WE HAVE FUN!!!  Kids learn more when they enjoy what they're doing, so our program teaches them to become the best players that they can be and we have fun doing it.  Oh by the way, the parents have a lot more fun when they see that their kids are having fun, learning and becoming better lacrosse players.

Yes, fun also breeds success.  Since we have so much fun, our players get really good and love playing lacrosse.  Yes, we've won more league championships than any other youth lacrosse program in Bucks County and we have plenty of alumni playing Division 1 Lacrosse in college, but he most important thing that we've done is given a lot of kids the chance to play a great sport like lacrosse, meet new friends and have fun. 

Bulldogs lacrosse is a youth lacrosse program sponsored by the Our Lady of Mount Carmel CYO.  We also invite kids from neighboring parishes like Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Jude and St. Martin to participate. 

We have both a boy’s and a girl’s lacrosse program.  The season begins in early March and runs through early June.  The teams generally practice two or three times a week and the games are mostly on the weekends.   We practice at various township and school district fields and our home games are at Central Park in Doylestown Township and Bush Park in Buckingham Township.  All of our away games are in Southeastern Pennsylvania (mostly in Bucks and Montgomery counties).

We have boy’s teams for boys who are currently enrolled in 3^rd/4^th grade, 5^th/6^th grade, and 7^th/8^th grade.  We generally have two teams in each grade level.  We like to have an "A" and a "B" team at each level to make sure that the kids are playing with and against other players with similar skill levels. 

Our coaching philosophy in our boy's program is different than most youth lacrosse programs.  We strive to find coaches with extensive backgrounds in coaching and playing lacrosse, because we feel that it serves the kids better to have coaches who truly understand the game.  In 2008, we had 6 boy's lacrosse teams (2 teams at 3rd/4th grade, 2 teams at 5th/6th grade and 2 teams at 7th/8th grade) and we had 16 adult coaches and 4 current high school players who served as full time assistant coaches.  Of the 16 adult coaches, only 6 have children in our program.  We even had 2 former players who are now finished playing collegiate lacrosse come back and coach in our program this past spring.  Our coaches stay with us for many years and are happy to coach wherever they are needed.

In the girl’s program, we have an instructional program for girls who are currently enrolled in 2^nd /3^rd/4^th grade, and teams for girls who are currently enrolled in 5^th/6^th grade and 7^th and 8^th grade.  Again, we like to have "A" and "B" teams at each level.  Again, we believe that we need to have the best coaches possible.  Our girl's lacrosse director, Deb Andress, is former All-American lacrosse player at Penn State and is also currently the head lwomen's acrosse coach at Penn State.  Betsy Dougherty, another of our girl's coaches, is also a former All-American at Penn State and member of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

We have teams for experienced and inexperienced players.  Our program focuses on teaching the kids how to play the game while having fun, and we also prepare the players to play lacrosse in high school and beyond.  We want the kids to have a fun experience while also being on a competitive team.  We have a lot of great coaches and we encourage the parents to be involved and to get to know each other.  Our goal is to have a program that's fun for the kids, the parents and the coaches. 

We've had a lot of success on the field as well.  In 2007, our boy's 8th grade A1 team was the first lacrosse team from Bucks County to ever win the Championship of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Youth Lacrosse Association (SEPYLA).  Our girl's 7th/8th grade team were champions of the Philadelphia Area Girl's Lacrosse Association (PAGLA).  Both teams credit the fun they had with their teammates and coaches as one of the things that made them a better team.

Hundreds show support for popular Philly coach (courtesy of www.Phillylacrosse.com)

Now that was a “varsity” effort.    There was no better word to describe the support shown to Deb Andress - a fixture for three decades in the Philadelphia lacrosse scene as a player, coach and leader – Sunday on a sun-splashed November morning at the Art Museum.    

With sticks in hand and t-shirts dubbed “Team Andress,” more than 700 friends, family members and other supporters participated in the largest team fundraising effort at the Third Annual Brain Tumor Society (BTS) Race For Hope 5K Run/Walk.    

The cause was for Doylestown’s Andress, a former Penn State great and current youth and college coach who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in August. Team Andress shattered the BTS record by raising nearly $40,000 for The Brain Tumor Society on behalf of the popular coach.   

