BOTC felt it would be appropriate to reproduce the text of the full article regarding Mike Winkoff to provide a fair and balanced view. The article highlights Mr. Winkoff as one of the Top Ten people in the Lacrosse Community making a difference.

Reprinted from Lacrosse Magazine, January 2012, Page 59

MIKE WINKOFF, Age 50
Resides in Massapequa, N.Y.
Affiliations : For the Love of the Game, Lax4All
Day Job : Owner, Pioneer Mortgage Network, Inc.

Roosevelt (N.Y.) High School graduated notables like NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving, shock jock Howard Stern, comedian and actor Eddie Murphy and hip hop artist Busta Rhymes. The redominantly black Long Island school has had its share of standouts in football, baseball and track and field — but never lacrosse.

Mike Winkoff hopes to change that. Roosevelt is at the center of his not-for profit Lax4All program that spawned in 2009 out of For the Love of the Game, the select organization he formed in 2006.

“I watched my son play football against Roosevelt,” Winkoff said. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if these kids had the opportunity to play lacrosse?’” Winkoff’s son Corey rose through the lacrosse ranks and graduated from Penn last year second among the school’s all-time assists leaders. But not
everyone gets the same opportunities.

“I didn’t like what was going on with pay for-play,” Winkoff said. “I got out when Corey made the Empire team. We started our own program.”

Winkoff’s team played with L.I. Select on its uniforms for one season, but changed them to fl$ to reflect its true purpose. fl$ fields top teams — they won the US Lacrosse U15 Boys’ National Championship last year — but also focuses on off-field development.

“It’s based in education,” Winkoff said. “We give them tutoring. They must do community service.” fl$ has grown from three teams in 2006 to six boys’ and five girls’ teams from seventh grade to rising seniors.

Such opportunities did not exist in Roosevelt before Winkoff created Lax4All. It started modestly with one PAL team, and then grew to two PAL teams in 2010. A middle school team formed last year, and a JV team is in the works. Winkoff envisions a varsity team in the foreseeable future. “We’re trying to do this throughout the country,” he said. “We want to not just do it in African-American communities, but in communities that don’t have the game. These kids love it.”

This summer, Winkoff will unveil his newest youth program, fl$ Lite. Players cut from youth travel teams will receive qualified coaching and strong competition. “We don’t believe you should start playing travel until seventh grade,” Winkoff said. “They’ll all play.”

In four decades coaching, Winkoff has seen the opportunities lacrosse brings if people are given chances to play. “It makes you grow when you work with them,” Winkoff said. “I’ve always had the passion because I love coaching kids.”