Standouts From Liberty National Fall Classic, Part III

This past weekend the annual Liberty National Elite Fall Classic was held in suburban Philadelphia.   Below is Part III in my review of prospects who impressed with their outstanding play during this marquee fall event.    Brown is a tall and wiry athlete with elite face off skills. At the Liberty National Classic, his fast hands and textbook technique allowed him to consistently win draws cleanly. On the rare occasion where he did not win the initial clamp, Brown's quick reactions and active stick enabled him to muck it up until he could secure possession. Once the ball was in his stick, Brown did a fantastic job of racing into the offensive end to create scoring opportunities. His long wingspan kept the ball out of the reach of opponent's stick checks as he charged towards the net. On defensive exits, Brown did and impressive job of boxing out his opponent while he scooped up the ball.     This past weekend,Fitzpatrick proved to be a shifty and skilled midfielder with the ability the create for himself or others in 6v6 action. Fitzpatrick repeatedly blew past the initial defender and then found shooting space for himself or drew the slide and then fed an open teammate. This speedy 2027 prospect also excelled in transition. His ability to race past opponents in the midfield area and then weave through poles deeper in the offensive end was remarkable. On the fast break, Fitzpatrick displayed an excellent feel for when to shoot / pass and never held onto the rock too long. His timely and creative passes often caught defenders by surprise.     The firstitem that popped about this multi-skilled attack was his ability to play with his left as well as right hand. Grimes is a natural lefty, but he shot and passed at a high level with either hand. He also consistently ran past or slipped underneath the initial defender going to his right. Grimes used inside hitches as well a swim dodges, to set up his runs into open space for a crank on the net. His quick first step, change of direction moves and stick skills enabled Grimes to score and feed from X. Grimes proved he could fire missiles into the back of the net from the left GLE spot too.     Last weekend at the LibertyNational Fall Classic Jacobs proved to be a menacing on-ball defender as well as a ground ball machine. This native of Iowa created a slew of turnovers for True Minnesota by pressing out on ball carriers all the way to midfield and then delivering heavy stick checks. When the ball hit the turf, Jacobs snatched up the GB and then trucked into the offensive end to create a fast break. In close to the cage, Jacobs was a physical presence and used his active stick to disrupt passing lanes. Jacobs' extraordinary defensive instincts and quick feet produced several well-timed double teams.     With his low center of gravity, powerful build, and nifty foot work, Taffera dominated action at the face off dot during the Liberty National Fall Classic. Those assets were complimented by his quick pick-n-pop skills and impressive foot speed. In short, Taffera won a host of clamps cleanly and then raced into the offensive end to generate scoring opportunities. But Taffera repeatedly proved he values possession over everything else by not forcing the fast break and instead moving the ball to an open teammate. This high IQ specialist also won face offs via defensive exits and by snapping the ball to his wings.

This past weekend the annual Liberty National Elite Fall Classic was held in suburban Philadelphia.