Oswego's Schultzkie, Rogers fired up to play together for Spark

Jan. 6—OSWEGO — The connection between Oswego State men's lacrosse alums Nathan Schultzkie and Dan Rogers has shifted from player-coach to teammates.

The former Lakers standouts with a long-standing mutual respect are each playing for the startup Syracuse Spark during the inaugural season of the Pro Box Lacrosse Association.

The Spark competed in the PBLA debut game against the Jim Thorpe All-Americans, a team comprised of Native American stars, on Dec. 29 in Hagersville, Ontario, Canada.

"It's a lacrosse opportunity for myself and my teammates, but also to show what Syracuse and, really, upstate N.Y. has to offer," Rogers said. "There is some good talent, whether it's from reservations or guys that played at Syracuse (University), to put on that display of talent, I think it will be exciting and it's awesome to be a part of it."

The 36-year-old Rogers played men's lacrosse for the Lakers from 2005-09 and is now a counselor at Oswego Middle School.

Schultzkie, a 2017 Oswego High School graduate, is working as a mechanical engineer for Novelis and still lives in the area.

The duo first crossed paths when Rogers worked as an assistant coach for his alma mater from 2019-21, the final three years for Schultzkie as a defensive midfielder at Oswego State.

"He's a great coach and great teacher," Schultzkie said. "When (stuff) hits the fan, Dan has a great way of being able to say: 'OK, here's where we failed, here's what we'll look to do, and we'll evaluate after that.' He's great at taking it one step at a time."

Rogers said he first heard of Schultzkie coming up with the Onondaga Redhawks Junior-B box team while he played on the senior circuit. He was eager to work with him upon joining the Oswego State coaching staff.

The pair of friends separated by nearly 15 years in age have frequently car-pooled to practices and plan to do so for most away games during the Spark season.

"Getting to know (Schultzkie), great kid and a hard worker, he runs hard, and is for lack of a better term: 'For the boys,' he cares about his teammates, and I think that goes a long way," Rogers said.

"I think it's awesome to play with him, I think he's hungry to learn," Rogers added. "I relate to him being more than 10 years my junior, and I try to give him some wisdom, so he doesn't have to learn all the lessons I did the hard way."

Rogers is a 13-year veteran of box lacrosse, first joining a team in summer 2009 to continue his on-field career after completing his eligibility for the Lakers. He has played for a team every year since, most recently for the Onondaga Redhawks.

Schultzkie was introduced to the box format as a junior in high school, crediting Oswego High School coach Robert 'Doc,' Nelson and former Oswego State coach Dan Witmer for encouraging him to play. He has remained a fixture on box teams every year since, also recently for the Redhawks organization.

Both players discovered field lacrosse relatively late — Schultzkie joined as a junior in high school due to a facial injury suffered in baseball, and Rogers took up the sport as a high school freshman.

They each looked to the box format to prolong their respective time in the sport, while Schultzkie also appreciated the similarities to hockey, his first athletic passion that he started at a young age.

Both were invited to try out for the Spark by head coach Ron Cogan, who also guided the Redhawks, and advanced through periodical cuts during a pair of two-day training camps on the weekends of Dec. 10 and Dec. 17.

"The thing that was nice about training camp is it kind of showed where you needed to improve, and it also showed what you bring to the table," Schultzkie said. "You play offense and defense in this league, it's non-traditional to any other style of lacrosse, so it exposes what you need to work on and brings to light where you can dominate."

The PBLA was unveiled in June and is comprised of nine teams. Syracuse is joined by Elmira and Binghamton as in-state squads. Other teams are based in: Charlotte, N.C.; Hampton, Va.; Salem, Va.; Trenton, N.J.; New England; and the Jim Thorpe All-Americans in Pennsylvania.

The regular season runs through mid-April. The PBLA is incorporating smaller goalie pads and a slightly smaller goal to the traditional box lacrosse game, and only allows substitutions through the offensive end to encourage two-way players and intensify the action in transition.

"I couldn't be more excited," Schultzkie said. "You appreciate what you don't know more than appreciate what you do, and I know for a fact all I can do is go in and work hard. Now, I have to take a step back and learn some systems, learn how to flow in an offense as more of a defenseman myself, and it puts a little pep in my step."

The Spark will play home games in the Upstate Medical Arena at The Oncenter War Memorial in Syracuse. The home opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 20 when the Spark faces the Salem Mayhem.

Former Syracuse University All-American Dylan Donahue is among the other decorated players to make the final roster for the Spark.

"We've got some tremendous talent and it's an exciting product," Rogers said. "I'll say practice is fast, it's more intense than I'm used to."