscribe to White's Articles

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The Cattaraugus Reservation and the University of Virginia are in many ways worlds apart, and not only because of the 400-plus miles that separate them. Less than 1 percent of UVA's student body is Native American.

For Zed Williams, a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, the easier choice would have been Syracuse or Albany. Both of those schools have lacrosse programs in which Native Americans have played starring roles, most recently the wondrous Thompson brothers at Albany.

But Williams, whose close-knit family lives on the reservation, about 30 miles southwest of Buffalo, N.Y., decided to spend his college years far away from the Empire State. He bonded immediately with the men who lead the UVA men's program -- head coachDom Starsia and associate head coach Marc Van Arsdale -- after which the choice was clear to Williams.

"As soon as I met Coach Starsia and Coach Van, right away I knew," said Williams, who arrived at UVA in the summer of 2013.

Now a 6-2, 185-pound junior who's in his second season as a starter, Williams ranks among the nation's top midfielders. With 21 points (17 goals and four assists), he's the Cavaliers' fourth-leading scorer, and he's second in ground balls with 41.

In its final regular-season home game, Virginia (6-6 overall, 0-3 ACC) hosts No. 13 Duke (7-6, 1-2) at noon Sunday at Klöckner Stadium. 

"It may take a little bit more sophisticated eye to appreciate the things Zed does on the field," Starsia said, "but he's one of the first guys that my peers talk about when they call, because they really admire all the things that he does for us on the field."

There were those in the Buffalo area, Williams said, who predicted he would struggle academically and socially at UVA, but he ignored them. Rob Genco, who coached Williams at Silver Creek High School and assisted him during the recruiting process, also heard criticism of Williams' decision.

"I received a bunch of phone calls from other coaches from different colleges that were recruiting him, kind of telling me that I screwed up and this kid's not going to make it [at UVA]," said Genco, who talks regularly with Williams.

"The past has shown that a lot of our Native American kids in general couldn't make it anywhere but certain colleges. I knew that wasn't true with Zed, and I pretty much told them, `I'm sorry you feel that way. He's a jersey to you, but I love the kid, and the decision wasn't made to see him fail.' "

Starsia, who has won four NCAA titles at UVA, loved what he saw in Williams as a person, and Williams' athletic ability was unquestioned. He also excelled in basketball and football at Silver Creek, but lacrosse was Williams' best sport. In five seasons on the varsity, he scored a national-record 729 points, on 444 goals and 285 assists.

"The success he had here on and off the field is unmeasurable and will never be duplicated," Genco said.

Even so, Starsia recalled, he had some concerns "early about whether or not this was going to be the right fit for Zed, whether or not he was going to be able to thrive here."

Those concerns proved to be unfounded.

"The way he's carried himself as an athlete and a student here has surpassed my expectations on so many different levels," Starsia said. "He's just a great kid, and it has been a joy for our program to have Zed in our community, and I think being at the University of Virginia has been good for him at the same time."

Williams, who lives with teammate Jeff Kratky, is majoring in drama at UVA. His passion is not acting, but rather behind-the-scenes work such as stage construction. Starsia has followed Williams' journey at Virginia with pride.

"I would tell you that I have never asked more of a young guy than what we've asked of Zed, in terms of study hall, tutors, mentors and commitment to the academic piece of this," Starsia said. "It was really important that that part of it begin to get some traction before I really worried a great deal about lacrosse. I always knew he could play the game, but I wanted to be sure we were being fair to him by asking him to be here academically and socially.

"He has, again, well-surpassed my expectations, and I would tell you that he's the magna cum laude of effort in my 40 years of coaching young men in similar situations."

To ease Williams' transition, Starsia asked one of the team's veterans, Ryan Tucker, to serve as a mentor in Charlottesville. When Williams arrived in 2013 for a summer transition program, Tucker was waiting to help him move into his dorm.

