Last year Coach Tom DeMaio fielded a team of players from 10 different states to make up the “Red Bandanas” team that won the prestigious Vail Lacrosse ShootOut tournament in double overtime. This year TEAM12’s Coach DeMaio will again bring some of the most elite players from throughout the country to join the Red Bandanas team at the June 25-28 tournament.

Last year was the first year Coach DeMaio fielded a team for the Vail Lacrosse ShootOut. Coach DeMaio named his squad the Red Bandanas in honor of former Boston College lacrosse player and 9-11 victim Welles Crowther. Coach DeMaio and the team maintained contact with Welles mother Allison Crowther leading up to the event and throughout their historic 2OT win.

Welles Crowther was a 24-year old Boston College graduate who was known for always carrying a red bandana in his back pocket. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Crowther, who worked at the World Trade Center, tied his bandana around his face to shield himself from smoke and debris as he courageously led wounded people to safety, and then kept going back upstairs so he could rescue others. During his selfless acts of heroism, Crowther lost his life, and was in fact identified by his signature red bandana. The Red Bandana Project was established to provide “curricula and lessons for character development, social and emotional learning for young people.” According to the Red Bandanas Project’s website, “These lessons have been inspired by the example and spirit of Welles Remy Crowther.”