Panos gives back to sport he loves

Chris Panos, who scored 200 goals as a professional lacrosse player, offers instructions during a drill at the Advanced Lacrosse Camp at Lake Forest College's Farwell Field. Panos currently is a Lake Zurich resident.
(Dan Luedert/Staff Photographer)

LACROSSE -- For the serious lacrosse player, there is a viable option right in the neighborhood.

Lake Zurich resident Chris Panos -- who played 11 years in the National Lacrosse League -- just wrapped up a set of Advanced Lacrosse camps at Lake Forest College. The four-session event was hardly a walk in the park.

"I'm trying to train kids who really want to get good at lacrosse," said Panos, 35, who is contemplating retiring from pro lacrosse as he recovers from a foot injury. "I'm looking for quality, not quantity. The 12 kids are so much better for coming to the camp for four Sundays."

Panos, who spent two years as a varsity assistant at Lake Forest High School (2007-08), has helped mold the careers of some elite players. Check out this list of players heading off to college who trained with Panos: Lake Forest's Stew Kerr (a 2-time All-American headed to Middlebury College), Lake Forest's Zach Telander (Vermont), Lake Forest's Joe Hrusovsky (Michigan) and Deerfield's Lee Boshes (Michigan). In addition, he's working with Glenbrook South junior Jeff Hard, who emerged as one of the state's leading scorers last spring.

When Panos works with a player, he does more than simply hone skills. He's also involved in securing college scholarships.

"The recruiting process is a huge process," he noted. "I have a whole service I do."

He's certainly connected. Panos, who grew up on Long Island in New York, works in tandem with Toby Elmore of SportsWorx Long Island.

"We both know how tough the process of recruiting is for parents as well as student-athletes," said Panos on his Web site, Advancedlacrosse.com. "We are here to bridge the gap and expand the knowledge of available resources."

Obviously, Panos is passionate about the game. He first picked up a stick at age 6 and realized he wanted to be a professional player by the time he was 11. He eventually played at Hofstra University and then spent 11 years in the National Lacrosse League.

One of his shining moments will always be a bittersweet memory.

"In the game where I broke my foot (in '08), I scored my 200th goal," Panos related. "To score 200 goals in that league as an American is a pretty big accomplishment. The league is 70 percent Canadian."

Panos, who earned a National Lacrosse League championship in 2001 with the Philadelphia Wings and played for Team USA on three occasions, realizes outsiders are unaware of the game's importance in Canada.

"I've won three Mann Cups," Panos related. "(Canada's Mann Cup) is older than the Stanley Cup."

His most recent stop in pro lacrosse came to an end when the Chicago Shamrox folded following the 2008 season. Panos plans on returning to the league as either a player or owner.

"If I get a good offer to continue, I still have a desire to play," he said. "I'm looking to possibly buy a team in the National Lacrosse League."

In the meantime, Panos will continue to tutor players, individually and in group settings. He's also working on a charity event to benefit the American Cancer Society. The inaugural Turkey Cup Classic will be held sometime in November, in Libertyville.

"We're hoping to make it an annual event," said Panos of the 3-on-3 tournament.

As the 2009 camp fades out of view, keep an eye on the following players in the future: Henry Grob, Griffin Meyer, Bryan Rossman, Sean Kelleher, Ross Chaifetz, Drew Brewster, Luke Bernardi -- all from Lake Forest High School -- as well as Riley Markus (Libertyville High School), Drew Pesmen (Stevenson), Danny Conway (Loyola Academy) and Zach Winemaster (Deer Path Middle School in Lake Forest).

"All of those kids are anxious to keep training," Panos said.