Read the whole article HERE at VirginiaSports

29 September 2013 Sermon - Be aware ~ care ~ share - The Rev. Peter M. Carey

The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Sermon – 29 September 2013

St. Paul’s Memorial Church – Charlottesville, Virginia

Luke – Rich Man and Lazarus

Be aware

Care

Share

Jesus’ story today from the gospel gives us a stark example of what not to do.  The rich man was not aware, did not care, and did not share.

The Rich Man’s sin was his lack of any awareness at all of the suffering of Lazarus, rather he was self-absorbed.  He had no awareness at all of this man’s suffering, right at his doorstep.  And, for this, he was punished – perhaps eternally in the fires of hell.  … and what about his lack of awareness.

The Old Testament speaks an urgent and sufficient call to repentance. The rich man’s failure to care for Lazarus is not in accord with the Old Testament and with Jesus’ teaching in verse 9 (from last week: “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes”.  Every Jew knew the Old Testament laws commanding the compassionate use of riches, so the rich man had no excuse for his wanton neglect of one whom he saw regularly, and could have helped easily.

Does the rich man’s punishment seem harsh?  Perhaps.  However, Jesus is teaching us a hard lesson that unless we need to be aware, to care, and to share.  Of course we are so often preoccupied with our lives, busy beyond all limits, we live and move and have our being, often, with no awareness at all of those who are suffering and hurting all around us.  Of course, when we slow down, when we turn aside, we might allow ourselves to be present, to see those around us, to consider those outside our normal circles.  When we begin to pray to have our hearts softened, our eyes opened, our ears unclogged, we might feel and see and hear the opportunities all around us.

Be aware!

The lesson is a stark one for us sitting here, knowing, when we reflect just how rich we are, and, also how unaware we can become of human suffering and even the humanity of our fellow women and men.  We have good excuses for being caught up in our own lives, we have much to do, and even when we don’t, we have much to be distracted by.  Walking down the street with both ears plugged up with our headphones, either real or metaphorical.

I would propose that Jesus is really calling us to be aware of the suffering around us, and also to respond.  Jesus not only calls us, but also empowers us, arms us, supplies us, challenges us, and fills us with the spirit, the enthusiasm to be aware, to care and to share! So, how do we open our eyes and ears to see and hear those in need?  I would say that the first step is to work to soften our hearts, to find a prayer inside us to allow us to be present to the needs of those around us, to find the humanity of the people who we encounter every day – on the exit of the bypass on the way to Barracks Road, of the people suffering loneliness, of the people cut off from their families, of the people in every place whe are in need.  As we allow God to soften our hearts we deepen our awareness of the larger world beyond our seemingly comfortable boundaries.

Care

As we are praying to have our hearts softened, to be aware and to care we do well to turn to the saints.  The saints in the church’s designation, and also the saints in our midst.  Saints such as St. Francis, who left a life of privilege and being the “rich man” who was unaware of the needs of people all around him, to enter a life of joy and beauty amidst those in deepest need.  He accepted radical poverty and gave away all the stuff that he had, so that he might live a life of deep sharing and compassion.

Like Francis, whose feast day we celebrate this week upcoming, we also have the opportunity to share.  Not out of guilt or coercion, but I hope out of a deep sense of generosity which emerges from our own soft hearts, our caring, and our gratitude.

And, it is not merely these saints such as Francis, but the saints all around us.  I am reminded of the inspiring words, “I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true, who lived and died and toiled and fought for the Lord they loved and knew….and I mean to be one too.”  [Though this hymn is often maligned by some choir directors, it was one that inspired me when I was young, and still does today.]  How audacious to think that we could also be saints – perhaps not like Francis, who gave it all away, but we each can do more to be aware, to care, and to share.

I think that we would do well to find the saints in our midst who have found a way to not only open their hearts, and also to be aware, to care, and to share.  Not every response is the same for everyone.  For some, it may be to devote themselves to a cause, to find the work and ministry that gives joy, and also serves the world’s deepest need. 

