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ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

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​Hotshots Lacrosse Club Founder Andrew Chalupa is currently directing 3 boys youth lacrosse programs in Southern California.  In the Spring of 2018, he was asked to Co-Direct the Riptide and was directly responsible for stabilizing youth lacrosse in Santa Barbara and instantly brought numerous improvements, organization, and accountability to the program.  In order to keep sticks in hands in the off-season, he created the Qwik Stix Challenge (now called Counter Strike), a 3v3 contest which was incredibly popular and well received by the players and parents.  In the summer of 2019, he launched the SYV Bulls Lacrosse Club and by the Fall he had created and launched the Hotshots.  In addition to the SB and SYV lacrosse clubs, he is entering his 10th year as the Director of the Newport Beach Surf Dawgs in Corona del Mar where he used to live and coach.  

From 2010-2016 while living in Newport Beach, Andrew was Varsity Coach under former NCAA National Coach of the Year G.W. Mix at Corona Del Mar High School.  While at CDM, he helped the Kings and Coach Mix lead the Sea Kings to 7 CIF Playoff appearances and 5 Pacific Coast League Championship victories. The 2012 Sea King team was the first in CIF lacrosse history to win the Southern Section championship with an undefeated record (24-0). In his final season in 2016, the Sea Kings won the CIF Southern Section Championship once again.

Since its inception in 2014, Chalupa has also been involved with operations and ticket sales for the Pacific Coast Shootout, a major college lacrosse event that brings two of the top Division I programs to the West Coast each spring to play a regular-season game. Past participants include Cornell, Denver, Maryland, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Virginia.

 

He has coached 19 high school All-Americans and has over 16 players playing NCAA Div I, Div III, and MCLA lacrosse.  Many of his former Surf Dawgs/Sea Kings can be seen competing currently at the Division I level during the spring for programs like Brown, Harvard, Yale, Denver, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Villanova and Drexel Universities.

Andrew played multiple sports growing up in New Jersey and in the 7th grade was introduced to a lacrosse stick by his school's head coach.  In high school, Coach Chalupa was a 2-sport athlete, playing both football and lacrosse all four years at Hunterdon Central High School.  In football, he earned All-Area, All-County, and All-Conference honors at middle linebacker.  As a lacrosse player for the Red Devils, he earned First-Team All State honors, as well as being named First Team All-Pitt Division, All-Conference and All-County midfielder.  He was also honored to receive his team's MVP award and was selected to the All-New Jersey North/South Game.   He went on to play collegiate lacrosse at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina where he was a 3 year starter and relied upon to not only take the team's face-off draws, but was also one of the few "two-way" midfielders on the team.  Chalupa helped his Falcons win three consecutive Deep South Conference Championships from 1996-1998 and was a key contributor to their highest ranking (#5 in the nation) when they were a NCAA Div II program.  

Andrew and his wife Amber reside in Solvang with their 6 year old son Kanin.

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SYV HOTSHOTS GIRLS DIRECTOR

Cara Hewes hails from Bethesda, MD where she was a 4x varsity Attack/Home and team captain her senior year at Bethesda High School.   Impressively, Cara walked-on at D3 power Denison University in Ohio where she went on to play midfield for the Battling Bishops.

Coach Cara and her twin brother Chris played on the same boys youth team until she was able to join a girls team in middle school.  The ultimate team player and swiss army knife, she has played every position on the field, including goalie. 

She loves trick shots, spin moves and emphasizes teamwork and passing.  

Coach Cara's upbeat, positive, patient, and welcoming coaching style is why our girls program keeps on adding new players!

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TALK TO US

Santa Barbara, CA

info@hotshotslax.com

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