St. Louis may not be a hotbed for lacrosse like some East Coast cities, but it has plenty of potential.
Now, it's Kevin Finn's job to take that potential to the next level.
Finn, who recently finished his first season as head coach of the boys lacrosse team at O'Fallon High School, works for True Lacrosse, a Midwestern company committed to the expansion and progression of lacrosse.
"The company was started in Chicago by a couple of MLL (Major League Lacrosse) players for the Chicago Machine," said Finn, who played at Butler University, Stony Brook University and Salisbury University. "One of them is from Massachusetts and one is from Maryland, which along with New York is considered the elite area for lacrosse.
"After playing in Chicago and living there for a few seasons, they had more and more people asking them to do clinics and do some instructional things. They started doing that and it just kind of skyrocketed. This is the fourth year for True Lacrosse in Chicago and it started spreading through Illinois.
"With the success they were having, they started to expand to other states, including Michigan and Wisconsin, and they sent me to St. Louis. I graduated not too long away from Salisbury University, which just won its ninth national championship in NCAA Division III."
Since moving to St. Louis at the end of February, Finn has gotten a better feel for the local lacrosse scene.
"We've looked into how many high school players have gone on to play at a high college level and those numbers were quite low, as they have been in Illinois," Finn said. "Our plan (at True Lacrosse) is to bring in some coaches who can use what they've learned to help players in this area.
"Our company has very good connections with the college coaching community. There isn't a single Division I coach that we're not involved with. We've helped send players to schools all the way from Virginia, which just won the Division I national championship, down to some mid-level Division III schools.
"We evaluate players after training them the best we can and see what their best fit would be, academically as well as athletically. We put a very high priority on students being successful in the classroom - we ask for players to submit their report cards to us."
Finn is currently coaching U-15 and U-19 teams for True Lacrosse.
"The U-19 team basically consists of juniors in high school and guys that have shown a very serious interest in playing in college," said Finn, who is taking the squad to a tournament this weekend at Rutgers University in New Jersey. "It's a group of 21 players and with the exception of a few guys, these are the best players in the St. Louis area."
With Finn getting the coaching job at O'Fallon, he was able to familiarize himself with many of the area's best high school programs.
"The former head coach at O'Fallon, Jim McIntyre, recommended me for the job," Finn said. "They have a great group of disciplined guys, especially being a military community (near Scott Air Force Base).
"We had a great season and ended up going to the Illinois B Division semifinals, so we were one game away from playing for the state championship. This was the first time that the program has had seniors who have played since they were freshmen, so to make it that far is impressive."
O'Fallon will be the site of the True Lacrosse St. Louis All-Pro Day Camp, which will run from noon to 4 p.m. on July 18-21. The camp staff includes MLL all-stars as well as collegiate standouts from Stony Brook, Massachusetts, Ohio State, Providence, Salisbury and Hofstra.
The camp is open to all players in grades 3-12 and players will be separated by age and skill level. For more information or to sign up, go to www.truelacrosse.com.
True Lacrosse is also part of the National Scholastic Club Lacrosse Association. The 16-team organization includes some of the nation's best select programs, including the Baltimore Crabs, the Denver Elite and the Long Island Express.
"There are hundreds of select teams across the country, so being part of the NSCLA is a very big honor," Finn said. "When coaches go out, they don't go to just any tournament - they usually go to the ones sponsored by the NSCLA."
To learn more about True Lacrosse and its plans for the St. Louis area, call Finn at 847-274-7304 or e-mail him at kfinn@truelacrosse.com.
"I'm really happy with how receptive people have been in St. Louis," Finn said. "If you ask anybody from the East Coast about Missouri lacrosse, they might not have the best opinion about it. One of our objectives is to change that."
