RI's Perrault, Szurley & Hooper Star on 3-D Lacrosse
William Dayton, GAME ON Contributor
RI's Perrault, Szurley & Hooper Star on 3-D Lacrosse
Three Rhode Island lacrosse stars have made names for themselves playing for the New England 3D Lacrosse program this summer.
All three have enjoyed tremendous success under New England 3D director Dave Jenkins, who has been with the program for the past two years. Jenkins is a former standout with the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse, and played professionally from 2001-08.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPerrault Commits to Hopkins
"I think from a recruitment standpoint, 3D helped me out a lot," said Perrault, who will be a senior next year at Bishop Hendricken. He has verbally committed to college lacrosse's version of the Yankees, Johns Hopkins University. (The Blue Jays have won 44 national championships in their history.)
"The coaches have a lot of connections, and they were able to help get my name out there to some of the big-time schools," said Perrault, who joined the 3D program last fall. It didn't take long for him to get noticed as an elite talent.
After watching some game film on Perrault, and getting him in practice, Jenkins was able to convince coaches from Virginia and Johns Hopkins to travel to New England to take a look at him.
Perrault committed to Hopkins in October.
"College coaches value my opinion because they know I'm going to be honest with them and tell them how good I think a kid is," Jenkins said.
Perrault, a junior at Bishop Hendricken, has been lauded as "probably the best player in the state," by several coaches, including North Kingstown's Steve Alviti. "His speed, his ability to never quit and his competitiveness are what separate him," Jenkins said. "Any time he steps onto the field, he's one of the best players out there."
Hooper To Virginia
Jenkins was also able to direct defenseman Scott Hooper to his alma mater, the University of Virginia, by making a phone call to Cavaliers head coach Dom Starsia. Hooper began his high school career at Moses Brown before transferring to Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. He committed to the Cavs in mid-June. "Coach Jenkins put in the word for me," Hooper said.
"I talked to Dom, and let him know about Scott," Jenkins said. "He is an all-around solid defenseman," Jenkins said. "He's great fundamentally, he's a shut-down defender, and the sky is the limit for him."
"I think the most fun I have is when we hear from colleges that they are going to take one of our kids," he said.
Szurley Turning Heads
Goaltender Jackson Szurley has stood out in the cage for 3D this summer, and has also garnered interest in several Division 1 schools, including Penn State, Boston University, Lehigh, and Colgate. He has not made any decisions yet. Szurley led Moses Brown to the state championship game this spring and will be playing for prep school Bridgeton Academy in Maine next season.
"He's done very well for us this summer," said Jenkins. Szurley said that Jenkins and program director Jamie Monroe have been very helpful in his search for a school.
3D participates in some of the biggest lacrosse showcases in the nation, and will throw down at Bryant University this weekend in the Bryant Shootout. Perrault said that he first decided to play for 3D because of the competition they play against.
"A lot of the kids are really good players. [3D] goes to the larger tournaments, and they go to win," he said. "Almost every kid has committed to a Division 1 school. There's a lot of quality talent."
Jenkins believes that he is able to attract talent because of the quality of the coaches 3D has in its program. "The most important thing in lacrosse right now is coaching," he said. "The more information we have and the more we can educate our coaches, the better players we're going to have."