Expanded Minnesota Meltdown Jamboree Unofficially Kicks Off High School Lacrosse Season

St. Paul, MN, March 18, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Twin Cities-based nonprofit Homegrown Lacrosse is once again unofficially kicking off the state boy’s high school lacrosse season with the Minnesota Meltdown Jamboree. Held on consecutive Saturdays (April 2 and April 9, 2011), this year’s Jamboree has been expanded to offer competitive pre-season play for both varsity and junior varsity players.

“Lacrosse is more than just playing in games and developing skills,” said Aron Lipkin, executive director and co-founder, Homegrown Lacrosse. “It’s also about team camaraderie and reaching across the lacrosse community to build relationship. The Jamboree provides a chance to work on all four and have a lot of fun in the process.”

Coaches and players agree that Meltdown is a great way to start the season.

"It is really a great way to get teams ready for the season and to see some of the talent around the metro,” said Tony Nelson, a midfielder from Champlin Park High School. “It’s also fun to play against friends from summer ball and traveling teams."

“The Meltdown gives us game situations and a chance to see where we are at early in the season” said Bob Felter, coach Eagan High School. “It also gives us an opportunity to play teams we normally wouldn’t see during the season.”

Hosted at McMurray Fields in St. Paul, Minn., games are open to the public and run from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Run in accordance with MSHSL scrimmage policy, each team will play a minimum of two games consisting of 25 minute running halves and have an hour break between games.

In addition to supporting the nonprofit’s In-School PE Program, the Jamboree also benefits the Second Harvest Heartland Food Shelf. Players, parents and spectators are urged to bring non-perishable food items for donation. As an added competitive element, Homegrown Lacrosse is inviting participating teams to compete in the inaugural Meltdown Shopping Cart Challenge. The team that fills up their shopping cart with the most non-perishable food items will have 2012 Minnesota Meltdown Jamboree registration fee waived.

Teams from across the Twin Cities are gearing up to participate in Homegrown Lacrosse’s annual jamboree. The following varsity teams will be participating (asterisk indicates participating junior varsity or prep teams teams):

• Apple Valley*
• Benilde St. Margaret’s
• Blake
• Bloomington Kennedy*
• Burnsville
• Champlin
• Eagan*
• East Ridge*
• Eastview*
• Edina*
• Holy Family
• Hopkins*
• Lakeville North
• Mahtomedi*
• Minneapolis*
• Minnetonka
• Mounds View*
• Prior Lake
• Rochester Mayo
• Rosemount
• Stillwater*
• Woodbury*

For more information on the Minnesota Meltdown Jamboree, visit www.homegrownlacrosse.org

About Homegrown Lacrosse
Founded in 2003, Homegrown Lacrosse is dedicated to encouraging positive change in the lives of youth lacrosse players and supporting the growth of the sport in Minnesota. Through community-based programming, Homegrown Lacrosse uses lacrosse to provide opportunities for individuals to get involved and cultivate the skills and relationships necessary to succeed on and off the field. Led and staffed by experienced collegiate lacrosse players, Homegrown Lacrosse holds clinics, leagues and K-12 educational programming throughout the year.

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