July 15, 2023 - Jerry Ragonese played D3 lacrosse as a FOGO at RIT from 2006-10, winning 60.6% of face-offs in his senior year in 2010 as the Tigers won the Empire 8 title and advanced to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.
He made his pro debut with MLL's Rochester Rattlers in 2011, and his competed professionally, on-and-off, since then. He scored the only goal of his pro career last year for the PLL's Chaos. His celebration, and subsequent sideline interview, remains social media content gold.
Ragonese is also a lacrosse entrepreneur, founding two businesses related to the sport.
Can you speak about how your process for starting Proathletics and Faceoff Academy started?
Proathletics was somewhat of a random happening. In college I had a club team called the WuTang Killer bees, we would play at OCMD, War at the Shore and a few other tournaments. This was before the days of venmo so guys would always stiff me for the gear or return it after saying they spent all their tourney money on beers that weekend. So I'd take the gear back being a broke college kid myself and I would turn around and sell it online, people started reaching out asking for more products, after a few rounds of doing that and pushing the design envelope eventually I had people reach out for me to design their team uniforms. Just like that Pro Athletics was born, at the time most the tournaments we would go to were decked out in uniforms I created for them. Was a very cool experience! A few years later we boot strapped our own American manufacturing facility in 2015 and as of today we are the only 100% USA made, direct to consumer lacrosse company today.
The Faceoff Academy was a bit later after college after I had gotten into the pros, the common running theme whenever the position was brought up was “oh you are just one of the best cheaters;" that always pissed me off. I, like the rest of the guys in the league, worked our asses off to be there. At the time there were fly by night “coaches” going around teaching 3rd graders how to grab the stick or ball with their hands and it was giving the position a bad name, (it was so bad we had to lobby for a spot at the US Lacrosse convention as they didn't want a presentation on cheating and it was really all people knew about the FO at the time). Back in 2011 Chris Mattes, Greg Gurenlian and myself met up and decided we were going to go on summer tour teaching wherever we could go the proper and legal way of facing off. It was only supposed to be for 6 weeks or so but the response was so positive we kept it going and formed the Faceoff Academy. We have been fortunate enough though diligent work, treating people well and building relationships with coaches over the years that we are now the #1 source for FO knowledge & recruiting. 12 years later we have over 35 coaches with us, most guys who we worked with from 4th grade through college and some even now in the PLL & NLL.
What advice would you give to up and coming entrepreneurs?
Being an entrepreneur isn't for everyone. People think you just start something and it takes off. It’s A LOT of long nights, longer days, bills and more. You have to be ok taking all the blame, getting no credit, few to no vacations and eating last. Two out of every three start ups fail within two years of starting. I say all of that not to scare anyone but to make sure the terms are understood before entering. It's the most rewarding and most frustrating thing on earth. Takes a very specific mindset of getting punched in the face and asking for more. Plan accordingly.
How different was the PLL experience compared to the MLL? What were some of the positives and negatives to the differing leagues?
Honestly the MLL was a nightmare from a business standpoint. It was a nice tax write off for owners and that’s really all we were. Depending on the franchise you were with, your experience could be great or it could be poor, its like that in all leagues I am sure but when the pay was so low it could really change how you looked at your summer. However the boots on the ground people, trainers, coaches, GM’s staff & players ect were all in the trenches together. If a flight was delayed for 8 hours, we are all delayed 8 hours. If the catering partner “forgot” to put meat in the burritos because of an outstanding bill we all ate meatless burritos. The early 2010’s to mid 2015 things were trending positively, not without setbacks but you could feel some momentum building, Adding teams, sponsors, some modest pay rises but after that things took a pretty sharp turn for the worse after some questionable viewership deals went through. In 2019 it was pretty easy for guys to jump over to the PLL because the MLL had gotten pretty bad, we didn't have all that much to lose by moving over to the new league. If the PLL delivered even half of what they said they were going to offer it would still be a better situation.
The MLL wasn't all bad though. I look back on it fondly, some incredible stories from those years, life long friends made and great people I met. Winning a championship in ATL in 2015 was a lifetime highlight for sure.
The PLL negatives are just growing pains, “we need more teams” “we need to go here”, “ we need home cities” these will all come in due time. The league is just FIVE years old and has only played 4.5 seasons. Yes we could use more space for your favorite player to make a roster but that's pro sports. If everyone made the best league on earth then it would cheapen the deal a bit.
The positives are apparent, more pay & insurance are two BIG ones for the modern athlete. Guys can now afford to hang around the game longer, Build a brand to help fortify playing pro ball. The other is production value. I said for years if we can get NFL style production on lacrosse people would watch and that's what the PLL did. They made a pro level production out of lacrosse. I think that's the single biggest driver in views today.
