Montgomery County has long been fertile ground for lacrosse, with private and public high school programs producing college-bound athletes year after year.
At the center of that pipeline sits a Conshohocken institution that has quietly grown into one of the most influential player-development organizations in the country, writes Ben Silver for Main Line Today.
A Local Club That Became a National Force
NXT, headquartered in Conshohocken since its founding in 2009, has helped more than 400 area athletes reach NCAA lacrosse programs and now operates roughly 60 tournaments and 42 elite club teams nationally.
The organization is part of 3STEP Sports, the largest youth sports ecosystem in the United States, which spans 40-plus states and serves more than 3 million athletes.
The Coaching Credentials Behind the Program
Leading the boys side is president Peter Lawrence, who spent 18 years coaching college lacrosse, including 12 as head coach of the Hartford Hawks.
Lawrence credits NXT’s growth to treating the organization like a serious business from the beginning, building a staff of 20 full-time employees, many of them former college coaches and recruiters.
That experience, he says, allows NXT to identify overlooked players and develop the specific skills that translate to higher levels of competition.
On the girls side, NXT lacrosse president Candace Taglianetti Bossell brings comparable credentials.
A former head coach at Notre Dame College in Ohio and La Salle University, Bossell left La Salle as the program’s all-time winningest coach and a two-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year.
Together, she and Lawrence have built a program centered not only on athletic ability but on decision-making, creativity, toughness and a deeper understanding of offensive and defensive strategy.
Why Montgomery County Is the Right Home Base
Montgomery County provides an ideal base. The region’s mix of competitive public schools and established private programs at schools such as Episcopal Academy, Malvern Prep and Radnor High School creates a steady stream of serious players.
A Pipeline That Produces Results
Radnor’s Kessy Cox is one of the more prominent examples of what that development can produce.
Pennsylvania’s all-time leader in points and assists, Cox won three state championships with the Raptors before training with NXT and ultimately committing to Villanova University’s Division I program.
NXT’s growth from a regional club into a nationally recognized academy reflects both the organization’s ambitions and the strength of the community it calls home.
Learn more about Conshohocken’s NXT in Main Line Today.
