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Box lacrosse may not have the same following on Long Island as the outdoor game, but two of the biggest names in the sport are looking to change that.
Joe and Joey Spallina are helping launch the Long Island Box Lacrosse League, a new youth league for boys and girls from third grade through high school.
“I’m really excited for kids across the Island to experience real box lacrosse,” Joe Spallina told Greater Long Island. “It has helped so many boys and girls get their games to a higher level.”
Spallina, the longtime Stony Brook University women’s lacrosse coach and former head coach of the New York Lizards, said the league is designed to be about more than simply playing games.
“This will be an educational league where players are taught proper box lacrosse methods that translate to the field game and help them become all-around better lacrosse players,” he said.
Box lacrosse — also known as indoor lacrosse — is played on a smaller, enclosed playing surface, putting an emphasis on quick decisions, rapid ball movement and making plays in tight spaces.
Joey Spallina, Joe’s oldest son and a first-team All-American this past season at Syracuse University, already has plenty of experience with the indoor game.
He played in the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League with the Orangeville Northmen and was later selected to the U.S. men’s box lacrosse national team.
“I can’t wait to help out with this new league,” Joey said. “Box lax has made me a better player, and I’m sure it will help other players too.”
Box lacrosse itself isn’t new to Long Island, although the professional version has struggled to gain a lasting foothold here.
The National Lacrosse League’s New York Riptide played home games at Nassau Coliseum for four seasons before relocating to Ottawa in 2024. Before that, the New York Saints called the Coliseum home for 15 seasons before ceasing operations in 2003.
The new Long Island youth league will use a 5-on-5 format with goalies, with games consisting of two 22-minute halves. Penalties will result in either a power play or penalty shot.
Teams will play five regular-season games followed by playoffs. Boys games will be played Saturdays, while girls games will take place Sundays, with the venues in Central Islip for and Lynbrook.
Top: Members of the Spallina family back in 2021. (L-R) Mother MaryBeth, son Joey, father Joe, and daughter Alexa. (Credit: Andrew Rappaport/GLI, file)
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