MacArthur, Indoor staff renewed for EBLC17

ASHEKLON, ISRAEL – The Israel Lacrosse Association has formally announced that Brad MacArthur will return as the head coach for the Israel men’s national team which will compete in the 2017 ELF European Box Lacrosse Championships in Turku, Finland from July 8-15. Jason Crosbie and David Dennenberg will also return as assistant coaches for the blue-and-white.

MacArthur, who capped a seven-year pro career with the NLL’s Toronto Rock in 2007, made his international coaching debut with Israel at the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, where he led the team to a top-four finish. The achievement is a historic one – the #4 world ranking in box lacrosse is the highest earned in all of team sport in Israel’s 69 years as a country.

Subsequently, MacArthur was honored as Israel Lacrosse’s 2015 winner of the Mort Beroza Award for Man of the Year, in recognition of his outstanding individual contribution to the development of lacrosse in Israel. Previously he had served as a scout for Israel’s field lacrosse team at the 2014 World Lacrosse Championships in Denver.

Following Israel’s stellar performance at the World Indoor Championships, where they finished ahead of more established box lacrosse programs such as Czech Republic, England and Ireland, with MacArthur at the helm, the blue-and-white are in serious contention for their first-ever gold medal.

“Brad has made a tremendous impact on not just the individuals he has worked with, but our national program as a whole,” said Israel Lacrosse executive director Scott Neiss. “He is unquestionably one of the top coaches in the sport – he’s proved that at the World Championships – but he also has the strongest of abilities to develop raw talent and teach high-level intricacies of the box game to inexperienced athletes. Most importantly, he is an indispensable member of the Israel Lacrosse family, and we’re lucky to continue working alongside Brad and his staff.”

Crosbie, who had an exemplary 11-year pro career in which he amassed 436 points, is an asset to Israel’s squad with his offensive acumen. Crosbie, an excellent teacher who brings a remarkable amount of energy to the bench, managed a balanced offense in 2015 which boasted eight players who recorded 10 or more points.

Dennenberg, who represented Israel as a goaltender since the program’s inception, has served on the box team’s staff since his retirement in 2013. Since transitioning from the turf to the bench, Dennenberg has a strong connection to the roster, bolstering his effectiveness as a coach. He currently serves as head coach of the Fort Collins Mile High Stars in Colorado.

The national team’s 23-man roster will be announced following an eight-day training camp in Prague, Czech Republic in April of 2017.

Israel and 15 other countries are expected to compete for Gold at the European Box Lacrosse Championship.