While most boys his age spent their weekdays practicing football or baseball, Brendan Gorman chose a different sport: lacrosse. With his interest piqued, he decided to broaden its horizon and bring his passion and knowledge of the sport to McHenry County.

Today, through the efforts of impassioned individuals like Gorman and his partners Karlene and Scott Swearingen, more than 300 boys enjoy the demands of the sport, with an increasing number discovering their talents each year. 

Getting Started 

After growing up playing the sport in New York, Gorman transferred to the University of Nevada Las Vegas and began a transition to rugby. However, his heart yearned for lacrosse.

 The only local lacrosse organization in McHenry County at the time was the Northwest Suburban Lacrosse Organization (NWS LAX), where Gorman began his coaching career. 

 “I knew I wanted to coach, so I contacted Karlene and Scott Swearingen of NWS LAX,” Gorman explained. “Their son Karl played high school lacrosse his freshman year at Palatine, but they moved to McHenry County to discover lacrosse didn’t even exist!” 

Rather than compete with NWS LAX, the two merged efforts in 2011 order to form Oxygen Lacrosse, which is now the sole lacrosse organization in the county. Together, they spread the word to interested athletes from local high schools. Shortly after, Gorman began to coach a combined team of players from both Prairie Ridge and Cary Grove high schools. 

In just a few years, the concerted effort paid off with the creation of 11 high school club teams, including Cary Grove, Prairie Ridge, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Huntley, Jacobs, Dundee-Crown, Johnsburg, McHenry, Marian Central and South Elgin. 

In the five years he has coached, Gorman has established himself by leading Cary Grove High School to a 71-6 record, reaching the Club High School State Championship every year, and bringing home the championship title twice. He has also played for the Chi-town Lacrosse Club in Chicago and has coached select side teams for Lacrosse America in Schaumburg. 

Not stopping at the youth level, Oxygen Lacrosse now manages the Midwest Lacrosse Association’s Oxygen Outlaws, an indoor semi-pro box lacrosse team, who will practice and play at the Regional Sports Center in Crystal Lake for the 2011 season. 

Thanks to his Irish roots, Gorman was eligible and selected to participate as the captain for Team Ireland at the 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in the Czech Republic. 

Setting the Table 

Gorman compared lacrosse to skateboarding or surfing, in which identity is key. “It’s an identity with a West Coast approach, where it is laidback, but the coaching style of the East Coast with the intensity,” he said.

In October 2010, Gorman expanded his involvement into to holding player clinics and private lessons, as well as launching the Oxygen Lacrosse apparel line with his partner Mike Panko.

“Players wanted the Caroline blue shorts and shooter shirts and I needed help promoting the line locally,” Gorman added. “We’ve created so much with it. It really gives players an identity with the ability to wear the hottest shirts and shorts. When kids see their friends dressed in the gear, they want to know what it’s all about.” 

Gorman’s goal on top of coaching is to branch out with the apparel line. Currently, the main method of sales is through online stores, where the custom shorts, t-shirts and hats are sold. 

Other methods include word of mouth. When he spent time in the Czech Republic for the 2011 World Indoor Championship, Gorman brought boxes of the apparel with him. 

“They thought it was a huge organization so they bought the apparel,” Gorman declared. “There are probably 15 countries wearing apparel from Oxygen Lacrosse, which is really neat.” 

Filling the Demand

Karlene Swearingen, acting marketing director for Oxygen Lacrosse focuses on developing the sport further into the county schools. While Oxygen Lacrosse prides itself in its online store, firsthand equipment and educating parents, lacrosse is still not available to everyone. That is why it is up to Swearingen to work with others in order to develop a program for those that have not received the opportunity to play. 

“Everything just fell into place beautifully,” Swearingen explained. “A merger of talents and skills between the two organizations was the perfect symbiotic relationship.” 

All the hard work has become evident in the visible growth throughout the county. At a clinic held last fall, Gorman expected 20 kids to attend, but to his pleasant surprise, 40 signed up. This prompted him to bring in professional players to help coach the kids and take them even further in their skill development.

