College Crosse Prospectus: Holy Cross Grad Changing Sporting Goods Game

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We previewed some of the highlights from Towson’s 2018 schedule.

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William Peace University is getting ready for their first year of play.

Lacrosse The Nation

Maura Sullivan Hill of Holy Cross magazine profiled former Crusader Brendan Candon and how his business, SidelineSwap, is becoming a trendsetter for buying used sporting goods:

After their initial conversation about expensive equipment, Candon and his co-founder, Anthony Piazza (the same friend who sold him the used lacrosse gear), thought there was a hole in the marketplace, so they did some research to prove it. They found that fewer than 15 percent of the sporting goods listings on eBay are used, and most sellers on that site are stores or companies, rather than individuals. Craigslist didn’t allow buyers to search for specific sizes of gear, and Play It Again Sports, a used sporting goods chain, did not have an online presence and was closing many of their brick and mortar stores. Candon and Piazza also looked to similar platforms in different industries – like Poshmark for women’s clothing, Reverb for musical instruments and Etsy for arts and crafts – as a model.

“For us, that meant that, one, people aren’t going to eBay, Craigslist or Play It Again Sports to sell their used stuff and two, buyers don’t really have a lot of options,” says Candon, who was a political science major and a history minor. “Looking at those three companies, we thought it seemed like there was an opportunity to fill a need in the market, where we knew athletes wanted access to high-quality gear, but they didn’t have a place to find it. We didn’t have a lot of background in the startup world or technology, but really believed that we understood the market and could figure this out.”

The earliest version of SidelineSwap came out in 2012, and Candon worked on the project during his free time for about two and a half years. By 2014, they had garnered enough interest and investments, including some from Holy Cross friends and advisers, that he quit his insurance job to work on SidelineSwap full time and assemble his team.

It was a long road from the side project that Candon toiled away on during his nights and weekends to earning praise from Forbes. Candon and his team mastered the art of networking, and participated in programs designed to give startup companies advice and funding, including the Harvard Innovation Lab in Boston and 500 Startups, one of the top tech accelerators in Silicon Valley.

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Mark Evanchick lifts things up and puts them down!

Meanwhile, Northwestern lacrosse is really a boxing team. Look at all those punching bags:

Penn’s also got some nice study rooms!

The Jacksonville Dolphins have names seniors Ryan Beville, McLean Chicquen, and Chase McIntyre, as well as redshirt junior Max Hartong as team captains.

The work doesn’t stop in November!

Limestone head coach J.B. Clarke will be inducted into the US Lacrosse Connecticut Chapter Hall of Fame on Saturday!

The Vermont Catamounts women’s team have also named their three captains:

Seniors Alex Bernier, Courtney Cole, and Elena McWright will lead the University of Vermont women's lacrosse team for the upcoming 2018 season. The trio was named team captains by head coach Sarah Dalton on Monday.

"I am beyond thrilled for Courtney, Elena, and Alex to lead our team this year," Dalton said. "The three of them complement each other so well while collectively having a team-first mentality and expectations of success. This fall, they have done a great job coming every day with a strong work ethic, high energy, and positive attitude that is contagious to the rest of our team. Our staff is excited to work with them as they continue to grow and we prepare for the spring."

Great to see Mercer, Rollins, and Tampa support John Michael Night!

Shoutout to Penn State for doing some community service work outside!

SMILE!

Former Drexel Dragons football player Vince Vidas has passed away. He made a big impact on Drexel’s facilities, including their men’s and women’s lacrosse field, which is named after him.

An update from the HEADstrong Foundation’s Lax Stache Madness:

Philly Jawns

Meek Mill is going to prison for at least two years for violating probation.

A New Jersey Santa Claus was arrested on drug charges.

World News

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