11th Annual Ted Hellier LaxFest

Well Saturday was the perfect day for a little Lacrosse! The Eleventh Ted Hellier Laxfest is in the books! On behalf of the Laxfest committee, I want to thank every one of you who came out to play “the fastest game on 2 feet” WE LOVE this festival, it is near and dear to so many of us. It is hard to believe It’s been 11 years. Ted was at the very first Laxfest and his energy and spirit have been felt at every Laxfest since. It is truly one of my favorite days of the year.
 
A festival this size takes months of planning. Laxfest planning starts every year in January and THCLF board meets to map out the next 5 months. There are so many moving parts, but after 11 years we are getting pretty good at it. It takes a ton of sponsors, vendors, food trucks, trainers, refs and lots of teams from all over New England. There are logistical snafus that need to be dealt with at the last minute, weather issues beyond our control, (I’ll just say 2023!) and other things, it happens when coordinating an event with over 3000 attendees. But for the LOVE of TED... all the pieces fall into place, folks understand that things happen, Volunteers rise to the occasion and spend more time than scheduled, do tasks they have never done before, all with a smile on their faces and all for the Love of Lacrosse and the Love of Ted.
 
And can I just say, our Volunteers, are the best! Did you see all those yellow shirts? I cannot say enough about all the folks that come out for the day. These moms, dads and players all give up their Friday night then arrive at 6AM Saturday. The Varsity boys and girls set up the fields, hang banners, place signs, and drop tents at each field. All the months of planning and finally on Laxfest day, everyone is on it! We work together to get the huge tent set up, (thanks to Eben the undeniable king of the giant tent, and I don’t think I will allow him to ever bow out).  Once the tent is set, then the action starts…Food Trucks and Vendors start rolling in, the swag tables are stocked, the raffle table set up, registration and volunteer tents are ready for the masses, with 70 games being played, there is a lot of action come 7:30, with the first horn going off at 8am.  The Varsity players get ready to either Ref lots of games, man the Speedball, field marshal or do whatever the volunteer coordinator asks of them, while all the JV + Middle School teams ready themselves for 3 good games of lacrosse.  
 
I just love the Lacrosse community. I am so grateful for the amazing folks who show up year after year to help, even though their kids have aged out of the program. Players who have graduated and come back to volunteer. And The THCLF Board… stellar humans all of them. Without them there would be no Laxfest and I am forever grateful to them for keeping Teds Love of the game alive! My children, always step up in big ways and are just  the BEST! And to all the Coaches and players who attend, (and Parents for getting them there) thank you for getting those last 3 games of the year in with us! 
It just warms my heart. Until next year, play well, play with passion and have fun!
 
All the Best,
Susan Hellier