“Let the beauty you love be what you do, there are thousands of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”  ~ Rumi

Folks at The Haven

Canterbury at Habitat

Eucharistic Visitors

PACEM

What about our wonderful Mary Lee Webb, here at St. Paul’s, who has spent many years serving the elderly in our community through Ministry on the Aging.  Visiting those in need, making sure that they are cared for, bringing love and hope to those who are struggling with the ways that the years offer us challenge and suffering and loneliness.  Could we find a way to not only often our hearts, but also to find a way to respond to the need in our midst?

What about our dedicated parishioner, Dr. Tom Daniel who is off in Africa on a medical mission trip; the second one he has embarked upon this year, to serve those in need…to be aware, to care, and to share.

Wyatt Melzer was a UVA Men's Lacrosse player who was wondering what he would do after college and he happened upon this wonderful organization, Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership.  He decided to share his love for lacrosse, and all the wonderful lessons he learned here at UVA to young people in need in Harlem.  …Harlem Lacrosse…leadership and teaching….lacrosse … caring and sharing!

“Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership is a nonprofit organization that uses the game of lacrosse to help structure the lives of at-risk middle school children in Harlem.”

“HLL is a school-based program that operates in Harlem public middle schools. Throughout the school day, HLL employees work closely with teachers, guidance counselors and school administrators to identify and strategically recruit students who are struggling behaviorally and academically to play lacrosse.” 

“I am always half joking with these guys, forget Wall Street, go be a teacher, get involved with education

get involved with young people

seeing Wyatt and the influence he has had

I think it will be the kind of thing that all of our guys will be interested in

How they can give back in a situation like this.” ~ Coach Dom Starsia

Don’t be like the rich man.  Don’t wait for a deathbed confession, don’t wait for the lightning to strike or the burning bush to appear.  Be a saint.  Pray to soften your hearts.  Find the joy that comes through being present to our fellow people.  See the way that Christ breaks into our world.  “There are thousands of ways to kiss the ground,” and there are thousands of ways to worship God; to be aware, to care, and to share. 

Starsia Announces UVa Men's Lacrosse Team Captains for 2012

Starsia Announces UVa Men's Lacrosse Team Captains for 2012

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia head coach Dom Starsia announced that midfielder Colin Briggs, defenseman Chris Clements, midfielder Matt Kugler, and attackman Steele Stanwick have been selected as team captains for the 2012 campaign.

"I am very pleased to announce our captains for the 2011-2012 academic year," said Starsia. "I have been blessed throughout a long career to have worked closely with some outstanding young men who have served in this capacity. The value of true leadership was never more evident than in this past 2011 National Championship season. Being a captain is neither a popularity contest nor a simple assignment but Colin, Chris, Matt and Steele are clearly in the mold of those who have stood strongly in the recent past. Their selection is the first indication of the sharp focus and intent for this 2012 team."

Briggs, a senior from Narragansett, R.I., was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship after scoring five goals in UVa's 9-7 triumph over Maryland in the final. Briggs was a second-team selection on the USILA All-America team after tallying 29 goals and 12 assists in 2011. The All-ACC selection was third on the team with 41 points.

Clements, a senior from Baltimore, Md., moved to defense in January from a short-stick defensive midfielder position and also saw time as a long-stick midfielder. Clements appeared in all 18 games in 2011, starting 14 of them. He picked up 46 ground balls and caused 13 turnovers. Clements had three ground balls and two crucial caused turnovers against Maryland in the NCAA finals, helping the Cavaliers to the victory.

Kugler, a senior from Fairfax Station, Va., was a key piece that ran on UVa's second midfield in 2011. He finished with five goals and two assists in 17 games played in 2011. Kugler had important goals for the Cavaliers in the first round overtime win against Bucknell and again in the semifinal round against Denver.

