"Build it and they will come." Harlem has Rucker, Madison Square Garden hosts the annual Big East Tournament, Max Yasgur's Farm staged Woodstock, and thanks to local youth lacrosse icons John Gagliardi and Paul Carcaterra, Long Island's laxsters now have the Big-Time Shootout Lax Tournament.

This past weekend, tucked away on the north side of Northern Boulevard at the Greenvale School of Brookville, co-directors Gagliardi and Carcaterra realized their own personal "field of dreams" in hosting the area's inaugural and premier youth lacrosse tournament, a haven for the east coast's best travel tourney teams seeking serious game and top-flight competition. Nearly 50 teams participated in the two-day venue, including U-11, U-13 and U-15 squads from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Westchester, New Jersey and as far south as Georgia.

Among the entries seeking to kick-it-up-a-notch were the Garden City Checkmate Sharks 12-year-old team coached by Pete Coleman, Bob Jahelka and Paul Hollis. The Sharks opened play Saturday morning taking on a familiar and tough foe in the elite Long Island Express, an all-star tournament team with players from Nassau and Suffolk, fresh from having won the U-12 Princeton Tournament just two weeks earlier.

The Express hoped to avenge two dramatic losses to the Sharks this past spring, 6-5 at C.W. Post and 7-5 at the Waldorf School. Shaking off weeks of rust and oppressive humidity, the Sharks hung tough in taking the Express's best shots as the lead changed hands several times. With just 30 seconds remaining, the Express scored to forge an 8-7 lead. Garden City's Steve Jahelka, in dramatic fashion, won the ensuing face-off and initiated a 4-on-3 fast-break that culminated with his draw-and-dump to Kyle Johnson who dented the twine to salvage a hard fought tie.

After a two-hour siesta, the Checkmate Kids squared off against an older and very talented Tri-State New Jersey team comprised of mostly 13-year-olds. Garden City found the going to be tough early on, but clawed back in the second half to cut Jersey's lead to 5-3 before dropping a 9-4 decision. The last game of the day was the Sharks' best as Garden City led by Tommy Gordon, Brian Coleman, Matt Clarkson, Mike Lofrese and Timmy Noble, hung tough with Harborfields U-13 before dominating the second-half in pulling away for a 9-4 Sharks win.

The Checkmate Kids returned to Greenvale on Sunday morning to play Eastern Massachusetts' cream-of-the-crop, the Falmouth Shamrocks. Losing 5-2 early in the second half, the Sharks flexed their trademark grit and resiliency to turn the tide. Defenders Austin Kufs, Tom Adams, Sean Mahon, Brian Porter and Jahelka combined to lock down the Shamrock offense, while the scoring and clearing efforts of Devin Dwyer, Matt Confort, Charlie Garcia and Johnson catalyzed a 4-0 Sharks' scoring blitz that closed out an impressive 6-5 comeback thriller.

In their final game, the Sharks faced their strongest opponent of the weekend, a tournament savvy No-Limit squad composed of 13-year-olds from Westchester and southern Connecticut. Goalies Alex Castronovo and John "The Wall Bock" were at their very best in keeping Garden City close, but with about five minutes remaining, No-Limit pulled away for an 8-5 win. The Sharks finished at 2-2-1, but more importantly gained some great memories, exposure and experience while holding their own against extraordinary competition on a very special weekend of youth lacrosse. For more details and game photos, please visit www.GCSharks.com.