The Rebels Lacrosse Club (Rebels LC) has been growing at a rapid pace since its inception in 2018. Yet, every year, the Directors of the club are still looking for the “next big thing” to take the program to the highest level. Aligning themselves with other forward-thinking individuals in the industry, and tirelessly working to cement their culture into their athletes, 2022 presents a new opportunity in the world of club lacrosse for the Rebels organization…
After months of deliberation, that great leap forward has finally come to fruition. In conjunction with their National team expansion, the Rebels are proud to announce a new strategic partnership with Greg Gurenlian, Owner and Founder of the Faceoff Academy (FOA). FOA sets the standard for faceoff training around the country, thus it was a natural fit for Rebels LC to join forces with one of the biggest names in all of lacrosse. When asked why he started the FOA, Greg’s immediate response was about the position itself, “To change the outlook of FO men as cheaters who couldn’t play the game of lacrosse, give respectability to the position by increasing the skill sets of athletes, and educating coaches nationwide.” He is someone who cares tremendously about the individuals he coaches and the game of lacrosse itself - something that Rebels LC has grown to embody over the last several years.
For someone who was both an MLL and PLL All-Star, along with being a gold medal recipient with the USA All-World team, Greg is someone who will go down as one of the best to ever play the game. Greg recently shared his thoughts as to why he chose to join the Rebels by simply stating, “We hold ourselves to a high standard in how we coach and mentor our athletes.” He felt that surrounding himself with a group that genuinely cares about its athletes was the best decision he could make, especially with how careful he is about who he associates with.
Mike Brennan, Owner of Blatant Athletics and the Rebels LC, was elated at the news that Greg was on board to join. He went on to explain, “When we jump into a partnership there are a few things we look for: similar mindsets, scalability, education, and passion. Greg and FOA check every one of these boxes and more. With the Rebels expanding nationally and into different markets on a regional basis, it made sense to partner with FOA and their established networks of trainers. Personally, I do not know enough about the face-off, especially with the new SNG rules. We look forward to educating our players, coaches, and parents on the ever-changing faceoff” Brennan continued, “On top of all that, the expertise Greg has in terms of training, rule changes, and recruiting guidance at the faceoff X position is invaluable to our program and our athletes…bringing on a name like Greg’s will help grow the Rebels National program as well. The reason the Rebels chose to build a National program was pretty simple - The landscape of club lacrosse is changing. There are local, regional and national teams. Each serves its purpose. We are passionate about what we do, and look to bring that passion to a national scale.”
As part of the partnership, all Rebels LC faceoff athletes will receive weekly faceoff training and lessons from Gurenlian and his staff.