Six Champions Crowned at the Seventh Annual Lake Placid Youth Summit Classic

LAKE PLACID, NY — Six teams celebrated championships in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains last week at the seventh annual Lake Placid Youth Summit Classic hosted by Summit Lacrosse Ventures.

Founded in response to the growing popularity of the long-established Lake Placid Summit Classic adult and scholastic tournament, this year’s Youth Summit Classic drew 42 boys youth clubs to the Adirondacks’ storied Olympic Region for three days of competition and festivities from June 26 to 28.

Though air quality pushed the start of the Youth Summit Classic back a few hours, action was underway at the North Elba Lacrosse Fields by noon on Monday as hundreds of families made their way onto the storied grounds that have played host to thousands of lacrosse games since the first Lake Placid Summit Classic was held in 1990.

The fourth stop on the 2023 Find Your Summit Tour presented by lead sponsor Gait Lacrosse, this year’s Youth Summit Classic featured a bustling vendor market, with the full lineup of Gait sticks and gear available for purchase by way of Albany-based Precision Lacrosse leading a varied assortment of lacrosse and non-lacrosse businesses on site.

Meanwhile, the Youth Summit Classic filled the Village of Lake Placid with lacrosse players and their families who enjoyed the area’s many attractions as well as eye-popping views of famous Adirondack summits, including Algonquin Peak, Mt. Colden and Mount Marcy to the east, and, to the north of the lacrosse fields, iconic Whiteface Mountain.

Of course, visitors had the opportunity to take in or even visit the emblematic Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex. And though lightning flashed and rain clouds soaked the field numerous times throughout the three days, forcing schedule adjustments, sidelines were full and boisterous for every thrilling contest that unfolded.

“We love it here and we consider the Adirondacks and especially Lake Placid a special place for lacrosse for many reasons, and players discover that at an early age when they come here with their families for this tournament,” said Kevin Leveille, the Event and Brand Manager of Summit Lacrosse Ventures and one of the game’s all-time greats.

“The Youth Summit Classic is certainly designed to help club teams compete and get better and this year saw the most talented collection of teams we’ve ever had,” Leveille said.

“But our hope is that this becomes a tradition that goes beyond college and pro lacrosse and brings people back every year to celebrate the game regardless of where they end up playing down the line.”

Leveille’s father, George, co-founded the Lake Placid Summit Classic as a getaway experience for lacrosse players, friends and families. Kevin, along with his younger brother, Mike, attended the Summit Classic each summer when they were youngsters and watched its evolution into one of the sport’s most important events, now with more than 200 teams competing over the course of a week each August.

“Seeing my father and his friends compete and make memories up here set the stage for me and my brother to dream of playing lacrosse at the highest levels, for as long as we could,” said Kevin, a four-time All-American attackman at UMass before moving on to a star as a pro and international attackman. Four years younger, Mike led Syracuse University to a Division I title and won the Tewaaraton Award in 2008 before playing at the pro and international levels.

“We hope that the kids who play here not only feel inspired to play in college but want to make Lake Placid an annual lacrosse tradition as have so many others in this sport,” Kevin said.

A first at the event, Tuesday night featured a Parents vs. Kids showdown, pitting Skaneateles, New York folks against a highly energized pack of their own children. In an amusing display of the Creator’s Game at its finest, parents and kids went all out — with some of the barefoot “elders” unveiling impressive stick skills, speed and finesse, and an Alf Jacques stick in use to pay tribute to the late, great Onondaga Nation stick maker.

“Lax Placid is an experience, and we’re always trying to enhance it,” Kevin Leveille said. “We were able to overcome the air quality and weather challenges, and we’re thrilled to host another awesome three days up here in these amazing mountains.”

Below is a recap of the divisional champions at the 2023 Lake Placid Summit Youth Classic, presented by Gait Lacrosse:

Boys 16U 2025-2026: PowellX
Boys 14U 2027-2028 Gold: Sidewinders 2027
Boys 14U 2027-2028 Silver: Movement Lax
Boys 12U 2029-2030 Gold: HardCor Lacrosse 2029
Boys 12U 2029-2030 Silver: West Islip Lions 2030
Boys 10U 2030-2031: Mountain Valley

View photos of the Lake Placid Summit Youth Classic, including each of the championship teams, via the Summit Lacrosse Ventures Facebook page. Be sure to use the hashtag #FNDURSUMT to follow Summit Lacrosse Ventures and our partners at events all summer long.