TEAM Maryland Tuesday: Worcester County Recreation and Parks

Nestled in the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Worcester County boasts miles of shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean as well as several bays, making the county attractive for all things water sports. Although the county has immense access to the beach, that is only one of many amenities Worcester County has to offer.

Featured Venue Friday: Northside Park

Ocean City is filled with famous restaurants, mini-golf and 10 miles of Atlantic Ocean shoreline, which makes it all the more attractive when bringing amateur and youth events to the area’s largest and most popular park facility, Northside Park.

Maryland’s Own Monday: Aloha Tournaments

Based out founder Ray Schulmeyer’s garage and eventually upgrading its headquarters to Timonium, Md., Aloha Tournaments is the oldest, most established national lacrosse tournament company in the United States, dating back to its birth in 1999.

Aloha Tournaments: A Leader in Lacrosse and Field Hockey Tournaments

If you haven’t had the chance to attend or play in a lacrosse or field hockey tournament hosted by Aloha Tournaments, then you are missing out. Aloha Tournaments has been providing the State of Maryland with elite youth lacrosse tournaments since 1999. Over the past 16 years the organization has carried out numerous lacrosse and field hockey tournaments across the nation, and continues to provide exceptional experiences for all players, coaches and families involved. Not only have I played in the lacrosse tournaments growing up, but I had the opportunity last summer to work for Aloha during one of their busiest seasons to date.

Aloha Tournaments was created and founded, believe it or not, in a garage. The first annual Warrior Lax Splash Lacrosse Tournament was played in the spring of 1999 and the organization has only continued to expanded countrywide, hosting tournaments in Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, and even Colorado. Since the first Lax Splash was hosted in Maryland, the company has gone from hosting 144 teams in one tournament, to now taking care of 40,00 players and 60,000 fans each year. Chris Hutchins, a top affiliated partner associated with Aloha Tournaments, discussed how the culture of the organization has changed over the years. “Initially when it started, it was just for the youth and rec leagues, [but] as we continued to grow we were asked to host tournaments in different counties and in other seasons.” Between the months of May and November, Aloha Tournaments hosts 26+ events nationwide, nine of which are held in Maryland. Last summer while working for them, I got the chance to help host a lacrosse tournament all the way in Sacramento, California. Although the scenery was very different from Maryland, the level of competition was just as high.