News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Rexford to coach national lacrosse team

Outlaws lacrosse coach Bill Rexford will coach in the National Senior Showcase (NSS) this summer. The national all-star game of boys' high school lacrosse features top senior high school players representing the North, South, East and West regions. Rexford was chosen as the coach for the West team.

Players from across the nation will gather at Benedictine University in Chicago, Illinois, from June 20-22 for three days of competition. Each region represented will have a roster of 25 players. Rexford's team surprisingly consists of players from as far east as Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Texas. The remaining states included in the Western region seem more West to those of us who live here: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.

"I think everybody back East thinks anybody west of the Mississippi is west," said Bill Rexford. "They even think Ohio is west."

Oregon's two representatives are Patrick Rogers of Jesuit High School and Aaron Prosser of Lincoln High School.

According to Rexford, the NSS is comparable to the McDonald's All-American basketball team.

"These kids are future college and pro stars," said Rexford. "I'm going to get to yell at future stars. That's what I'm excited about. I get to tell them that they're not good enough and they can be better. It's really going to be a celebration of what these kids have accomplished. We're going to have a lot of fun."

Rexford said the experience will also help his coaching career.

"I'll be able to see what 18-year-olds are able to do," said Rexford. "Three years ago our goal here in Sisters was to get to a competitive state level and we're there. After this I will know where we need to be three years from now so we're as good as any high school program. It should be a great learning experience. It's going to give me a chance to work with the future stars of the sport and see how high the bar has been set at the national level."

Rexford said he was humbled by the offer to coach and said he feels he was chosen because of his efforts that helped get lacrosse started in Oregon.

"There's a lot of great coaches better than me and a lot of programs better than ours......but I'm still going!"

 

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