Triiilax started in a basement gym with a college lacrosse team. After lifts, we played box lacrosse with mini-sticks and soft balls in a turfed multipurpose fitness room. Our mini goals broke so I hung the nets on posts of weighted sleds. Eventually, we lost the nets so I turned the sleds around and placed balls on the three pipes. To score you had to hit the ball off. The two tall pipes formed the back line and the center pipe gave the targets depth. It looked like the goalie’s hips and five-hole to me. The triangle shape of the targets reinforced fundamental shooting angles in lacrosse. It is difficult to hit the pipes shooting sidearm or three quarter. To knock the balls off you have to line your stick up with the pipes and shoot overhand. 

​

TriiiLax became a competitive game when we found the joy of making a save. Catching the target balls before they hit the ground challenges hand eye coordination and ground ball awareness. If you made a defensive save, you put the ball back on the target and get possession. This game was ready to leave the basement until we ran into a design flaw. Unfortunately weighted sleds are not mobile, and they leave marks on all surfaces. We needed an upgrade once I witnessed the power of this game in action. 

​

I needed to play it everywhere, on any surface. Standing in a line one day, I looked at a stanchion and wanted to hit a ball off it. I saw the design we needed. I got rid of the sled and made individual counter weighted bases. I traced a bumper plate and cut 18” circles out of ¾” plywood. Drilled 2” holes in the center to hold the pipes straight up. I cut four 36” and two 18” PVC pipes. I wrapped duct tape on one end and slid the base plates on. The duct tape held the base plate an inch off the ground and when you hit the plate, the ball would pop off. Now the plate became part of the target. It was time to retire Hector the Rejecter, he had seen enough.

​

Shortly after, one of my business majors introduced me to the entrepreneurship and intellectual property group on campus. I met a master engineer and we started making prototypes. Together, our company was formed in 2019 and in the fall of 2022 our TriiiLax design was approved by the US Patent office. After 10,000 hours of research and development, camps, practices, playdays and clinics, this product has been mastered and is ready for the lacrosse world to enjoy. TriiiLax is a swiss army knife for lacrosse enthusiasts. My masters in coaching education introduced me to the power of small-sided games and part-whole theory of sport pedagogy.  After 20 seasons of collegiate lacrosse, I am excited to share a reengineered way to play the traditional game.