Stanwick, a senior from Baltimore, Md., is a captain for a second season in a row after also winning the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the top collegiate lacrosse player in the country. Stanwick helped set the table for the nation's No. 3 offense. The ACC Player of the Year and USILA first-team All-American, Stanwick contributed 32 goals and 38 assists to rank No. 4 nationally in points per game. His 38 assists ranked No. 3 nationally. Stanwick had nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, four away from matching an NCAA Tournament record set by Eamon McEneaney in 1987.

"We are off to a good start and the potential for outstanding leadership that accompanies today's announcement moves us smartly in the direction of a meaningful finish," said Starsia.

2011-09-29

Title hopes rest with Stanwick

Tewaaraton Award finalist has expanded role in Cavs’ offense

Elliot Olshansky, NCAA.com

Last Updated - May 29, 2011 7:16 GMT

Contact | Archive | RSS

BALTIMORE – On Thursday night, while meeting with members of the media in advance of Saturday’s NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse semifinal game against Virginia, Denver head coach Bill Tierney was asked if he had any special plans to stop Cavaliers attackman and Tewaaraton Award finalist Steele Stanwick.

“Yeah,” Tierney joked. “I’m asking the refs if we can use three defensemen on him. That would be the only thing that would be fair.”

In retrospect, it was appropriate that Tierney joked about the Virginia attackman, since it was Stanwick who played a leading role into turning the first semifinal at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday into a laugher.

Stanwick had three goals and two assists on Virginia’s first 11 goals, powering the Cavaliers to a 13-4 lead after three quarters of play and an eventual 14-8 win.

“He’s just a great, great player,” Tierney said. “He’s tough to guard. You slough in on him, he finds open guys. You cover him, he beats you for goals. He’s just so unselfish and such a good player, we didn’t have that today.”

Stanwick’s matched his offensive totals from last year’s NCAA semifinal, when he scored three goals and assisted on two more in a 14-13 loss to Duke in Baltimore. After being hampered by injuries and held scoreless in his last trip to M&T Bank Stadium – an 11-9 win against Cornell in March- Stanwick was thrilled to have a standout performance in a Cavaliers victory in his hometown.

“It’s a thrill to be back in Baltimore,” Stanwick said, “and to play well and get the win just means the world to me. We’ve been here two times in my career and haven’t been able to get over the hump. The job’s not done by any means, but we’re all excited, and we just couldn’t be happier for the opportunity.”

Stanwick’s performance against the Pioneers was actually his lowest point total of the season, as he had three goals and five assists in the first round of the tournament against Bucknell, and torched No. 2 seed Cornell for three goals and four assists in last week’s quarterfinal win. In four games since All-American midfielder Shamel Bratton was dismissed from the team, Stanwick has 25 points (9g, 16a).

“As we have retooled offensively in the last few weeks,” Virginia head coach Dom Starsia said, “what we do now is share the ball a little bit more. Frankly, we also say going into a game that the ball goes to Steele every possession, goes through his hands every possession, and nobody minds. Everybody understands that we’re going to run a meaningful offense when he touches the ball. When you have somebody like that, that point guard, that lifts everybody. You know that if you move smartly, you’re going to get the ball back in a better spot. He’s one of those really rare athletes who impacts all the people around him.”

Having watched the Cavaliers extensively in preparation for Saturday’s game, Tierney can appreciate the impact of Stanwick’s expanded role.

“Stanwick gets more touches now,” Tierney said. “When your best player gets more touches, more good things happen for your team. I thought they were a transformed team four or five games ago, and besides that, he got healthy. Jeff Brown did as good a job on him as he possibly could, and he’s just a great, great player.”

Stanwick now has 69 points on the season (32 goals, 37 assists), and ranks second in the country in total points behind fellow Tewaaraton Award finalist Rob Pannell of Cornell.

As the only Tewaaraton Finalist at this weekend’s championship – the other four finalists are Pannell, Army’s Jeremy Boltus and Syracuse’s John Galloway and Joel White – Stanwick continues to bolster his case for the Tewaaraton, and with 188 career points and a game left to go in his junior season, Stanwick has a shot at the program’s all-time scoring record, currently held by 1997 Virginia grad Doug Knight.

