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By Mike Adzima
on February 01, 2023
Ken Brubaker, right, is the founder of 313 Lacrosse. Pictured with former professional player and 313 Lacrosse senior instructor, Brandon Davenport.
Lacrosse always has played some kind of role in Ken Brubaker’s life, even long before his days coaching at the Neighborhood Club or operating 313 Lacrosse. A resident of the Pointes for more than 25 years, Brubaker found a love for the game over the years that has turned into a passion and full-time job, all to help the next generation of lacrosse players.
Born in Upstate New York, Brubaker briefly remembers lacrosse being involved in things like elementary school gym class, but that was in a part of the country where lacrosse was and still is much more prevalent. When he moved to Michigan and attended L’Anse Creuse High School in the early 1970s, lacrosse had just become a recognized high school sport in the state.
“I was actually a basketball player in high school because (lacrosse) was still pretty obscure,” Brubaker said. “I had a friend who was a goalie on the team and he got me a stick and I just started messing around. I learned about it and saw games back in the ‘70s, and it was a brutal game back then. … As time went on, I tried to stay in touch with the sport, but back in those days it was hard because you had to find something in a magazine and it was still very obscure in the Midwest.”
It was not until Brubaker first moved to Grosse Pointe in 1996 that his love for the sport was reignited. His son, Brice, was interested in playing and Brubaker attended an information meeting. That got his interest rolling once again and a few years later in the early 2000s Brubaker started volunteering as a lacrosse coach and instructor at the Neighborhood Club. Then he was hooked.
“When I got back on that field, something happened and I reconnected with the sport and went crazy,” he said.
It was not long before Brubaker established his own lacrosse training operation and travel lacrosse club. It began as Grosse Pointe Select and eventually became 313 Lacrosse. That grew from a club team into an apparel company and now includes a store selling lacrosse gear on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods.
Athletes from the Pointes and around metro Detroit have had the chance to train and play with 313 Lacrosse nearly two decades now. What has grown so much over the years started as a simple idea to provide opportunities for players in the offseason that were not widely available in the area.
“Kids weren’t doing anything in the offseason but playing in leagues here and there so I figured I’d get my staff together and start training them,” Brubaker said. “We get Grosse Pointe kids, Macomb County kids, some from Oakland and St. Clair counties. … We bring in top-level trainers because I want to bring the best possible coaches that I can.”
Courtesy photos
In 2017, Brubaker expanded 313 Lacrosse into a retail storefront now located on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods.
Brubaker has brought in numerous college coaches and former college players over the years to train players at 313 Lacrosse. Always by his side is his son, the same one who helped him fall back in love with lacrosse years ago.
Now Brubaker works closely every day with Brice, who serves as director of 313 Lacrosse. The two not only share a passion for lacrosse, but also a love for running a business and building it day in and day out together.
“It’s awesome working with him every day,” Brubaker said. “He’s learned a lot about business from me because I’ve been an entrepreneur for 30 years. … I taught him a lot of different things and he’s taught me. He’s gotten me on social media and stuff like that. It’s a Yin-Yang.”
While Brubaker’s growing knowledge of social media and online marketing is helping 313 Lacrosse evolve, the core beliefs of the program’s training methods have largely stayed the same over the years. Sticking to things like highly personalized training, Brubaker helped instill a love for lacrosse in players around Grosse Pointe and the state of Michigan and continue the growth of the sport right in his own backyard.
“We stay the course and it goes back to having really ethical coaches who make sure kids get playing time and one-on-one instruction,” he said. “One thing about us that might be a little different and old school is that we tell the kids we’re an enhancement to the varsity experience, not a replacement. … I want to work with the Grosse Pointe coaches to make their kids better when they come back in the spring.”