Chapman lacrosse pipeline flows in from Lakeridge

By Matthew Sherman

The Lake Oswego Review, Aug 20, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

PHOTO COUTESY OF / RHINO LACROSSE

Rick Sheinin, a graduate of Lakeridge High School and Chapman University, is the offensive coordinator for Chapman’s vaunted men’s lacrosse program that features a handful of former Pacers. His father Curt Sheinin has built Lakeridge’s program from the ground up. He has won multiple state titles and is the winningest coach in Oregon boys lacrosse history.

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It’s no secret that Lakeridge High School has established itself as having one of the most elite lacrosse programs in the state if not the entire West Coast.

The Pacers are perennial contenders for a state title and at the helm of that success has been coach Curt Sheinin.

Sheinin is the winningest coach in the history of Oregon boys lacrosse and has helped transform scores of good athletes into tremendously skilled lacrosse players over the years.

Nowhere is that more evident than in Southern California.

The relatively small university in Orange, Calif. has become one of the top men’s lacrosse programs in the nation, reaching the MCLA national championship game for two seasons in a row.

But if you happened to watch the national title game in which Chapman fell 12-11 to Michigan in an extraordinarily well-played and exciting contest, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was a Lakeridge alumni game.

Chapman’s lacrosse program has been home to a veritable who’s who of some of the best players to have ever donned a Lakeridge uniform.

“It’s fun to watch. I go down to see them when I can,” Sheinin said.

On last season’s roster, there were five former Pacers, Nate Beres, Spenser Halvorsen, Connor Martin, Andrew Clayton and Michael Clayton.

Beres missed virtually all of last season after tearing his ACL early in the year but the other four Lakeridge graduates were not only strong contributors to the team, they were out and out stars.

So how exactly has Chapman formed such an impressive pipeline into Oregon and, specifically, directly into Lakeridge High School?

The answer is pretty simple. Curt Sheinin’s son, Rick, also a former player for Lakeridge and a graduate from Chapman, is the offensive coordinator for the Panthers and he has helped make the university a desired destination for his father’s former players.

It’s not exactly a hard sell.

After all, Chapman has one of the best lacrosse programs on the entire West Coast. It would be extremely difficult to find a comparable program anywhere west of the Mississippi.

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