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Coaches and tryout dates for the 2013 Empire State Cup have been announced. The 2013 event will be played Aug. 1-4 at Onondaga Community College in upstate New York.

New this year is the partnership with the Cup and U.S. Indoor Lacrosse (USIL) for games this winter. The Cup and USIL will run combines in several locations which will serve as tryouts for the first annual Empire State Cup Indoor Games at a location to be determined this winter.

The Empire State Cup encourages those who wish to participate but are unable to attend the tryouts to contact tony@empirestatecup.com for more information.

The 2014 Cup will be played in New York City with the addition of a professional lacrosse game to the weekend. The Cup will add two new divisions in 2014, high school girls and a developmental division for boys eighth and ninth grades the coming fall.

Adirondack Region

*Tryouts will be held at two TBA locations; one in northern New York and the other near Albany, N.Y. Please contact Empire State Cup for more information.

Coaches:

Tim Youngs

Currently the Canton Central School Varsity Head Coach, Youngs began coaching lacrosse in 1991 as the modified boys’ lacrosse coach at Canton Central School. He went on to be the men’s lacrosse coach at SUNY Canton from 1995-2002. While at SUNY Canton, Youngs built a top-five JUCO program and sent many players on to Division I, II and III schools. Youngs created the boys’ lacrosse program at Heuvelton Central School in 2003 and stayed as head coach until 2009. After taking a few years off from coaching, he returned to Canton Central School as the boys’ varsity lacrosse head coach in 2011. He spends his summers traveling with his varsity boys’ lacrosse team to tournaments and camps.

Bill Bascom

Bascom served as goalie at Cortland State from 1988-92. He serves as the modified lacrosse coach at Canton Central School. He also serves as an assistant at SUNY Canton. Previously, he served as junior varsity coach In Rutland, Vt., an assistant at Heuvelton Central, assistant at Canton Central and goalies coach at St. Lawrence University. He’s also worked numerous camps and clinics.

Central Region

*Tryouts will be held July 25 (5:30-8 p.m.), July 26 (6-8 p.m.) and July 27 (9-11 p.m.) at Solvay High School.

Coaches:

Kirk Ventiquattro

Hall of Fame Coach Ventiquattro will take the reins and lead the Central Region in the 2013 games. Last season, Ventiquattro served as the Cup’s director. He was inducted into the Upstate Chapter of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2010. His teams have won 80 percent of their games over his 25-year career. Carthage teams won 18 Frontier League titles, six Section 3 Class B titles and made three state championship appearances under his direction. He has helped over 200 young men play college lacrosse including 35 Division I players, including his two sons who were high school All-Americans.

Three of his former pupils, Casey, Ryan and Mike Powell, were all four-time All-Americans and members of NCAA championship teams at Syracuse. Ventiquattro also has taught lacrosse and coached all-star teams in Baltimore, Md., Dallas, Texas, Los Angeles, Calif. and Seattle, Wash. He has spoken on three occasions at the National Lacrosse Convention in Baltimore Maryland.

Mark Ferrito

After 28 seasons as a high school coach, Ferrito currently serves as assistant coach/offensive coordinator at Homer High School. His teams have won three Section 3 Championships under his direction. He served as Homer’s assistant coach in 2012, assistant coach at Skaneateles in 2002 and Homer’s head coach in 1995. He previously served on the ESG Central coaching staff in 1994, 1997, 2010 and 2012.

Hudson Valley Region

*Tryouts will be held July 24-25, at 5 p.m., at White Plains High School, and practices July 27-29 at a location TBA. Please contact the Empire State Cup for more information.

Coaches

Brendan Curran

Founder and director of Renegades Lacrosse, Curran has over 30 years of lacrosse experience. He was a first-team all-conference midfielder at SUNY Cortland. At Cortland, he played in two NCAA Division III National Championship games. For 10 years, he was the Scarsdale High School varsity coach and, in 1997, he was awarded Coach of the Year by the Hudson Valley Lacrosse Coaches’ Association. Curran is the founder and president of the North Salem Youth Lacrosse Club and is currently a high school Spanish teacher at Lakeland High School.