Benefits of Lacrosse

Aside from teaching skills used in traditional field lacrosse, Oxygen Lacrosse uses the techniques of box lacrosse, an indoor Canadian game for when the ice melts. According to Gorman, teaching box lacrosse allows players to quicken their stick usage due to tighter quarters. Also, while field lacrosse has 10 players, indoor only uses five players and a goalie. In this respect, box lacrosse very much resembles hockey. 

“It benefits the kids because they touch the ball more and can develop their skill level faster,” Gorman shared. 

Especially through the long winters of McHenry County, box lacrosse permits field lacrosse players to improve their play and stay in shape. 

Because lacrosse is a spring sport, baseball is the biggest competitor. However, Gorman assures that despite his love for baseball, players often get bored. “Parents come to me and say they are so happy to have lacrosse because it suits hockey and football players,” he announced. 

He will often get emails from parents about their child’s interest in hockey, and a desire to play lacrosse in order to learn the drills. Not only that, but Oxygen Lacrosse offers year-round services, which often draw baseball players in during the winter so as to stay in shape for the spring. 

Many of the high school lacrosse players that have graduated are now playing at the college level, representing McHenry County all over the nation. The lacrosse movement has even spread to youth programs, travel teams and other leagues year round in the county and beyond. 

Family Environment

Oxygen Lacrosse has become an environment that has been like a family to each and every participant. 

“To be proud of them, that is the highlight,” he explained. “I love it. To be called coach, it’s a privilege. Nothing can beat it. It is an honor to coach these guys.” 

Gorman’s personal connections do not stop with his “family” of players. His son, almost seven, is currently developing through the programs at Oxygen Lacrosse. “There is nothing more rewarding than coaching him this past spring,” he said. 

Skills to Grow

Coaching alongside Gorman are some of the finest coaches in the game. Currently there is a handful that commute from Chicago twice a week for the camps at Oxygen Lacrosse. “You have got to have the right coaches to teach the kids the right way,” Gorman stated. To him, basic fundamentals are just as essential as throwing and catching in Little League. 

That is where the key concepts come in. Although lacrosse is a contact sport and can be quite physical, it is primarily a skill game. 

 “I look forward to going to practice and teaching, as well as seeing the growth pattern,” he said. Teaching them from day one and seeing the move forward is so rewarding.” 

He attributes his success with Cary Grove High School to the fact that the players got the right skills down at the start. According to Gorman, the key is to use the stick properly and be creative with it. 

Branching Out 

Oxygen Lacrosse continues to build off its current foundation. Summer leagues include U13, U15, U17 and U19, which play in Milwaukee and Naperville among other cities, which Gorman says “gives them a chance to play at higher levels throughout the summer.” 

The fact that hockey and soccer players now have the choice to pursue lacrosse makes the area more competitive in that respect. 

Looking ahead, Gorman is excited because this fall is the first time there will be opportunities for girls to participate in an Oxygen Lacrosse program. Due to the rapid growth, interest continues to skyrocket, seen in the fact that girls outnumber the boys in some of the camps this summer. 

Gorman believes this is because of the exciting factor of the game. The pace of game is fast-moving and there is a position for everybody.  

“Lacrosse is physical, quick and fun,” he said. Parents continue to approve of the sport because they “find it more exciting and it’s so new so there’s a draw to it.” 

The athletes in the county continue to impress with their talents. According to Gorman, McHenry County has been sort of a “forgotten area,” despite the sport’s fast-growing presence.  

He expects that within two years, Oxygen Lacrosse’s membership will double in numbers to about 600 kids. 

Oxygen Lacrosse is currently working on getting the sport sanctioned and becoming full-blown in high schools across the county, but it has been a battle the last three years. 

“It is recognized as club, and we are waiting for the athletic director to sign off on it so they can compete all across Illinois,” Gorman said. 

It is his hope that the star athletes will receive scholarships, and “we can look back in a couple years and say we played a big part in that,” he added.

>> For more information, call 847-886-4529, visit www.oxygenlacrosse.com.