THE POWER IS ON
Albany Power look to begin play late this summer
ALBANY, NY » Summer lacrosse is on the horizon.
At least, that’s the hope. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, sports across the Capital Region, and the world, have come to a halt. With high school sports being canceled this spring due to schools remaining closed for the last months of the school year, local high school lacrosse players have turned to summer lacrosse programs.
That’s where the Albany Power comes in.
The Albany Power is a lacrosse club dedicated to middle and high school aged lacrosse players in the Capital Region to help them learn and improve their skills on the lacrosse field. The club offers developmental and elite travel teams in the summer and winter
The club formed in 2007 and boasts elite coaching from all over Section II, including Columbia Head Coach Greg Sherwin, Shen Head Coach Jason Gifford, and Albany Academy Head Coach Doug McIvor. The program is owned, and coached by Niskayuna Head Coach Mike Vorgang and Niskayuna Assistant Coach Chris
DeLano.
“We have a lot of staff members from a lot of different programs. From Bethlehem, Shaker, Colonie, Columbia, Shen. We have a lot of different programs represented,” said DeLano. “Their was some concern from our head coaches wondering what we are telling our guys and what they should be telling their guys.”
The Albany Power, and summer lacrosse teams across the country, is an important tool to help lacrosse players be recruited for college lacrosse. Missing the 2020 summer could have a major impact on the incoming seniors’ recruiting process.
“There’s definitely some concern for kids, especially the class of 2021, this is a big year for them. It was a big year for them in the high school season and the club season,” said DeLano. “The 2022 kids are concerned as well, but they realize they have a little bit more time.”
The class of 2022 will officially be allowed to be contacted by schools on September 1. Division II and III will be later.
“We’ve been trying our best at the high school level to communicate to our kids that everyone is in the same boat across the country. It’s not like the 2021s here are in worse shape than the 2021s in Texas, or Colorado, or Canada. I think the kids are doing a good job of understanding it.”
“The reality of it, like Chris said, is that everyone is in the same boat,” said Vorgang. “I’ve reached out to six or seven coaches over the last week in Division I, II, and III regarding Niskayuna and Albany Power players. They don’t have the answers either. I think recruiting is going to be a little different.”
DeLano and his Albany Power coaches hosted a zoom call recently with several Division I, II, and III coaches to discuss the recruiting process and what the best steps are to take to help players continue their recruitment process during the pandemic.
“We asked them about their approach and what they were thinking about recruiting this year and how they were going to approach it so we could pass that information on,” said DeLano. “That made me feel a lot better that we were delivering the right information to our players.”
Another wrinkle to the recruiting process for this year, and for the next several years, is that players who were on college rosters for the 2020 season have received an extra year of eligibility. Not only will teams have seniors returning as grad students potentially, but they will have two freshman classes.
“Now you have freshman coming in with another freshman class repeating because they have that extra year. It is going to be a little different, but I do think that will spread the wealth of great players throughout the other divisions,” said Vorgang. “I think you’re going to see some movement in the transfer portal and you will see some movement with people re-classing as well.”
“I think the Division III level is going to have the most benefit from it,” said DeLano. “Division III programs will have some kids who will be able to get some eligibility back, get a chance to repeat, but there are a lot of Division III schools with some outstanding graduate programs, so they are going to get some of those kids that were high-end Division I kids, going to get an MBA at a Division III school. All of a sudden, that changes the balance of power.”
With the competitiveness of college lacrosse growing every day, players in the class of 2021 are itching to get back on the field and play for some college coaches. But, lacrosse is a sport that does not abide by the rules of social distancing.
The Albany Power typically hosts try-outs as soon as the New York high school season is officially over. Tournaments are being played shortly after teams are decided. With the current pandemic, that is not as easy.
“As far as the tournaments, we paid a deposit as far back as September, so we are already registered. What they have been doing is going to their back-up dates,” said DeLano. “Some of the tournaments scheduled for the end of June have been moved to August. We have had tournaments tell us that they are going to go to their back-up date in September. Everybody is moving and it is a real challenge.”
DeLano continued on to say that the ever shifting dates of the tournaments makes things like hotel reservations difficult, as well as tournaments deciding to switch to the same date and having to decide which tournament to go to.
“It’s a challenging time right now for us,” said DeLano.
Local players like Darien LaPietro, Owen Stefanko, Liam Ferris, and others have committed to Division I schools out of the Albany Power. LaPietro is now a freshman at UAlbany, Ferris has committed to Syracuse, and Stefanko to LIU.
“I think that getting the best kids together in our area, and getting them to play together is important. I think that’s why, someone like Darien, who had two years of injury, can still reach his goal, because he was able to play a lot of lacrosse,” said Vorgang. “What these kids have missed out on is the competition. Actually competing when there is a clock, a score, refs, people in the stands, and that’s something you can’t get back.”