Ludlowe hosts Sticks for Soldiers lacrosse fundraiser
Written by FCIAC
Thursday, 22 November 2012 00:00
Fairfield-Ludlowe High School will be hosting the 7th annual Sticks for Soldiers Classic on Saturday, November 24, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Sticks For Soldiers is a charity lacrosse tournament, which raises money for wounded troops. The primary mission of the tournament is to “provide support and give thanks to the service men and women who put their lives on the line and sacrificed for our country.”
This year’s event is being held in honor of U.S. Amy Captain Greg Galeazzi of Glastonbury, and USMC Sgt. Greg Caron of Ellington. Both soldiers are recovering from bi-lateral leg amputations and other critical injuries received in Afghanistan in 2011.
According to the Sticks for Soldiers website, Cpt. Galeazzi, an Army Ranger, was seriously wounded while conducting a dismounted patrol in Kandahar Province on May 26, 2011.
The blast caused severe injuries to his legs, requiring above the knee amputations on both limbs, and his right arm was critically damaged. He is an Eagle Scout, a graduate of Glastonbury High school, and a 2007 graduate of the Loyola University (Md.) AROTC program.
He has been located at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, a distance from family and friends, where he continues his recovery and rehabilitation.
USMC Sgt. (ret) Greg Caron lost both his lower legs and suffered nerve damage in a booby-trapped IED explosion in Afghanistan the day after Veteran’s Day last November, 2011.
Following life-saving filed medical care and quick transport to Germany, Sgt. Caron was taken to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. There, he received extensive wound treatment, physical therapy and prosthetic training though the last several months of rehabilitation.
Sgt. Caron is a graduate of Ellington High School, where he excelled as a varsity athlete in soccer and basketball. He and his wife are now adjusting to their lives in Connecticut. It is planned that the Sticks For Soldiers donation, together with that of several other non-profits, will help contribute to building a home for Sgt. Caron and his family in Ellington.
Click here for the full schedule of games and a field map
The lacrosse tournament will include both varsity and junior varsity divisions, with players from FCIAC schools Fairfield-Ludlowe, Fairfield-Warde, Darien, Wilton, Ridgefield, Brien McMahon, Norwalk, Westhill, St. Joseph, and Staples
Non-FCIAC schools represented include Barlow, Avon, Cheshire, Newtown, Glastonbury, Hall, Daniel Hand, Notre Dame-Fairfield, Hamden, Xavier, and Amity.
Girls teams scheduled to play are Fairfield-Ludlowe, Fairfield-Warde, Staples, and Lauralton Hall.
Games, which use a 7-on-7 format, will begin ay 9 a.m. and are 30 minutes in length. Boys teams will play at least four games, and girls teams will play at least three games. There will be an Honoree Ceremony held from 12:40 to 1:15.
