May 21, 2008

by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

Are we really supposed to believe the story about Mike Von Kamecke, or is it just one of those Disney fairy tales coming out of Orlando?

Is it credible that a 15-year-old Florida kid who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 160 pounds can load up a cannon at a Christmas camp (as they are known in the Sunshine state) and hit nearly 100 mph on the radar gun?

Danny Hogan, the boys' lacrosse coach at Bishop Moore, a private school in Orlando, and the coach of Von Kamecke (pronounced: KAH-meh-KAH) for three years, has no doubts about the legend.

"I wasn't holding the gun, but I was standing with the guy who was, and I looked at the score: 98," says Hogan. "One hundred percent accurate. He took one crow-hop and shot."

No wonder, then, that when Von Kamecke's mother called Salisbury coach Jim Berkman saying her son was not getting a fair shake at the Division I school he had planned to attend, Berkman took the call.

"His mom started second-guessing the move a little bit because he had a spring admission and no one was looking out for him," said Berkman. "She said, 'We've kind of been left out of in the cold.'

"I sat down and chatted with them for a while. Then I saw him play at a camp, and was really impressed with his stick skills and his ability to move the ball. I was really excited when we got him at the 12th hour."

And the shooting power?

"He's got a cannon for someone who isn't that big," Berkman confirmed.

Berkman is impressed by Von Kamecke's standstill shot during those rare occasions he gets an extended opening, but it was his ability to produce so much power on the move that really stood out.

"He can really shoot on the run, which is a big asset that a lot of kids can't do," said Berkman. "It's textbook middie when he turns his shoulders and fires on the run. His upper torso turns and follows through."

"I saw him play in the seventh or eighth grade because he was the same age as my brother, and he was shooting on the run back then," said Hogan, who guided Von Kamecke to All-American honors three times in high school. "In Florida, kids are mastering that skill when they are juniors or seniors in high school. And I use the term 'mastering' very loosely."

His high-end skill set allowed Von Kamecke to play in every game last season as a freshman, scoring nine goals and setting up five others to help the Gulls win a national title. This year, he has 29 goals and 20 assists, and again finds himself with a chance to win a national title.

Salisbury meets a familiar foe, Cortland, in the NCAA Division III men's lacrosse championship game Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

"Every day we're learning something new," said Von Kamecke, who ranks fourth on the team in scoring this year. "I learned a ton of stuff playing in Florida, but I struggled a little bit because this was a completely new world for me. Coach really helped me out. He really stayed on top of me. The more hard times he gave me, the better I got, and he pounded it into me pretty good."

"I think there were more nuances for Mike just playing a higher level of lacrosse," said Berkman. "He was playing on the field with six guys who know how to play instead of just one or two. He learned the ins and outs of playing in space and where the slides are going to go - that took a little bit of an adjustment. He got better each and every day his freshman year, and he's really doing a nice job right now."

Von Kamecke's best games have come at critical junctures for the Sea Gulls. He had three assists in an early win over Lynchburg, three goals and an assist against Washington College and two goals and two assists against Cabrini in the NCAA quarterfinals.

And then there was his magnum opus - the regular season game against Gettysburg. With the Gulls trailing 6-1 late in the second quarter, Von Kamecke scored all four of his goals in the final 35 minutes to help Salisbury rally for an 11-8 victory and keep its perfect season intact.

"The big games definitely get me jacked up and motivated," admitted Von Kamecke. "Especially in that Gettysburg game, we were down at halftime and I knew what needed to be done. I think in those big games I step it up a little bit, you could say."

"If you look, you'll see he's had big games in the big games," said Berkman, who said he has talked to Von Kamecke about getting juiced for all contests. "In the first Gettysburg game, he kind of broke the door open when we were struggling. All the big games, he has done well this year, and hopefully that will be the case again on Sunday."

Von Kamecke probably won't be able to load up for a 98-mph shot against a defense as good as Cortland's, but don't be surprised if the Orlando-area native conjures just enough for a Disney-like ending.