MILT THOMAS The Vero Beach High School girls lacrosse team has won its ninth straight state championship this past weekend, an accomplishment unprecedented in Vero Beach sports history and most other schools as well. They finished the season with a 21-3 record, which doesn’t tell the entire story – they have won 128 consecutive games against other Florida high school teams and their three losses came against out-of-state nationally ranked teams. Here is a story about the team we did last March as their championship season had just started.

Eight straight Florida state high school championships…National ranking…This year playing three of the top national teams. Are we talking about Miami, Tampa or Jacksonville? No, we’re talking about Vero Beach. And it’s not football or baseball. It’s not even boys. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Vero Beach girls’ lacrosse team. Unless you come from the northeast, you have probably never seen a lacrosse game, but its popularity is growing exponentially among kids in Florida. Here at Vero Beach High School, lacrosse is a passion to the kids who play it, their parents, friends and their coach. The team’s accomplishments since starting in 2001 are amazing. That’s when Vero Beach High School fielded its first lacrosse teams. It was also the year Shannon Dean became involved with girls’ lacrosse. “I came to Vero in 1995,” says Dean, “and joined the Indian River County Sheriff’s Department as the high school resource officer. I also coached the wrestling team until someone suggested I get involved with the new girls lacrosse program. I started the junior varsity team, but really didn’t know much about lacrosse, other than its similarity to soccer, which I did know.” Andy Segal, who is president of the girls’ lacrosse team, explains how Dean became the first ingredient in the “secret sauce” of the team’s success. “He started by reading books on lacrosse and going to conventions where he attended classes put on by the national lacrosse team. Shannon became an absolute student of the sport.” In 2003, Dean was named coach of the varsity girls’ lacrosse team. According to Segal, “He had been working with kids on the club teams, much like kids’ soccer teams that play during the summer and off-season. He began bringing the best of those kids into the high school program.” The rest is Vero Beach lacrosse history. “The team had a few losing seasons, but improved each year,” says Segal. “Then they achieved their first goal, to beat the St. Edward’s team.  The next year they were in the playoffs, then the Final Four. They became state champions the next year and every year since – eight times. This year they will be looking for number nine.” Another ingredient in the “secret sauce” was to play the best teams. Shannon explains, “We were already best in Florida and could only get better playing the elite northeastern schools and learning from them.” In 2009 they played a number of out-of-state schools – too many. After beating Orlando Dr. Phillips in the first round of the playoffs by a score of 29-1  they were disqualified from the state tournament because they only scheduled 44 percent of their games against in-state opponents. The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) took the action because Vero Beach violated the 60-40 rule regarding sports scheduling. This rule was enforced even though the FHSAA knew Vero’s schedule before the season even started. A court order reinstated the team and Vero went on to win the state championship. Ironically, executive director of the FHSAA is Roger Dearing, who at one time was superintendent of Indian River County schools. This is where fate stepped in. The number one girls’ lacrosse team in the nation is the McDonogh School Eagles in the Baltimore Maryland area.  Segal says, “They play many of the top teams and two years ago wanted to play an out-of-state game in the warm weather south. They chose South Carolina, but no one would play them, so decided to come to Florida. They reached out to us because we were already state champions.” Although McDonogh beat Vero Beach High School 15-5, it was a tremendous learning experience for the team. This season, Segal says they have upped the ante even more. “We are playing five nationally ranked teams in seven days.” So the question remains, how did the Vero Beach High School girls’ lacrosse team rise from obscurity to win eight state championships? Of course, the first ingredient in their “secret sauce” is Coach Shannon Dean. According to Segal, “He starts working with kids in elementary school in club teams. He teaches them the fundamentals so that by the time they reach high school, they are so sound fundamentally that he can concentrate on the finer points of the game like team play and strategy.” He has a tremendous ability to develop inner strength in his players, says Segal. “He is very confident and the girls feel confident around him. They know they can win because he knows they can win.” The team’s success has created an aura that inspires not only the players, but all girls. Just talking with members of his team, anyone would become enthusiastic. Olivia Blakeman is a first year varsity player but she has played lacrosse since middle school. “There is a culture built around this team in town. You are highly praised to be a player and it’s every girl’s dream to play on this team. The girls and coaches are so dedicated to the sport and that dedication has helped to make us successful.” Blakeman attended St. Ed’s, where her parents are both teachers.  They are also lacrosse enthusiasts and both are referees. “Dad also refs college games and Mom is in Raleigh right now reffing a game. Both of them played in high school and Mom has been part of the lacrosse world forever. I knew I would be playing in college though and if I came here I would be better prepared.” She plans to attend Loyola University of Baltimore this fall, one of the top lacrosse schools in the nation and where her older sister, Maddy, plays now. Abby Shields has committed to Furman University in South Carolina. “I’ve played soccer a long time and saw that Vero had a lacrosse dynasty going, so I decided to give it a try in the eighth grade. I fell in love with it. “We are truly a team. When I joined the varsity as a freshman, the senior class was awesome. They took us new kids under their wing and we all became very close. As a team, we push each other to play the best we can.” Each of these girls has strong ties with their parents, the coach and with each other. That should be considered a major ingredient completing the “secret sauce” of success.