Mark Smith resigns as Allen's lacrosse coach; Allen and Dieruff football to be featured on TV show

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Mark Smith has resigned after six seasons as Allen's boys lacrosse coach.

Smith, who might be better known as a former football star at Allen and later as the director of the Progressive Realty High School Basketball tournaments which really put this area on the map for being the home of big-time summer tournaments, deserves credit for starting and maintaining the Allen lacrosse program.

Lacrosse is definitely a sport on the rise in terms of participation and interest and Smith was determined to bring it to Allen.

Dan Dolphin, who is well ingrained in the lacrosse community, wroter this of Smith:

"Mark single-handedly raised the money to start the club lacrosse program at Allen. He applied for, and received, a grant from the US Lacrosse Association that set aside money for inner city schools to start lacrosse programs. He hounded local business contacts for donations. At his request, local youth and high school lacrosse programs donated used equipment for use by his players, many of whom had never picked up a lacrosse stick. In the spring of 2006, Allen fielded its first ever club lacrosse team. Playing a schedule against local schools whose teams had been formed 5 years earlier, and had well established feeder programs, Allen took it on the chin almost every game.

"The disadvantages Mark, and his assistant from the beginning, Scott Siegmund, faced in trying to establish the lacrosse program at Allen have continued. Most players in the LVC buy their own equipment, therefore they have the necessary equipment to play in summer leagues, and on summer travel teams. Allen HS buys the equipment for their players because most of their players can not afford the $500-600 price tag to outfit a lacrosse player. Unfortunately, it is my understanding the players are not permitted to use school purchased equipment during the off-season, thereby precluding them from playing in the summer.

"So while the players from other local HS teams are improving their skills in the summer, and playing against better competition, most of the Allen players do not play in the summer. The biggest impediment Mark faced in building a program is that there is still no feeder program. When Mark gets a 9th grade player, 99% of the time that kid has never played lacrosse. When Parkland, Emmaus & Central Catholic get a 9th grade kid, 75% of them have already played 3-5 years of organized lacrosse. There is no way anyone could expect to succeed in that type of environment."

And yet Smith didn't quit. He hung in there and did the best he could.

Kudos to Mark for promoting the sport and bringing it to his alma mater.

********************

The Allen and Dieruff football teams will be featured on Thursday's live "Sports Talk" show on RCN-4.

Coaches John McDowell and James Brown will be among the guests as well as several Allen players. The show runs from 6-7 p.m.

You can call the show at

Sports fans can call-in to the show live at 610-443-2766 or email questions/opinions at any time to

rcnsportstalk@rcn.com

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/