East Hosts Inaugural Pat Perritt Elite Lacrosse Camp

There are two words that separate great college lacrosse players from the ones that are remembered for generations after they dispose of their sticks and gloves: National Championship.

On the football field at Sachem High School East this week stood a plethora of men who can satisfyingly say they won national titles. Those men form the instructor core of the inaugural Pat Perritt Elite Lacrosse Camp, which kicked off Thursday and runs for four days.

Intending to teach players from seventh through twelfth grade, Perritt, who graduated from East in 2005 and won two titles at Syracuse University, gathered some of the top talent in the nation for the camp.

"You're not going to find this at too many other places," said Perritt, who scored more points than any other player in Sachem history (276) – combined at East or North. "This is my high school. I take a lot of pride in this place. To have this type of staff and teach these kids is a great opportunity for them and me as well."

Joining Perritt as instructors were his brother Bill, who graduated from Sachem and also won two titles at Syracuse, as well as Syracuse stars John Galloway, Joel White, Jovan Miller and Adam Vogl, who all won two titles a piece at Syracuse in 2008 and 2009. Also helping out were former Sachem players Derek Dale, who played at Albany, and Brian Gill, who won a title at New York Tech. Count it, that's 13 titles between the staff.

"A big part of it is these guys get to meet the best college lacrosse players in the country and start to learn what it's like to play college lacrosse," Perritt said. "They ask questions and start to really understand what it takes to get to the next level and not just be mediocre, but start to be an exceptional player."

"The camp is incredible," said John MacAneney, president of the Sachem East Lacrosse Club. "The talent here with the championships behind them and the ratio itself, it's almost five to one with these counselors. Without a doubt it's the best bargain on the east coast as far as camps go. It's something we wanted to keep Sachem lacrosse at home and keep the players at home. It's a great step forward for Sachem East lacrosse."