MLL Original, U.S. Team Star Gagliardi Retires
from press release
John Gagliardi on Wednesday announced that he will not be returning to the Long Island Lizards for the start of the 2010 Major League Lacrosse season and will retire from playing professionally.
Gagliardi will instead concentrate his efforts on growing his
15-person lacrosse equipment company Maverik Lacrosse, teaching
players the intricacies of lacrosse at his award winning No Limit
Lacrosse camps and playing with his newly formed Maverik Elite team
at the Vail and Lake Placid tournaments this
summer.
“I have enjoyed every minute of my time playing lacrosse
from the first time I picked up a stick as a fifth grader with my
Manhasset PAL team to playing at Johns Hopkins and for Team USA as
well as my last game with the Long Island Lizards,” said
Gagliardi. “I have been very fortunate to play this
wonderful game at every level and have seen first hand the growth
of our sport in areas of the country I never imagined. It's
my goal to help develop and grow our game in any way possible so
that kids everywhere can play lacrosse and enjoy the same
experiences I had during my playing days. Going forward, my
focus will continue to be on steadily growing Maverik Lacrosse and
coaching kids on Long Island and across the U.S."
Gagliradi’s accolades include playing on four championship
teams, being selected 11 times as an All-Star in college and
professionally, twice being named as an All-American at Johns
Hopkins University as defenseman and playing for Team USA at the
Lacrosse World Cup in 1999 and 2006. Gagliardi professional
playing career began indoors with the New York Saints and the
Philadelphia Wings where he won a championship and was selected to
the NLL All-Star team.
Gagliardi's outdoor professional career began in 2001 with the MLL's (Major League Lacrosse) Long Island Lizards. The MLL which was in its infancy leveraged Gagliardi's fan appeal placing him on the leagues original promotional poster with Casey Powell and Mark Millon. It did not take Gagliardi long to show the world he was among the best to ever pick up a defensive pole earning consecutive MLL All-Star appearances from 2002 through 2008.
