-An Interview with FOGOLAX Academy’s Ryan Gillen
FOGOLAX Face-off Academy’s, Ryan Gillen, winning a face-off for MCDaniel College
How can you master at the face-off?…follow the path of Ryan Gillen, instructor at Matt Schomburg’s FOGOLAX Face-off Academy.
After being introduced to the game of lacrosse by his godfather in Baldwin, NY – Ryan Gillen fell in love with the sport. From the start, Ryan knew he wanted to play goalie.
“Being the goaltender, you are the last line of defense. It is definitely one of the most pressure packed positions,” said Gillen.
Fast forward to Ryan Gillen’s Junior year of college. After being recruited to play goalie for McDaniel College in Maryland, Ryan lost the starting position to a very talented recruit. By the fall of Ryan’s junior year, McDaniel was left without a face-off guy. After exhausting all potential options, the McDaniel coach addressed the team asking, “does anyone know how to face-off?” Gillen responded, “I have never done it, but have watched my brother train at face-offs back on Long Island. I will give it a shot.”
That day, Gillen got home and gave his brother’s face-off coach a call. The trainer Ryan called was face-off guru Matt Schomburg. Ryan and Matt spoke on the phone on a consistent basis. Ryan checked in asking for videos on the best face-off players in college lacrosse, asking questions about technique, new drills and anything else that would help him develop into a stand-out face-off player. We asked Ryan why he felt he could transition from being a goalie to being a face-off guy. He replied,
“Playing goalie and facing off share a lot of the same characteristics. Both positions are pressure packed, require toughness, quick hands and being able to make plays from awkward positions.”
From the day Ryan said he would give facing off a shot, Gillen started every single game for the McDaniel College Men’s Lacrosse Team. In Ryan’s senior year, he went 60% at the face-off X. Even though Gillen and Schomburg only met 3 times for training sessions, their communication via phone conversations, texts and emails, allowed Ryan to gain the knowledge to become one of the top face-off guys in Division III lacrosse.
FLG asked, “What are some things Matt Schomburg taught you about facing-off?” Ryan said, “He taught me key moves, how to communicate with my wingmen, how to choose my wingmen, signals, how to get out of sticky situations and so much more.”
Today, Ryan Gillen works full-time for Matt Schomburg’s FOGOLAX Face-off Academy. Ryan shares his love for the sport by training kids of all ages to become not just better face-off guys, but better all around lacrosse players. “My goal isn’t to train kids to be FOGO’s, I want to train kids to become well-rounded lacrosse players and give them the drills, tools and knowledge to elevate their game.” –Ryan Gillen #32
Questions about FOGOLAX Academy and FLG Lacrosse? Find out more at https://flglacrosse.com.