Another $8,000 was raised for Thomas Jefferson Hospital’s Neuro-team through the sales of Team Andress t-shirts. On the back of the shirts was a “V” for “varsity,” the term Andres uses so often to motivate her youth players at Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) in Doylestown when recognizing a standout performance.    On this occasion, Team Andress earned its varsity status while representing Andress, who in January was hired as the first coach at Penn State Abington campus and is a board member of the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association and is most known for her overall dedication to the sport of lacrosse.   

Team Andress stretched from Philadelphia to Penn State, where Andress was a standout lacrosse and field hockey player in the 1980s. Andress, also an instructor of kinesiology at Abington, has coached lacrosse and/or played at nearly every level, from youth to national play. She was a member of the U.S. Women's Lacrosse Team from 1980-1984,   

“Everybody had their lacrosse sticks,” said Deb. “The Brain Tumor Society said, ‘What is this, some sort of club?’ I felt almost embarrassed (from the support); there are a lot of people who do what I do. I am not a superstar.    

“There was someone, a coach or a parent, from almost every school in the area. The coaches around here are amazing. This gives me some courage and strength and hope to go on. I’m not just fighting for my family (five children), look at all these people. In all this ugliness, I saw a lot of beauty. It changes you a little bit.”Andress also was touched by the support from the dozens of friends and athletes who came from Penn State, located over 300 miles away. Also, Deb’s son John and daughter Lea are lacrosse players at Penn State and her husband, John, was a quarterback on the Lions’ football team.    

“The support from Penn State has been unbelievable,” she said. “Many of the (athletes) came down and ran. Some kids couldn’t come, but they ran up there and made a video on it for YouTube. It was such a beautiful event.”    

Team Andress captain Jacquie Beck said the event Sunday was an elixir for everyone, and the chance for people to show support for the many contributions by Andress.    “Deb has done so much for the sport...it was nice to see all the players and families she has impacted step up,” said Beck     

“The power of friendship is just amazing. One of the most memorable things for me yesterday was when I heard Debbie talking to her friends from college, she looked at the crowd and said...’This is it...I'm cured!’     

“I knew at that moment that this event will make a huge difference and give Deb the boost she needs to come out on top!”

Congratulations to our own Jimmy Green and Team USA on winning the Gold Medal at the 2008 International Lacrosse Federation Under 19 Championship!!!

It's great to have one of our Bulldogs Alumni representing the United States of America in international lacrosse competition.  Congratulations to Jimmy, his parents Jim Sr. and Patty Green (seen waiving her American flag), and all the players and coaches of Team USA!!!

We want to get more parents involved in our program as we continue to grow.  As you may know, I run our boy's program and Deb Andress runs our girl's program and we need the support of all the families to make this program a success.  We had a parents/coaches/volunteers meeting on October 14th and it was a great success.  We got a lot accomplished and have a lot of new and exciting things scheduled for next Spring. 
 
Here are a few of the highlights from the meeting:
 
1.  We're asking all parents to spread the word about our program.  Parents and players are the best marketing tools that we have.  Please tell anyone who is interested in playing youth lacrosse about our program.  Anyone who wants to get more information about our program can visit our web site at www.BulldogsLacrosse.net or they can contact me at Tim.Udinski@PruFoxRoach.com with questions about our lacrosse program. 
 
2.  We need to have every kid registered for next Spring's season by January 31, 2009.  That will give us enough time to find enough practice fields, order enough equipment, etc.  Online registration is already open at www.BulldogsLacrosse.net if you or anyone that you know wants to register.

3.  Every team will do a team service project next spring and we need parents to volunteer to help organize each team's service project.
 
4.  We are looking into the possibility of having a Beef and Beer event in March or April.  I'll let you know more if we move forward with a date, etc.
 
5.  We'll have a snack bar at all home games and we'll need parents to help organize it.  More information will follow in the coming months.
 
6.  We're always looking for more coaches, more volunteers, and new ideas that will help us keep our program the best youth lacrosse program in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  Let us know if you are interested in coaching or have any ideas that will help the program. 
 
Please contact Tim Udinski at 215-262-0737 or at Tim.Udinski@PruFoxRoach.com if you have any questions or if you have any suggestions.