What steps do you feel need to be taken to continue the rapid growth of the sport? Do you feel that there is a chance that lacrosse can out pace its growth, ie. have a massive explosion of growth that the sport isn’t ready to see? Or is the sport ready to explode?
I think staying the course is important. Everyone wants to be the next big thing but things that come on quickly tend to burn out quickly. Upcoming leagues have an issue where guys who dont get selected out of college usually scorn the product because they feel left out by it. It was a problem for years in the MLL, we couldn't capture the early “20s something” because a major part of the market felt turned off by the league for passing them by (even though less than 1% of guys actually get invited to camp), they can have a drink anywhere why come to a game? I think we are finally moving past that, guys out of school want to support the league, they all have a friend who's playing and want to see them do well. “That's my boy from college” I’ve heard more than a few times when games are on at bars. That always felt like a major hurdle to me and its a major trickle down to see an older brother, cousin ect follow something and introduce it to a younger family member or friend.
I think we see a major boom in the next five years as more and more non-hotbed areas are adapting to lacrosse. The more they can see on TV the more hearts & minds we can win.
What was the inspiration for your “old man” celly after your only career professional goal last year for the Chaos?
There is a scene in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (the original ) where Wonka walks out of the factory to greet all of the golden ticket winners. He's walking slowly with a cane, people can't believe how old he's gotten since anyones last saw him, he accidentally drops his cane when walking out and begins to fall over. Just as you think the old man is about to go face first into the brick road he summersaults jumping up as youthful as ever. I always liked that scene, I thought I'd take a page from it.
Positives and Negatives to D3 Lacrosse?
Nowadays D3 lacrosse gets A LOT of the same privileges as a lot of D1 programs. The talent level is insane, facilities are on par with D1 programs. I don't see a lot of downside for D3 lacrosse, if you want to get on the field, play competitive ball, make great friends, have a great alumni association, D3 offers that. People get too tied up in the “D1” thing. Reality is most D3 schools offer a better education and product than many D1 schools. Some guys just want the D1 Instagram commitment clout, after that outside of the top legacy programs (in both D1 & D3) the experience is very similar.
What would help lacrosse grow on the college level on the West Coast?
We need colleges to pick up the game. Unfortunately $ is a factor flying teams to where other colleges are and most colleges that play lacrosse are on the east coast. That's a big flight bill at the end of the year so we will need several west coast schools to opt in at once to make a conference to play each other in. Just my 2 cents.
You stop at a gas station, what 3 items are you picking up to carry you through the rest of the drive?
Muddy buddies, Monster energy (white gummybear), altoids original peppermints.
He made his pro debut with MLL's Rochester Rattlers in 2011, and his competed professionally, on-and-off, since then. He scored the only goal of his pro career last year for the PLL's Chaos. His celebration, and subsequent sideline interview, remains social media content gold.
Ragonese is also a lacrosse entrepreneur, founding two businesses related to the sport.
Can you speak about how your process for starting Proathletics and Faceoff Academy started?
Proathletics was somewhat of a random happening. In college I had a club team called the WuTang Killer bees, we would play at OCMD, War at the Shore and a few other tournaments. This was before the days of venmo so guys would always stiff me for the gear or return it after saying they spent all their tourney money on beers that weekend. So I'd take the gear back being a broke college kid myself and I would turn around and sell it online, people started reaching out asking for more products, after a few rounds of doing that and pushing the design envelope eventually I had people reach out for me to design their team uniforms. Just like that Pro Athletics was born, at the time most the tournaments we would go to were decked out in uniforms I created for them. Was a very cool experience! A few years later we boot strapped our own American manufacturing facility in 2015 and as of today we are the only 100% USA made, direct to consumer lacrosse company today.
The Faceoff Academy was a bit later after college after I had gotten into the pros, the common running theme whenever the position was brought up was “oh you are just one of the best cheaters;" that always pissed me off. I, like the rest of the guys in the league, worked our asses off to be there. At the time there were fly by night “coaches” going around teaching 3rd graders how to grab the stick or ball with their hands and it was giving the position a bad name, (it was so bad we had to lobby for a spot at the US Lacrosse convention as they didn't want a presentation on cheating and it was really all people knew about the FO at the time). Back in 2011 Chris Mattes, Greg Gurenlian and myself met up and decided we were going to go on summer tour teaching wherever we could go the proper and legal way of facing off. It was only supposed to be for 6 weeks or so but the response was so positive we kept it going and formed the Faceoff Academy. We have been fortunate enough though diligent work, treating people well and building relationships with coaches over the years that we are now the #1 source for FO knowledge & recruiting. 12 years later we have over 35 coaches with us, most guys who we worked with from 4th grade through college and some even now in the PLL & NLL.
What advice would you give to up and coming entrepreneurs?
