In fourth grade, Andrew McAdorey and Aiden Danenza went to their Team 91 Crush practices at Rocky Point High School. They would play on a field nicknamed “The Pit.” McAdorey described it as a grass field without a lot of grass, mostly “dust everywhere.” 

It wasn’t ideal conditions, but Joe Spallina, the team’s head coach, still had those kids practice on the field for three hours.

It taught McAdorey an important lesson.

“He was helping us realize it’s not easy to get to where you want to go lacrosse-wise. You have to work for it. Work for everything you do,” he said. “There will be times where I think back to those three-hour practices from when I was a little kid with Coach Joe. It puts a smile on my face knowing I was able to do that and also realize it has something to do with where I’m at now, having this opportunity.”

It’s been several years since McAdorey practiced with Spallina, the general manager of the California Redwoods, but they’re now reunited and practicing at a nicer field than “The Pit.” Spallina assembled McAdorey, Danenza and Vince D’Alto, three young players he knows extremely well, to join their former coach and mentor as players with the Redwoods and go to Albany for their first Premier Lacrosse League training camp.

While Spallina is excited for training camp because it’s his first with the team, he’s also excited to reconnect with some familiar faces and see what they can do to help California.

“Sometimes, you coach a game, and you’re like, ‘Well, that might be the last time I’m ever coaching that kid.’ Lo and behold, a few things happen, and you’re right back in the saddle, and you get a second chance at something,” he said. “I’m excited for these guys to really fulfill their dream. They have a good shot at making the team and showing people they can do it.”

McAdorey and Danenza joined Team 91 Crush together when they were in third grade. While most players were from Suffolk County, Danenza lived over an hour away in Nassau County. Still, he made the 64-mile drive to practice every day. He said they were intense and run like college practices, but he knew they were preparing him to play at a higher level.

Both McAdorey and Danenza were obsessed with lacrosse in elementary school, so being able to say the coach of the New York Lizards – featuring stars like Rob Pannell and Paul Rabil – was their coach was everything they could have asked for. McAdorey remembered going to Lizards games with Danenza and Joey Spallina, and they would see their coach doing the same thing he did with them with his pro players.

“Even though we were younger, the way he coached didn’t change,” McAdorey said. “He expected the most out of all of his players, regardless of age.”

D’Alto played with McAdorey and Danenza for a few seasons as part of the Dune Dogs. He, too, went to Lizards games and admired the way Spallina coached. It wasn't until COVID that D’Alto actually got the opportunity to train with Spallina.

The former Boston University attackman said a bunch of college players in the area wanted to get extra reps, so Spallina ran workouts – which D’Alto said really became intense practices – behind the church at St. James. One takeaway from those sessions was how Spallina taught him to use his body at the island and manipulate his defender by attacking his shoulders.

He also noticed just how hard Spallina worked, even for those voluntary workouts.

“The No. 1 thing that really stuck with me was the amount of motor and intensity he brought to day-to-day practice,” D’Alto said. “He was always into it. If anyone at practice was slacking, he would get on you. He’d ask, How bad do you want it?’”

When Spallina took over as general manager of the Redwoods, Danenza and D’Alto were his first two signings. D’Alto told Spallina he would work to be one of the best signings he ever made. Danenza was shocked; he thought Spallina had called him just to catch up and check in. 

McAdorey was the team’s first pick in the 2025 College Draft presented by Q-Collar. Though he knew he had a great relationship with Spallina, he didn’t want to assume anything before it actually happened. When it became official, however, he texted Danenza – his former teammate at St. Anthony’s and Duke University whom he called a “brother” – asking if he needed another stick strung, as he had strung most of Danenza’s sticks growing up. McAdorey told Danenza he’d just bring all of his stringing equipment with him to camp.

As all three entered their first training camp, none of them shared any hint of nervousness. They all were eager to get there, excited for the opportunity and looking to do whatever it takes to help the team be successful, as well as prove Spallina right for believing in them.

Danenza drew inspiration from the biggest lesson he learned from Spallina over the years.

“Playing on the 91 team, being young, we definitely felt some pressure playing against other teams and not wanting to lose. That was a big thing he harped on, saying it was a privilege to be in that position, but once you got there, you have to step up and walk the walk and be you,” he said. “He was like, ‘We put in the work, the extra practice, the extra conditioning, all that stuff. Now, you just have to play. Don’t think, be free, and do what you do.’”

Spallina said it was easy to bring all three players in. He said they were “like-minded” and that putting like-minded people together would get them playing at a higher level. He said they were guys who were gritty, super competitive and could win their matchups, traits that would show up late in training camp and in games. Spallina noted the trio had won a lot of games over the course of their lacrosse careers, and that didn’t happen by accident.

He added they were the kind of people coaches wanted in their locker room, and he said he would always bet on them. 

After years of coaching and training McAdorey, Danenza and D’Alto, Spallina was mainly excited to see all of them still getting after it, playing with passion and living out their dreams.

“For me, it’s how proud I am of them,” Spallina said. “As a coach, I always try to empower my players, make them believe if they put their heads into it, really work and buy into what’s going on, that they can achieve anything they want in the sport. This is one of those situations, these guys played high-level Division I and now they’re chasing their pro dreams.”