Tribe Lacrosse Tops Tournaments at Every Level

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In its first season of competition, Tribe Lacrosse, an elite summer lacrosse club founded by long-time Wyckoff coaches Jeff Eischen and Sal Sassano won a championship in each of their three grade levels.

The 5th Grade Boys team led off with a championship win at the Sweet Laxin’ Tournament in Bridgewater and both the 6th and 7th/8th Grade teams took home the championship at the Jersey Shoot Out in Metuchen which attracts many of the East Coast’s elite level teams including top teams from Long Island, Maryland and Massachusetts.

“We set out to develop an elite level program that would build upon the strong foundation established by both the Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes Recreation Programs. The involvement of players, coaches and parents from Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes, Oakland, Wayne and Hawthorne brought us to a higher level of play more quickly than we could have imagined. It has us very excited about next season and the continued development of Tribe Lacrosse through new fall programs and developmental classes for our younger kids starting to learn the game,” said Jeff Eischen.

“The Wyckoff YMCA has been a tremendous resource for us," he added. "Pat O’Hagan shares our vision of offering an elite level program while providing the level of attention that each player deserves. To come out in our first season and win three championships has far exceeded our expectations.”

Tribe Lacrosse primarily draws players from the FLOW area but is open to all serious lacrosse players who are looking to play on a higher level. It is based out of the . Tryouts for our Summer 2013 teams will be held in mid-October. For additional information, contact Pat O’Hagan at the Y at 201-891-2081.

Coach Sal Sassano, the program's co-founder, has headed up the Wyckoff Recreation program since its inception in 2003 and has been coaching boys lacrosse since 1999. He grew up playing high school lacrosse on Long Island at Sachem HS and later played at Cornell University for legendary coach Richie Moran. Sal has an unparalleled passion for the game and is committed to teaching excellence.

Coach Eischen has been coaching in the Wyckoff Recreation program for more than 10 years. He grew up playing lacrosse in Syracuse, N.Y., and was a 4-year starter at attack, earning MAC all-conference honors each season at Fairleigh Dickinson University Madison. Eischen, who also co-founded the program, was inducted into their Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003 and remains the school’s all-time leading scorer with 287 points.

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