Being an entrepreneur isn't for everyone. People think you just start something and it takes off. It’s A LOT of long nights, longer days, bills and more. You have to be ok taking all the blame, getting no credit, few to no vacations and eating last. Two out of every three start ups fail within two years of starting. I say all of that not to scare anyone but to make sure the terms are understood before entering. It's the most rewarding and most frustrating thing on earth. Takes a very specific mindset of getting punched in the face and asking for more. Plan accordingly.
How different was the PLL experience compared to the MLL? What were some of the positives and negatives to the differing leagues?
Honestly the MLL was a nightmare from a business standpoint. It was a nice tax write off for owners and that’s really all we were. Depending on the franchise you were with, your experience could be great or it could be poor, its like that in all leagues I am sure but when the pay was so low it could really change how you looked at your summer. However the boots on the ground people, trainers, coaches, GM’s staff & players ect were all in the trenches together. If a flight was delayed for 8 hours, we are all delayed 8 hours. If the catering partner “forgot” to put meat in the burritos because of an outstanding bill we all ate meatless burritos. The early 2010’s to mid 2015 things were trending positively, not without setbacks but you could feel some momentum building, Adding teams, sponsors, some modest pay rises but after that things took a pretty sharp turn for the worse after some questionable viewership deals went through. In 2019 it was pretty easy for guys to jump over to the PLL because the MLL had gotten pretty bad, we didn't have all that much to lose by moving over to the new league. If the PLL delivered even half of what they said they were going to offer it would still be a better situation.
The MLL wasn't all bad though. I look back on it fondly, some incredible stories from those years, life long friends made and great people I met. Winning a championship in ATL in 2015 was a lifetime highlight for sure.
The PLL negatives are just growing pains, “we need more teams” “we need to go here”, “ we need home cities” these will all come in due time. The league is just FIVE years old and has only played 4.5 seasons. Yes we could use more space for your favorite player to make a roster but that's pro sports. If everyone made the best league on earth then it would cheapen the deal a bit.
The positives are apparent, more pay & insurance are two BIG ones for the modern athlete. Guys can now afford to hang around the game longer, Build a brand to help fortify playing pro ball. The other is production value. I said for years if we can get NFL style production on lacrosse people would watch and that's what the PLL did. They made a pro level production out of lacrosse. I think that's the single biggest driver in views today.
What steps do you feel need to be taken to continue the rapid growth of the sport? Do you feel that there is a chance that lacrosse can out pace its growth, ie. have a massive explosion of growth that the sport isn’t ready to see? Or is the sport ready to explode?
I think staying the course is important. Everyone wants to be the next big thing but things that come on quickly tend to burn out quickly. Upcoming leagues have an issue where guys who dont get selected out of college usually scorn the product because they feel left out by it. It was a problem for years in the MLL, we couldn't capture the early “20s something” because a major part of the market felt turned off by the league for passing them by (even though less than 1% of guys actually get invited to camp), they can have a drink anywhere why come to a game? I think we are finally moving past that, guys out of school want to support the league, they all have a friend who's playing and want to see them do well. “That's my boy from college” I’ve heard more than a few times when games are on at bars. That always felt like a major hurdle to me and its a major trickle down to see an older brother, cousin ect follow something and introduce it to a younger family member or friend.
I think we see a major boom in the next five years as more and more non-hotbed areas are adapting to lacrosse. The more they can see on TV the more hearts & minds we can win.
What was the inspiration for your “old man” celly after your only career professional goal last year for the Chaos?
There is a scene in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (the original ) where Wonka walks out of the factory to greet all of the golden ticket winners. He's walking slowly with a cane, people can't believe how old he's gotten since anyones last saw him, he accidentally drops his cane when walking out and begins to fall over. Just as you think the old man is about to go face first into the brick road he summersaults jumping up as youthful as ever. I always liked that scene, I thought I'd take a page from it.
Positives and Negatives to D3 Lacrosse?
Nowadays D3 lacrosse gets A LOT of the same privileges as a lot of D1 programs. The talent level is insane, facilities are on par with D1 programs. I don't see a lot of downside for D3 lacrosse, if you want to get on the field, play competitive ball, make great friends, have a great alumni association, D3 offers that. People get too tied up in the “D1” thing. Reality is most D3 schools offer a better education and product than many D1 schools. Some guys just want the D1 Instagram commitment clout, after that outside of the top legacy programs (in both D1 & D3) the experience is very similar.
What would help lacrosse grow on the college level on the West Coast?
We need colleges to pick up the game. Unfortunately $ is a factor flying teams to where other colleges are and most colleges that play lacrosse are on the east coast. That's a big flight bill at the end of the year so we will need several west coast schools to opt in at once to make a conference to play each other in. Just my 2 cents.
You stop at a gas station, what 3 items are you picking up to carry you through the rest of the drive?
Muddy buddies, Monster energy (white gummybear), altoids original peppermints.