Brian Fee

Fee has almost 20 years coaching experience in Westchester. The 1988 Hobart graduate is currently in his fifth year as defensive coordinator at Iona Prep, leading the team to two state championships and five defensive players of the year awards. Previously, he served as head coach for the Archbishop Stepinac High School varsity lacrosse team and as their varsity football assistant coach since 1989.

Shane Fee

A three-year varsity starter at Iona Prep, as a senior, he was elected team captain and earned All-America and first-team all-league honors. Fee earned a spot in the U.S. Lacrosse Champion All-American Showcase and helped lead the team to the 2012 NYCHSAA Class AA Downstate Championship, scoring five goals and three assists in the championship game victory over Kellenberg. His squad also captured 2010 AA state title. Fee was named first-team all-league as a junior and second-team all-league as a sophomore. He finished his career with 100 goals and 63 assists with 47 goals and 48 assists as a senior, 36 goals and 11 assists as a junior and 17 goals and four assists as a sophomore. He recently completed his freshman season with the Bucknell lacrosse program.

Long Island Region

*Tryouts will be held on July 25-26, at 6 p.m., at St. Mary’s High School.

Coaches:

Greg Matthews

Matthews has coached both boys and girls lacrosse at the club and youth level in Manhasset. A 1985 graduate of Johns Hopkins University, he played in four national championships with titles in 1984 and 1985. The 1984 team is one of three undefeated teams in Johns Hopkins’ storied history. Matthews is third on the all-time career face-off win percentage list. He played club lacrosse at the NYAC.

Matt Panetta

Panetta has dedicated his life to the sport of lacrosse and has excelled on the field from high school through to the pros. He has also coached the game at every level possible. This unique combination of both playing and coaching at all levels has given him perspective and insight few people can match. A Johns Hopkins All-American, he played professionally with the N.Y. Saints, Philadelphia Wings, Long Island Lizards and Bridgeport Barrage. He currently serves as head coach at St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset.

New York City Region

Coaches:

Joseph Fowler

Fowler, who has previously served as an assistant coach for the New York City Empire teams, has been a volunteer lacrosse coach for the Doc’s NYC Youth Program for the past 10 years. Previously an All-American defenseman at Hofstra, Fowler extended his playing career in the club circuit with Long Island and North Hempstead teams.

Ben Kaminow

Kaminow, who serves as Director of Boys’ Lacrosse at Doc’s NYC Lacrosse, has coached with the Docs program since 1998. He is also a co-founder of CityLax and is in the New York City Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Kaminow has also volunteered his time to assist with the NYC Empire Team, and helped launch Rotten Apples and Team 212 High School recruiting teams. A graduate of Syracuse, Kaminow has played club lacrosse for Arena Graphics on Long Island.

Western Region

*Tryouts will be held at Genesee Community College on July 25 at 6:30 p.m.

Coaches:

Gene Tundo Sr.

Tundo Sr., who currently serves as head coach at Orchard Park High School, has previously won a gold medal with Western as head coach at the Empire State Games. In his career at Orchard Park, Tundo has 484 career varsity wins and has captured 19 Section 6 championships. He has appeared in 11 Final Fours and three state finals, coaching 28 All-Americans during his tenure.

Joe Smith

Smith, who serves as head coach at Canisius High School, has won three professional world championships as a member of the Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Knighthawks and Rochester Rattlers. He won the 2007 Unsung Hero Award with the Rattlers, and coached the Italy National Team at the last World Games. He also represented the U.S. at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships. Smith is a graduate of Towson, where he served as team captain and won three CAA Conference Championships.

Gene Tundo Jr.

Tundo Jr., who was a member of the Buffalo Bandits in 2006, has seen action with the St. Regis Indians of Major Series Lacrosse. He was a four-year starter at UMass, where he was named ECAC Rookie of the Year in 2002, and advanced to the National Quarterfinals three times. Tundo finished 11th all-time in assists at UMass, and was named to Inside Lacrosse’s UMass All-Decade Team. A high school All-American, Tundo appeared in the Empire State Games twice, winning a gold medal once.