This is the story of eight lacrosse players. Eight teammates. Eight guys who simply love to play the game. Anywhere. Everywhere. Any time. All the time.
Sorry, but the story begins with my older son, Brian. He has lived in Radotin, a suburb of Prague, since before the pandemic. He met Jane on one of his annual trips to the Czech Republic that started back in 2015; they were married in 2022 and are expecting their first child in September.
Radotin is the home of the most beautiful outdoor box facility I’ve ever seen. It’s the host of the annual Ales Hrebesky Memorial and the slightly smaller Frank Menschner Cup box tournaments, and home of the LCC Custodes and LCC Wolves.
Brian coaches lacrosse (two separate clubs) and manages the Zbraslav Lakros team, which plays in the NBLL, an international box lacrosse league in Europe that includes nine teams from five different countries. He also co-owns The Good Stick Co, which manufactures lacrosse sticks primarily for the European market.
Anyway, Brian was the head coach of the Czech National Team that played in San Diego last summer at the World Lacrosse Men’s Championships. He arranged to have one of his top players, 17-year-old Lukas Kucera, come to Oswego after the games were over in San Diego. Lukey stayed in our basement, and Brian found him roster spots on box and field teams all over Upstate – the NABLL, the UCBLL, the 1812 Tournament, Lake Placid – you name it.
With a 16-year age difference between him and Brian, Luke gravitated towards two Oswego River Hawks teammates, Carson Colucci and Jack Rice; Carson was going into his fourth year at Brockport and Jack was going back to The College of Saint Rose for his second season.
Within weeks, Brian helped arrange for fall 2023 semesters abroad – internships and independent studies – for Carson and Jack. Paperwork was completed, flights were booked, and the two Oswego HS alums were in Radotin by Labor Day, playing in the Menschner Cup.
They helped with NBLL operations, doing logistics, social media, game ops, and promotions. They did everything from coach to play-by-play at the Menschner Cup. They helped Brian with The Good Stick Co. They coached youth lacrosse. And they played, too, probably more than they would have in fall ball practices at their respective colleges. They traveled to Croatia for the Dalmatia Cup, they played box for Zbraslav in different countries, and they hosted visits from their families.
When they returned home at the end of the semester, their lacrosse worlds had expanded. They had already traveled – they had both played in the President’s Cup in British Columbia, and Carson had played in earlier tournaments in California. He was also part of the World Lacrosse Championships crews I took to Limerick in 2022 and San Diego in 2023.
But now they had traveled around Europe. They had met box and field players from countries they couldn’t have previously found on a map. Their parents will tell you they did a lot of growing up, too.
So, if you’re keeping score, that’s four teammates – Brian, Lukas, Carson, and Jack. 2023…
This year, Brian helped make arrangements to bring two more Czech players to Oswego for the summer. Josef Slavik and Pavel Srch are older than Luke was, and they play for the LCC Custodes when back home in Radotin. They were also on the Czech National Team last summer, and they’re on the Czech National Box Team that will play in Utica in September. Josef is a goalie, and Pavel is a right-handed attackman.
They arrived in Upstate at the end of June, and they’re staying with Carson and Jack’s families. They’ve played for the River Hawks, they’ve played in the UCBLL, and they played one Sunday morning in Webster a few weeks ago. In this past weekend’s NABLL game against the Utica Yeti, Pavel scored three goals and Josef made 31 saves in a 9-6 Oswego win (and oh, yeah, Jack had two goals, too).
OK. Four plus two equals six…
So, let’s look ahead for a minute. Seems like we need more Upstaters to head to Prague for the upcoming Fall 2024 semester, right?
Got ‘em!
Lucas Hoskin and Zach Cole played lacrosse at Baldwinsville’s CW Baker HS and have been playing at Mercyhurst and Brockport for the past few years. And they just happen to be third-year players for the Oswego River Hawks. They played with Luke last year and are playing with Pavel and Josef this year. And they’re more than just teammates with Carson and Jack; they also joined the Witmer Solutions team that worked at the Heritage Cup in Pennsylvania back in May.
They bought their plane tickets last week. As part of their internships, they’ll be working on many of the same things Carson and Jack did, and then some. Lucas and Zach will be returning to Upstate NY in late September to help at the World Lacrosse Men’s and Women’s Box Championships, set for the Nexus Center in Utica. Carson and Jack will be on that staff as well. Lukas, Pavel, and Josef will be playing for the Czech team. Brian was supposed to be there, as a co-director of the tournament, but Jane’s due date is changing his plans.
