Ellicottville Lacrosse Festival
Ellicottville Lacrosse Festival
Teams from all over are preparing for a weekend-long competition in Ellicottville
Photos Courtesy of Ellicottville Chamber
It’s no secret that the people of Ellicottville are an active breed. While there is tons to do outside of all things sports, fitness, and outdoors, the real action takes place over the hill and through the woods. I’m from Buffalo and have been escaping to Ellicottville for all my biking, hiking and skiing for as long as I can remember. I think my favorite part is that every time I visit, I’m able to do all of that surrounded by the most amazing community. It truly is a family out there.
So it’s only fitting that the perfect event to kick off the fun-filled fall season combines both Ellicottville camaraderie and staying active… with a little bit of friendly competition for good measure!
The 7th annual Ellicottville Lacrosse Festival is only a few weeks away. The event will take place September 21st and 22nd at the Ellicottville Village Park (Parkside Drive) and Chamber Fields at Holiday Valley (located off the 219). It’ll be a day of fun and friendly competition, complete with official merchandise available for purchase on-site. The event is hosted by Powell Lacrosse and Summit Lacrosse ventures in collaboration with the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce. There are six divisions so players of all ages can get in on the fun.
I spoke to Ryan Powell, whose founding of Powell Lacrosse - a lacrosse stick construction business - is only the tip of his many accomplishments and lacrosse legacy. Ryan is a Syracuse University alum, winning a championship title his senior year. Ryan went on to play twelve professional seasons, playing with the Buffalo Bandits for a chunk of that.
And if that wasn’t enough, Ryan threw this one in at the very end: “Probably my favorite lacrosse memory was in 2010. I played for Team USA and we won the world championship. I was the team captain which is so special to me on so many different levels."
His favorite teams are obviously Team USA and the Syracuse Orange. Lacrosse camps, retreats, and festivals like this are very special to Ryan, and he says those events are very important for players. Looking at his resume, I suggest all you players better sign up and listen to him! “I grew up going to lacrosse camps as a kid, so I’ve been doing these for a really long time. I have such a huge passion for lacrosse and it’s so exciting to pass that on to the next generation all across the country,” Ryan added.
Spreading the sport around the country is important for a multitude of reasons, but a major one is its influence in a person’s everyday life. The individual skills learned or perfected through playing the sport are directly applicable to so many aspects of not just our day-to-day, but in our careers as well. It makes me even happier that this event has such a stain in the changing season in Ellicottville, because not only are the kids stashing away these lessons for the future, but the grand master players are able to touch base on those skills and pass that knowledge down as well. “Well, I think obviously you got teamwork, you need everyone operating as one and those are the teams that are most successful,” commented Ryan. “Work ethic is also important; dedication to the fundamentals of the game and perfecting those is necessary as well. I think those two are definitely important in business and life.”
“We’re very excited to come back to Ellicottville, it’s such a beautiful place and we’re super lucky that the chamber is so welcoming and supportive of our event,” Ryan added. “It’ll be good to get a stick in the young kids’ hands during the off-season and just to get everyone together for some friendly competition and good company.”
And though he only lived in Buffalo for a time, Ryan definitely adopted that good ol’ WNY nationalism we all seem to have. The last thing Ryan told me was that Banditland - the appropriately named Bandits fandom that shows up every game to support their team - is the best stadium experience he has ever seen for the sport!
It’s time to get excited for the Ellicottville Lacrosse Festival coming later this month. You can visit the chamber’s website for more details at ellicottvilleny.com, and summitlacrosseventures.com for sign-up details. You’ll also find an email address there to ask any questions you may have.
