We opened the floor for the MLL’s Most Improved Player of 2010 to talk about his new business and he didn’t disappoint.

Poillon recently founded Low and Away Lacrosse. If you’re a high school athlete, it might benefit you to attend a clinic hosted by MLL champion middie and 412 product.

412: You’re a guy that likes to shoot low to high. How did you come up with the company name?

PP: I do love to bring that stick down. It was a bad habit I picked up early on playing lacrosse. I have realized that the more fundamental I shoot the ball the better off I am. When it came to thinking about a name I wanted to have the name pertain to what kind of service we were going to provide. We are teaching the fundamentals, everything we teach is about creating good habits with a fundamental base, and practicing these things the right way.

You hear all the time “hit the wall, shoot as much as you can”, but I am a perfect example, if you shoot a ton and practice the wrong thing, you may find success to some extent but not as much as you could if you practice the right way and create good habits at a young age. My shooting percentage reflects some of my bad mechanics (just over 20%), this can also be attributed to my trigger happy mindset, which doesn’t hurt a team in the MLL as much as it may in college/high school because of the shot clock, so I don’t feel as bad.

I do shoot Low and Away a lot, best place to shoot the ball by far, whether it is overhand is a totally different discussion. I can honestly say when I do shoot overhand and score it may not look as good but it feels really good because I am finally starting to do it (at least a little), and my shooting percentage has certainly been much higher shooting overhand Low and Away then it has shooting any other way.

(Poillon comes on at 0:46)

412: What will a young player take away from a Low And Away clinic?

PP: A young player will take away a number of things from a Low and Away camp or clinic. First off, the players will understand what it takes to reach their potential, we do not stop stressing the dedication and commitment it takes to become a great player. Beyond that we make sure they realize that commitment and dedication to something is what makes it fun/worth it.

Doing anything in life that doesn’t maintain a certain level of commitment and dedication is for the most part a waste of time and not as fun or rewarding as putting effort into something and seeing results. We want them to understand that lacrosse is not about being a bro and looking cool, it is about having fun and growing as a player/person.

The most fun part about this sport is that the hard work pays off, and the feeling you get when you perform at a level you never have before because you did work hard is second to none. Lacrosse is such a great sport, and it is easy to have fun shooting in your backyard, playing with your friends, or playing in a game, but when you realize that all the things you learn in lacrosse can be applied to life it makes it even more fun, you can accomplish something greater than just scoring a goal or winning a game.

Lastly we want them to understand that hardwork is great, but smart hard work is better. When you practice something the wrong way it probably isn’t making you better, you have to learn to be efficient when practicing because when you work extremely hard and you do it in an efficient fashion it will always pay off. It always comes down to the fundamentals.

412: A lot of MLL players have their own clinic company. What makes your different?

PP: Although I have had a lot of success in lacrosse, I do not conduct my camps/clinics like it is an opportunity to be around a bunch of pros. I want to get the message out that the staff at Low and Away Lacrosse are a bunch of guys that have dedicated themselves to getting better at this game and better at teaching this game.

Most of us have come from non-traditional areas and have climbed the lacrosse ranks pretty successfully. We bring a different perspective and have a drive to help more kids from non-traditional areas take their game to an elite high school level, and then eventually on to a college that makes the most sense for them academically and athletically. We have guys that have coached at the college level because we have all wanted to get better at teaching this game and continue to learn about lacrosse.

Andrew Stimmel is helping out at Ohio State this year, I coached at UMBC last year, PT Ricci coached at Towson last year, Lance Diamond and Tommy Kehoe coach at high schools in Pittsburgh, Kyle Wimer is coaching Manheim Township, and Michael Sciulli is a graduate assistant at Lake Erie College. We have a lot of young guys on our staff that have succeeded playing this game and that now are committed to coaching and growing the game THE RIGHT WAY. A lot of MLL players have camps/clinics but aren’t coaching and continually trying to improve the ways they teach.

Most of them have come from areas where it is much easier to get noticed than it is in places like Pittsburgh so they may not understand how difficult it is to get better if you don’t have great coaches teaching you all the time.

412: You recently announced summer travel teams. Will you be coaching? Who else is involved as a travel team coach?

PP: I will be coaching as much as I can during the summer. I am currently working on the curriculum alongside Andrew Stimmel and Lance Diamond for the summer teams. The curriculum includes practice plans, lifting/conditioning program, recruiting information, and a very detailed coaching plan for all of our coaches. This curriculum will be crucial in making sure that we have parallels between all 3 of our club team levels (U15, 17, U19), and that we are making sure the kids are progressing the way they need/want to.

Our coaches for the club teams will be Lance Diamond, Andrew Stimmel, Tommy Kehoe, Michael Sciulli and have a lot of interest from a number of other coaches and are continually talking to coaches about whether they will be able to be committed as we need to them to be in order to make sure this program is top notch. We are being selective with our coaches, we need guys that are extremely knowledgeable but also are very committed to what we are trying to do.

412: What are some of the long term goals of Low and Away?

PP: We want to establish ourselves as the premier lacrosse camp/clinic/team company in the country. We have learned from the best coaches in the country and want to pass along our knowledge to everyone we can, continue to grow the game, and continue to evolve as lacrosse educators. Continuing to learn about the game and innovate different teaching methods will be crucial and that is something we are focused on.

This game is incredible and as it continues to grow we want to play our part in educating people on how to improve lacrosse everywhere. We will be focused on sharing our experiences with players from different locations on what it takes to reach their personal goals in lacrosse.

412: You just got back from Tampa. What’s the talent like there and from a business stand point was it a successful experience?

PP: Tampa was great, they have a lot of potential to be a hotbed, especially with the weather advantage they hold over a number of different areas, and I assure you they are certainly using that to their advantage. We specifically were located at Wesley Park outside of Tampa, it was a great facility, and we had a good turnout at both the youth and high school levels.

From a business standpoint it went great, we got a lot of good feedback and are already in the process of setting something up for late spring. The more we get to these non traditional areas, the faster the area grows, and the better the coaches in these areas become. We look forward to getting down there again soon.

Maybachs for the travel teams.

Check out Low and Away Lacrosse’s website hither.