Oh – and before I wrap this up, Lukas has spent this summer up in Peterborough, Ontario, playing Junior B box lacrosse for the Cambridge Highlanders, and his name has appeared on a list of potential NLL draft prospects…
And the one team they all have in common is the NABLL Oswego River Hawks…
Past, present, and future… these eight lacrosse-loving globetrotters are getting more out of the game than most lax bros could ever dream about.
They’re fearless – willing to travel to foreign countries, not sure where they’re going to sleep, when (or what) they’re going to eat, or how things will play out. But they trust one another, and that’s enough. They believe that lacrosse people are good people, and they’re learning that there are lacrosse people everywhere.
They meet new teammates and play unknown opponents, in unfamiliar surroundings, with unpredictable outcomes – but that doesn’t faze them.
They’re building strong bridges. Upstaters travel to Prague and beyond and share their lacrosse history and experiences, while the Czech players come to the US to see what this crazy country is all about. They test their talents against ours.
And somehow, no matter what the final score is, everyone wins in the end.
Thanks for reading. Please consider subscribing at roadtripdad.com to receive weekly RTD newsletters via email. It’s free – really! No fine print; no catches.
In the meantime, please drive carefully, everyone. Put down those cell phones. Volunteer. Donate blood. Get your shots; get your boosters. Love your neighbor. Help someone in need, and always take care of your crew!
But most importantly, stay safe, stay smart, and stay kind.
- Dan Witmer
Dan is currently the author of four books. The Best of Road Trip Dad – The Laker Lacrosse Collection is an accumulation of 45 articles written for www.JustLacrosseUpstate between the years 2012 and 2018, about the history and traditions, the people, and the stories of the Oswego State men’s lacrosse program. … and piles to go before I sleep – The Book of Wit is his memoir describing his 33-year career teaching HS English and coaching at Hannibal Central School. His third book, The Best of RTD – A Lacrosse Coach’s Handbook contains more than 55 weekly Road Trip Dad blogs spanning 2012-2020, featuring Xs and Os, highs and lows, and even some Dos and Don'ts, and plenty of advice for coaches of all levels. His latest book, The Best of Road Trip Dad – On the Shoulders of Giants: Upstate’s Lacrosse Founders and Legends, profiles more than 50 icons who helped grow the game in Upstate NY. All four books are available at www.amazon.com.
Dan grew up in Lynbrook, NY before coming to Oswego State to earn his teaching and coaching certifications. He then taught English at Hannibal High School for 33 years before retiring in 2015.
In addition to coaching the Oswego State Laker men’s lacrosse team part-time from 1982-2010, Dan also coached JV and varsity girls’ soccer at Hannibal for 16 years, girls’ ice hockey at Oswego HS for 8 years, and boys’ JV and varsity lacrosse at Oswego HS for 12 years.
Dan is now in his 18th year assisting Summit Lacrosse Ventures with their various tournaments, especially the annual Lake Placid Summit Classic, and he worked for 3d Lacrosse for three years as well. He has served on the staffs of the 2014 FIL World Games in Denver, the 2015 FIL Indoor Championships in Syracuse, the 2018 FIL World Games in Netanya, Israel, the 2022 U21 World Championship in Limerick, Ireland, and the World Lacrosse Championships in San Diego in 2023. He is the game ops staff director for the World Lacrosse Men’s and Women’s Box Championships in Utica in September of 2024. This year he created Witmer Solutions LLC, a lacrosse event staffing and internship offering service that he hopes will get his foot – and others’ – in the door at lacrosse events worldwide.
Dan served as the Community Service Coordinator for the Oswego State athletic department from 2010-2023 and has been a certified lacrosse referee for the past seven years. He has also been the Volunteer Event Organizer for the annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser in Oswego for the past 18 years, raising more than one million dollars for childhood cancer research.
In 2023, he returned to the Oswego State coaching staff as an assistant coach, where he currently serves as defensive coordinator and alumni liaison.
Dan and Sue Witmer live in Oswego, while their sons Brian and Eric are currently living in Prague and Denver.
The hope is for many more road trips to come.