To Tierney, Stanwick is more than worthy of both distinctions.

“This is a guy who comes from a wonderful lacrosse family. Each one’s better than the next, and he’s always a gentleman. We had the opportunity to stay with the Virginia guys in our hotel this week, which is always interesting, but Steele, he’s a gentleman, and he’s a good person and a great lacrosse player.”

At the moment, however, none of the individual accolades matters. The main concern is the program’s first NCAA championship since 2006 – when, coincidentally, Matt Ward gave Virginia its second Tewaaraton – and Stanwick and his teammates will have the opportunity to bring that title home on Monday.

“Probably, six weeks ago, there’s not a lot of people who thought we’d be sitting here today having this conversation,” Starsia said, “but I think the guys in the locker room, I think that they never stopped believing.”

Come Monday, Stanwick and his teammates while look to take Virginia’s NCAA championship potential from a matter of belief to a matter of fact.

U.Va. lax star Stanwick excelling in the family business

Credit: SABRINA SCHAEFFER/MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

Virginia junior attackman Steele Stanwick carries a family heirloom into every game, a stick hand-strung with leather by his father.

Related

NO. 7 VIRGINIA VS. NO. 6 DENVER

NCAA men's lacrosse semifinals

Saturday: 4 p.m., ESPN2

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By: MICHAEL PHILLIPS 
Published: May 27, 2011

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CHARLOTTESVILLE --

Lacrosse is the family game in the Stanwick household, where there are eight kids, all standouts in the sport.

Six of them will return home to Baltimore on Saturday to watch Steele Stanwick and Virginia go for the family's first championship ring.

In his hand will be a piece of home — Stanwick's stick is hand-strung with leather by his dad, Wells.

"He didn't like the way they came from the manufacturer, so he would string them and keep them up throughout the season," Sheehan Stanwick Burch said.

Sheehan, the oldest of the eight, works as a lacrosse analyst for CBS College Sports Network. She said that Wells still uses leather, instead of the synthetic materials of the store-bought sticks that other players use.

"I think it's the kind of thing we all took for granted," she said of her dad's skill. "He does a really good job."

Steele said that Wells takes skill sets into account when he strings the stick, and makes them slightly different for each member of the family. He's not going into business, though — word of the sticks got out only recently, and he's humble about his contributions.

If Steele continues his recent tear this weekend, those sticks could be in high demand. The attackman leads the Cavaliers with 35 assists, but has transformed himself into more than a top-notch passer the past month, becoming a scoring threat that demands a constant double-team from defenses.

Thursday, he was rewarded when he was named first-team All-America, and he is a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, the sport's top honor. He has 15 points in two playoff games, and single-handedly kept his team from being eliminated against Bucknell in the opening round.

"Steele's put us on his back in these playoffs," goaltender Adam Ghitelman said. "There's no doubt about it."

"He can just take over a game," attackman Chris Bocklet added.

Stanwick, a junior, fought leg injuries during the ACC portion of the schedule. He was unable to practice with the team, playing through the pain on game days but finding himself at less than 100 percent.

Now, with the pain gone, he's ready to go.

Sheehan said that her dad didn't have any lacrosse experience, but when the family moved to Baltimore, he picked it up as a sport he could play with his daughters.

Now all eight siblings are involved in the sport. One took a break when he was 7, but it lasted only a year.

"I would love to say that we had some kind of impact on Steele's play," Sheehan said. "But you could just tell from a very early age that he was going to be very athletic. It just came a little easier to him. I wish I had some of his natural skills."

Steele's two oldest sisters played in the Final Four. This will be Steele's third, his second in his hometown. There are plenty of high school titles to go around in the Stanwick household, but no NCAA rings.

This weekend is another opportunity to fix that, and Wells will have the equipment ready.

---

mphillips@timesdispatch.com