I hadn’t seen Tom Rotanz for more than 30 years. We used to glare at each other through the cages on our lacrosse helmets as we faced off against each other in high school and then in college.

Tom was an All-American player at Ward Melville High School in Setauket. His team was 1976 Long Island Champions and 1977 New York State runners-up. He also played at Suffolk County Community College and then Adelphi University. He was an All-American defenseman during his entire college career.

When I played against Tom, the competition always was fierce. But we always had respect and admiration for each other on and off the field. That combination of fierce competition along with the respect and admiration for a player on the other team lasts a lifetime and carries over to other aspects of life long after we leave the field.

Even though Long Island isn’t that huge, in all these years our paths did not cross. We travelled in different circles – Tom became a fabulous teacher and lacrosse coach while I concentrated on growing The Whitmore Group.

That changed a few years ago, when I attended my nephew’s high school lacrosse game. Tom was scouting my nephew’s team.

After renewing our friendship and reliving some of our head-to-head battles from the field, I learned more about Tom’s passion for coaching young lacrosse players. He learned about my business success and my continued interest to help today’s high school and college athletes. Now, through a new training product – The Power Shaft™ – that he designed, we finally have the opportunity to play on the same team.

The Power Shaft (www.ThePowerShaft.com) allows lacrosse players to train and perfect their game any time of the day and any time of the year in the yard, in the park, or on the practice field. With my connections on the marketing side, more of you soon will learn about this product and how it will help your budding athletes improve their game.

There is a time for everything. This, I strongly believe, was the time for Tom and me to reconnect. Finally, after 30 years, we are wearing the same jersey, and it is today’s young lacrosse players who will have opportunities that we never had or never thought were possible.