By: Brent Greenberg
After being deployed for a year in Iraq, SFS Boston Chair Col. Michael Sullivan returned to familiar faces at UMass Lowell when he kicked off the fourth year of the event.
One of those teams is the Tufts Lacrosse team, who has participated the last few years and played during the overnight hours. In 2018, they opened the event. One of the many Jumbos’ connections to the military is former assistant coach Taylor Harris who attended the Naval Academy and served and a former athletic trainer, Mark Doughty, served in Vietnam.
“Shootout for Soldiers is important to me personally, our program at Tufts, and the lacrosse community because of the deep ties lacrosse has with our service men and women. Pretty much every team has a connection,” said former Jumbo and current Atlanta Blaze attackman John Uppgren.
Another team that has been ardent in its support is Angry Bear Lacrosse, which has embraced Shootout for Soldiers since creating their first team in Boston last year. In 2018, they took their fundraising to the next level and led the event raising $6,128. Not only that, they had two of the top five fundraisers on their team in Padraig Provost and Angry Bear founder Mikey Anger who raised $1,467 and $1,127, respectively. Not only did they fundraise extremely well but Mikey went all out for SFS 2018 and got a sick haircut for the event too!
Through the help of Angry Bear Lacrosse, Billy Bitter, Maverik Lacrosse, East Coast Dyes, Stringer Shack, and Fossylax, we were able to honor five veterans who not only helped SFS Boston planning the event but who do work in the lacrosse community to help our vets. They all received a brand new fully strung Maverik Lacrosse stick. A notable recipient was Scott Freyer, who raised over $1,000 in 2018.
Army Spc. Calvin Todd was a familiar face in cage, saving left and right at the Veterans Game.
Shootout for Soldiers Boston benefits two local charities – Operation Delta Dog and Home Base – as well as the four national partner charities. Both local charities look to help support our veterans with their wounds from war while back home. Home Base is dedicated to healing the invisible wounds for Veterans, Service Members, and their Families through world-class clinical care, wellness, education, and research.
As the night wore on, a familiar face took the field, Frankie and Friends who raised over $4,000. In their fourth year, we saw players ranging from 5-60 take the field during their two-hour timeslot.
With their help and the incredible fundraising efforts by everyone participating, we were able to raise $29,125.50 for our vets!
